Jam Master Jay 1965 – 2002

Biography

Jam Master Jay was the sound of Run-DMC — the DJ whose scratching and steady hands turned a Queens rap group into the biggest act in hip-hop. Born Jason Mizell on January 21, 1965, in Brooklyn, he joined Joseph ‘Run’ Simmons and Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels behind the turntables, and his cuts drove the hits that broke rap into the mainstream: ‘It’s Tricky,’ ‘My Adidas,’ and the 1986 Aerosmith collaboration ‘Walk This Way,’ which put rap on rock radio for good. Run-DMC became the first rap group to go gold, then platinum, and entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. Jay later founded his own label and mentored young Queens artists. He was shot and killed in his Jamaica, Queens recording studio on October 30, 2002, at 37.