January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002
Jam Master Jay at the Dapper Dan Easter Party at
Harlem World - 1988
Jam Master Jay and Big L
Jay with Run and D in Paris
Run-D.M.C. - 1984
King of Rock - 1985
Raising Hell - 1986
Tougher Than Leather - 1988
Run DMC - Peter Piper
Run DMC - Run's House
Run DMC - Sucker M.C.'s
Run DMC - Mary, Mary
Run DMC - Beats to the Rhyme
Background
Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1965. At 3 years old he started playing trumpet. His family moved to Hollis, Queens in 1975 where he soon discovered the turntables and started DJing at the age of 13.
According to Rolling Stone, Jay played bass and drums in several garage bands prior to joining the legendary hip hop group Run-DMC. In 1982, he met Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels just after they graduated from high school and agreed to DJ for them because he wanted to be part of the band. On Run-D.M.C's debut album Run-D.M.C. and the triple platinum Raising Hell, Mizell played keyboards, bass, and live drums in addition to his turntable work.
Impact
Run-D.M.C. not only changed the sound and improved the commercial viability of hip hop music and culture they also changed hip hop's look. The group's appearance was a distinct break from the rappers and dj's who preceded them. Before Run-D.M.C. the rap uniform included jheri curls, open-chested shirts, sequins and other accessories more commonly remembered as being associated with disco and r&b acts of the day. The group's look in turn was directly influenced by Jam Master Jay.
"Run-D.M.C. took hardcore hip-hop from an underground street sensation to a pop-culture phenomenon. Although earlier artists, such as Grandmaster Flash and the Sugar Hill Gang, made rap's initial strides on the airwaves, it was Run-D.M.C. that introduced hats, gold chains, and untied sneakers to youth culture's most stubborn demographic group: young white male suburban rock fans. In the process, the trio helped change the course of popular music, paving the way for rap's second generation."
- Rolling Stone
"We got our style from Jam Master Jay. Jam Master Jay used to wear the leather suit, the Godfather hat, the big gold chains, the old laces in his sneakers, in high school. When we first formed the group, Russell [Simmons] seen Jay and said, 'That's your look! That's going to be your look!' I probably would've have just worn anything, what I would have worn naturally, but Jay brought the whole Run-DMC, black leather, superhero, Batman and Robin look to us."- DMC
According to old school battle rapper Kool Moe Dee, Jam Master Jay suggested that he not be overly aggressive prior to an on-air battle between Run-D.M.C. and himself and Special K (both members of the group The Treacherous Three) during a 1984 appearance on the short-lived television show Graffiti Rock.
Jay along with Def Jam cofounder Rick Rubin insisted a remake of the 1975 hard rock song "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith be included on the 1986 Run-D.M.C. album Raising Hell. Despite Run and D's protests (the duo hated the idea), the track was recorded as planned and the song and video became one of the biggest hits of the '80s, reaching number four on the Hot 100, and cemented Run–D.M.C.'s crossover status. It also resurrected Aerosmith's career
In 1989, Mizell established the label Jam Master Jay Records, which achieved success in 1993 with the group Onyx. The label's roster eventually included Jayo Felony, Black Child and FAM-LEE.
In 1996, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson was brought to Jay's attention and signed to JMJ as well. Jackson credits Mizell with teaching him how to count bars, write choruses and structure songs. Jackson's first official appearance was on the Onyx song "React" from their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. Jay produced Jackson's first album Power of the Dollar which was never released.
In 2012 Jay was ranked #10 on Spin magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list.
Death
On October 30, 2002, at 7:30 pm Mizell was shot to death in a Merrick Boulevard recording studio in Jamaica, Queens.
On November 6, 2002 Run and DMC announced at a press conference that they were retiring Run-D.M.C. and would never again perform under that name.
