reported by WNBC in New York. No links yet. Real name was Jason Mizell (Jam Master Jay) Damn. Very sad. Saw them in Concert about a year ago. Was shot outside a recording studio, about 7:30pm on merrick blvd. in Jamaica, Queens. Supposedly two gunmen got into a waiting room where Jay was sitting, shot him once and shot another man. The second man was shot in the leg and was taken to a local hospital. In case you are wondering about Run DMC, All three members enjoyed a middle-class upbringing in Hollis, Queens. They've been friends since childhood and entered college together in 1982. Run's older brother is legendary rap mogul Russell Simmons. Run DMC's history making achievements which changed the face of rap and popular music include: The first rap group to win a Grammy Award. The first rappers to grace the cover of Rolling Stone. The first rap act to earn a gold album. (RUN-DMC/1984) The first rap act to earn a platinum album (King Of Rock/1985). The first rap act to earn a multi-platinum album (Raising Hell/1986). The first rap group to combine rap with live, original metal guitar. The first rap group to have their videos played on MTV (as a result of the rap/rock collaboration with Aerosmith in Walk This Way. The first rappers to appear on "American Bandstand" and "Saturday Night Live". The first rap act to reach the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 ("Walk This Way"/1986).
here's is a link, but you have to register. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-NY-Rapper-Killed.html terrible news.
JMJ, I, as an aspiring DJ, am gonna miss ya around, but you're in a better place. Your legacy and memories will live on!!!!
That's bad. They were a bit before my time, but they (Run DMC) were one of the few rappers I liked. What are we left with ?,bling bling gangstas, self-absorbed whingers and dead people releasing yet another album from beyond the grave. Rap has lost one of it's greatest.
Met him once, he seemed like a very nice man. Jay wasn't the flashiest DJ on the block, but he certainly was an innovator. Congorilla's got a nice post on it on the Metro board here: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=21745 He's the one in charge It's up to him to rock beats that are truly large
I kid you not, my assistant was coming to work today with two buddies dressed as run dmc for halloween. i wonder if he heard the news. damn, just terrible.
Damn, yeah I heard this last night. I was stunned. They were one of my favorite groups ever, in any genre. I grew up on them and this hits home more than any music tragedy I've ever heard about. "The turntables might wobble but they don't fall down"
At least the dailies in NYC have it right -- all of the TV newscasts were saying that "rapper" JMJ was killed. It's very sad, but also a bit weird. Who'd want to kill a member of Run-DMC?
Yet, Vanilla Ice, Eminem, MC Snow and other hacks are still alive. I'm angry sad and effing numb. It was the Sugar Hill Gang, and Run DMC that really started it off for me. I still remember collecting fat orange & black laces in my grammar school days. I also still remember my sneakers falling off cuz I kept my sneaks laceless. F*** da world. What's even sadder, is that my roommates and I were playing GTA Vice City and we listened to Rock Box while doing missions. SO when we play later tonite and in the future, when we listen...we'll feel sad. It's 10:15am and I feel like getting drunk...And I ain't much of a drinker.
And the studio in Jersey where they recorded 'Rapper's Delight' burned down a few weeks ago, didn't it? Not a good time for rap.
Christmas time in Hollis, Queens... My roommate is from Hollis too and he mentioned how they were from round the way.
Oddly enough I played a show with RUN-DMC a few years ago. They were all ace guys, this is indeed a tragedy. R.I.P. http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/Northeast/10/31/run.dmc.killing/index.html
That is horrible news. Those three guys opened up a huge world of music to me and I'm sure millions of other people. R.I.P.
I too was saddened by this. Horrible news. It is sad to think that someone would want to shoot one of the most influential forces in music (not just rap) from the past 20 years. Run DMC, led by the spinning of JMJ, brought rap and rap/rock fusion to the masses in the early 80s. Almost every rap and rap/rock act that has followed (along with Aerosmith) has built their success on the roads paved by those three. This is truly a sad day.
I think the vast majority of rap/hip-hop albums released in the last few years were proof enough of that. This is just sad and pointless icing on the cake.
I heard it on the radio on NPR this morning and could not belived it. JMJ was one of the greatest DJs of hip hop today. I for myself and the hip hop nation will surely miss him as I know he's in a better place with the Lord. My thoughts and prayers go to Run DMC, his friends and his family.