Run DMC's Jam Master Jay shot to death in Queens, NY

[shempy]

If this ain't gangster rap, then Led Zepplin isn't rock and roll.

Well, if you use one song to make up your mind, Led Zeppelin isn't rock and roll. Either way, I am sure you have already condemned Led Zep to hell for all their fornicating and what not.

[rdb3]

That wasn't rap. It was R&B.

[dommie]

gangster rap they were NOT. all about having fun and dancing and what not. i guess Burbank is a different world, but on the east coast run dmc was like the comercial start of funky urban music called rap. they were good hearted and nice guys. jay will be missed.

[dfwgator]

Run-DMC was the one rap act I could tolerate, this is sad to hear.

[BurbankKarl]

In college, I remember working EVENT STAFF at a Beastie Boys/Run DMC concert at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, WA in 1987. It was cool, the crowd was cool...bought the tape and wore it out playing it that summer. I wouldnt be caught anywhere near a rap show now... Wonder what LL Cool J (who endorsed Pataki) will say about all this.

[Major Matt Mason]

Nobody compared him to Jimmy Hendrix, baby boomer.

Not a baby boomer, but a 'tweener. I get to laugh at the excesses of both groups. I think boomers contributed more good music, but I tend to lean towards Gen-Xers in most other ways. And I wasn't comparing Jam Master to Jimi, because I would never compare a DJ to a guitar genius.

The guy was creative and made some catchy music.

I said I sort of liked Run-DMC- that's high praise, considering they were rappers.

He also was a christian and somebody's son.

Perhaps, but there are many self-proclaimed christians who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. I hear Snoop Dog is born-again, meaning he has traded in his mic for a video camera, which is used to tape naked co-eds (great gig if you can get it). Obviously, some of the people the Jam Master associated with weren't christians, judging by his demise. And yes, I'm sure his parents are grieving.

[Mr. Mojo]

Outgoing prayers to the Jam Master's family.

[BurbankKarl]

(two assailants)


Run-DMC deejay slain



By TAMER EL-GHOBASHY, MARTIN MBUGUA and DAVE GOLDINER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Jam Master Jay, a legendary figure from the early days of rap music, was shot in the head and killed last night inside his recording studio in Queens, police said.
The founding member of the platinum-selling group Run-DMC was gunned down by two men who were buzzed into the second-floor studio on Merrick Blvd. in Jamaica around 7:30 p.m., cops said.

A 25-year-old man, whose name was not released, was shot and wounded by the attackers, who fled. Two women who were making a recording in the studio were not hurt, cops said.

Police said they had no motive for the slaying, which took place near the Jamaica bus terminal - a mile from the 37-year-old rapper's childhood stomping grounds in Hollis.

"I can't believe this," said life-long friend Garfield McDonald, 35. "Everybody loved Jay. He didn't bother anybody."

Dozens of rap promoters, musicians and friends exchanged hugs in the rain outside the studio where Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was killed.

His 15-year-son, Jason, arrived in tears along with his mother, who took comfort in the arms of Lyor Cohen, a rap executive who gave Run-DMC one of its first big breaks.

"I'm trying to tell myself this isn't true," Cohen said.

The killing was just the latest blow to the hip hop community, which has seen some of its biggest stars - such as Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls - die violently.

Mizell, who worked as a producer, burst onto the rap scene in the early '80s when he founded Run-DMC with Hollis pals Joseph (Run) Simmons and Darryl (DMC) McDaniels.

Their manager was Russell Simmons, Joseph's brother, who went on to become a millionaire rap mogul and activist.

"Jay was a wonderful person," said Cory Robbins, who signed Run-DMC to their first recording contract in 1983. "You won't hear anyone in the industry who has anything bad to say about him. This is a terrible loss."

Known for its hard-driving style that mixed elements of heavy-metal rock, the band was the first rap group to earn a platinum-selling record, for its 1985 release "Raising Hell."

Top of the charts

The leather-clad group broke into the mainstream with crossover hits "It's Like That," "Sucker MC's," and "Walk This Way," a number with Aerosmith's Steve Tyler that made the top 10 on the pop charts.

Mizell was the group's disk jockey and created the stripped-down beats and rhythms that formed the musical foundation for their songs.

He was known for scratching records as his two partners rapped - a groundbreaking role that the group lionized in song: "He's the one in charge/It's up to him to rock beats that are truly large."

The group's career fizzled in the late '80s, eclipsed by other acts like LL Cool J and Public Enemy.

After a hiatus of 13 years, Run-DMC tried to mount a comeback last year, but its album, "Crown Royal," flopped.

Despite the failure, the group insisted it was not washed up. "We're the Rolling Stones of hip hop," McDaniels bragged last year.

While Joseph Simmons became a minister, Mizell founded a New York school for aspiring rap deejays called the Scratch DJ Academy.

He offered six-week courses aiming to teach up-and-coming deejays the history of rap and the techniques needed to keep crowds moving and rappers happy.

"I'm really a fan of turntablism," Mizell told AllHipHop.com, a rap Web site. "Turntablists are musicians."

[agrandis]

WHO???

[Glenn]

Way too much violence in the world.

[The Great Satan]

That wasn't rap. It was R&B.

Sorry about the confusion. Not quite feeling myself today -- still pretty shook up over Paul Wellstone's death, you know.

[GOPyouth]

I grew up on Run DMC. It's sad this happened to Jay. I distinctly remember the skating rink days and skating to "You Be Illin." That and Christmas in Hollis.. Can't go wrong with these lyrics..

It's Christmas time in Hollis Queens
Mom's cookin chicken and collard greens.
Rice, and stuffin, macaroni and cheese.
And Santa puts gifts under Christmas trees.

Those who have dissed these guys and Jay don't know much about them. When NWA and Snoop came around, RUN DMC still pushed the positive message.

[tallhappy]

Any songs that I, a 41 year old white guy, might know?

Rock Box. Walk this Way.

They covered Walk This Way and resurrected Aerosmith's then deader than dead career.

[GOPyouth]

The country is at war and you people worry about balck gangster rapists. Crazy!

I don't know what black gangster rapist you're referring to. Last time I checked this was a thread about Jam Master Jay. He spun records to such songs as "Walk this Way" and "Christmas in Hollis." That's hardly gangster. Hardly referring to rape.

[GOPyouth]

I was referring to black gangster rap trash.

I have no beef with that. :)

[montag813]

Jam Master Jay was a wonderful (and clean) rap pioneer. He did not need to rap about "bitches" or "hoes", or about fantasies of murder. His songs are fun and upbeat, and one of the highlight of the 1980s. He will be missed by myself and my wife.

[lilsparky]

There was a hip-hop DJ attacked in Albany, NY yesterday, too. Only reason he isn't dead is the gun jammed on the last shot. I'm link-challenged, but if you go to www.timesunion.com, the story is right there.