shameless self promotion Posted November 2, 2002 Share Posted November 2, 2002 As im sure most of you know...this happened during the 12oz break... Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay is shot dead in New York studio By David Usborne in New York 01 November 2002 The violence that has repeatedly struck at stars of rap and hip-hop returned when a founding member of the ground-breaking group Run-DMC, known for chart-topping songs in the 1980s such as "Walk This Way", was killed by an intruder in his New York recording studio on Wednesday. Police said they had no motive or suspect in the shooting of Jason Mizell, 35, described by his admirers as a "Beatle" of the hip-hip world. Better known as the DJ Jam Master Jay, he was the "scratcher" of Run-DMC, providing the background sounds and beats by twisting records forwards and backwards on turntables. Even those mostly unfamiliar with rap and its culture are sure to have heard the work of Jay and his two partners. Though its success had faded in recent years, Run-DMC is considered to have done more than any other group in the genre to bring the sometimes jarring music form into the mainstream. It was the first hip-hop group with albums that turned gold, platinum and even multi-platinum. And – ironically in the circumstances – while American rap has for years been associated with gangs and street violence, Run-DMC stood out from the pack for preaching against it and advocating harmony. There are no gang-related lyrics in the group's repertoire, or much blasphemy. Yet, the shooting of Jay, who also set the fashion style of Run-DMC with wide-rimmed round hats, baggy black jeans and white training shoes (their laces undone), will now be added to the depressing roster of violent death in the rap industry. In a decade, eight established performers have been murdered. Among peers who have fallen to the bullet is Tupac Shakur. He was shot while riding down the Las Vegas strip in a car in 1996. Seven months later, another star of rap, Notorious B.I.G., who called Brooklyn home, was gunned down after leaving an industry party in Los Angeles. Those two killings in particular were attributed to a war pitting West Coast against East Coast rap artists. Run-DMC quickly condemned the violence and called for a day of peace between warring gangs. "This is the first town where you feel the gangs from the minute you step into town to the time you leave," Jay complained of Los Angeles. Police said Jay was in his recording studio in the Jamaica neighbourhood of Queens on Wednesday evening when, at about 7.30pm, an intruder entered and shot him and one other person. Jay, married with three children, was struck in the head and died instantly. The other victim, identified as Urieco Rincon, was in hospital yesterday recovering from a bullet wound in the leg. Friends, family and fans of Jay quickly filled the street outside to offer tributes and to grieve. By yesterday, a stretch of pavement outside the second-floor studio, located above a shabby restaurant and cheque-cashing shop, was filled with messages of mourning, flowers, posters and candles. Doctor Dre, a New York radio station DJ and a prominent figure in the rap world, who had been friends with Jay since the mid-1980s, said, "This is not a person who went out looking for trouble. He's known as a person that builds, that creates and is trying to make the right things happen." The stature of Jay and of the group was underscored, meanwhile, by Chuck D, the frontman for the group Public Enemy. "They are our Beatles," he commented at the scene of the murder. He blamed record companies and the advertising industry for perpetuating the violent image of rappers. "When it comes to us, we're disposable commodities." Chuck D noted that it was Run-DMC that pioneered the notion of including a DJ as a fully fledged component in a band. While the other members of the group – Run (Joseph Simmons) and DMC (Darryl McDaniels) – took stage front and vocalised, Jay provided the rhythm and the percussive pulse by "scratching" records under the needles on two turntables at once. What Jay did – taking existing tracks and distorting them into entirely new sounds and beats – was soon mimicked by thousands of aspiring rap musicians (he called himself a "turntablist") all over the world. "We always knew rap was for everyone," he said recently. "Anyone could rap over all kinds of music." His art was captured in one of the group's songs, featured in their first record. Called "Jam Master Jay", it announced: "We got the master of a disco scratch/there's not a break that he can't catch/ Behind the turntables is where he stands/Then there is the movement of his hands/So when asked who's the best, y'all should say/Run-DMC and Jam Master Jay." As shocked fans gathered at the scene, under a freezing rain, late on Wednesday, a large black four-wheel-drive car cruised by. Its windows were down and its music system cranked up. It was playing the only song that anyone wanted to hear – "Jam Master Jay". In the crowd was Jay's 15-year-old son, Jason. It was in 1980 when the three friends from a middle-class neighbourhood of Queens – a short distance from the shooting – formed a band called Orange Crush. Three years later they renamed it Run-DMC. The album Raising Hell sold 3 million copies worldwide in 1986, becoming the first rap album to go multi-platinum. It included the hit "Walk This Way", a rap version of the original from Aerosmith. Other hits worldwide, which often blended heavy-metal strains with rap rhythms, included "My Adidas" and "It's Tricky". Hip-hop radio stations across the US yesterday pondered the shock of Jay's death. "If you love this hip-hop thing like I love this hip-hop thing, it's a sad day," said the rap DJ Mr Cee on Funk Master Flex's radio show in New York. "This has to stop, not just in hip-hop, but all over. This violence is just crazy. It's unreal." http://www.whfs.com/images/archives/snowjob/run_jmj.jpg'> I remember when i first saw run-dmc with the roots acouple years back, i was super drunk, and the coolest part of the whole show was jmj gettin down on the tables.. RIP JMJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty_habiT Posted November 2, 2002 Share Posted November 2, 2002 Patented First Technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandola Posted November 2, 2002 Share Posted November 2, 2002 rest well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JIGSAW Posted November 2, 2002 Share Posted November 2, 2002 RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KRYLON2~ Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 cant wait till they catch the mutherfucker who shot jmj rip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PAYROLL Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 You unoriginal bastard! Originally posted by PAYROLL close this shit. Rick Dees is a better DJ...know that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoEZ Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 they should send the killer to antarctica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiseguy Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 Originally posted by noezywriter they should send the killer to antarctica naked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SPLINTER Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 gots to bust my adidas out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROSTY Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 I really couldnt beleive it for a while,, fuk i dont even know what to say,,,,,, RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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