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The life of Jam Master Jay of Hollis, Queens` legendary New York hip-hop trio Run DMC, met a tragic end the night of October
30 following an episode of unexplained violence.
The third man of the record-breaking group directly and indirectly influenced the lives of today`s hip-hop generation
both as celebrity rap star and as turntablist pioneer. Not only did Run DMC make hip-hop global, but Jam Master Jay`s presence
made the world understand that hip-hop is unique partially because one person, the deejay, is literally a one-man-band. Jay
was personally responsible for bringing popular groups Onyx and 50 Cent into the business.
As fans and fellow hip-hop friends of Jason Mizell gathered to mourn him outside the recording studio in Queens (the scene
of the tragedy), Chuck D of Public Enemy spoke of Run DMC as "our Beatles," and called for the hip-hop community
to show the musician that level respect.
Gary Dauphin, editor of Africana.com, who was born and raised in Queens, commented, "There`s a myth that when black
men get to be a certain age they`ve got it made, that violence is a disease of the young. Here was a cat who had lived through
not just the entire arc of the hip-hop game, but also through the crack epidemic and AIDS and Reagan and always maintained
a positive, professional attitude. Jay may have produced Onyx, or made a gangster flick (Tougher Than Leather, ironically,
is about him being killed, then Run and DMC getting revenge), but his own music was always about the more joyful, boastful,
roots of hip-hop.
"For him to be executed like this isn`t just a shock, it knocks you back and makes you re-evaluate the stories you
tell yourself.
The culture is full of 30-something hip-hop nostalgia: Brown Sugar; videos like Missy`s "Work It" being all
b-boy-centric; coffee table books like Back In The Day. The older hip hop generation has been patting ourselves on the back
for surviving, and has been telling the younger kids, `We know what real hip-hop is, let us show you.` There`s something kind
of smug about that."
Associated Press reports that Run DMC was scheduled to perform at tonight`s Washington Wizards home opener along with
a local breakdance group. Now the Wizards organization says the breakers will still perform following a tribute to Jam Master
Jay.
In his 2000 memoir, It`s Like That, Run recalls an early show that demonstrated how fans felt about Jay`s music: "We
hadn`t even started rapping and the crowd couldn`t wait to hear his beats."
He goes on to credit Jay for authoring Run DMC`s trademark outfits. "It was around 1984 and we were making money,
and Jay bought whatever he wanted. One day Jay wore this incredible outfit. He was walking down Jamaica Avenue, the main shopping
drag in Queens, and he had on all this expensive stuff: leather pants and a leather jacket, Adidas, a big gold rope, a black
hat, and some Gazelle glasses. Everybody was checking him out, because he had on everything that everybody else wanted. You
might see somebody with a rope or some Adidas or some Gazelles but ot every one of them on at the same time. So we were doing
well and Jay just was helping to create a nationwide trend and didn`t even know it."
Jason Mizell is survived by a wife and three children.
The legend will be missed.
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