Jam Master Jay

Jam Master Jay (born January 21, 1965, New York, New York, U.S.—died October 30, 2002, Queens, New York) was an American rap musician and producer who was a member of Run-DMC, the first rap group to attract a worldwide audience. The group is credited with bringing hip-hop into the cultural mainstream, known for such hits as “It’s Like That” and “Walk This Way.” In 2002 Jam Master Jay was fatally shot, and two men were convicted of his murder in 2024.

Jam Master Jay learned several instruments, including drums and bass, while growing up. He teamed with Run (Joe Simmons) and DMC (Darryl McDaniels) to form the group in the early 1980s. The trio’s debut album, Run-D.M.C. (1984), featuring the hit singles “It’s like That” and “Sucker MCs,” became the first rap album to attain gold status (sales of 500,000 copies). The band’s follow-up effort, King of Rock (1985), also went gold. Jam Master Jay, who had performed as a deejay from his early teens, provided the hard, pounding beats and scratching of records on his turntable that were an integral part of the stripped-down sound pioneered by the group.

Run-DMC was also credited with being the first group to fuse rap and rock melodies. The trio’s third album, Raising Hell (1986), included a wildly successful remake of rock band Aerosmith’s 1975 hit “Walk This Way”; the video for the remake became one of the most-played music videos in the history of MTV. Raising Hell sold more than three million copies worldwide, but Run-DMC’s popularity dropped off significantly thereafter. Jam Master Jay later made a name for himself as a producer of young hip-hop acts. Run-DMC’s final album, Crown Royal, was released to enthusiastic reviews in 2001.

In 2002 fans were stunned by the news that Jam Master Jay had been shot dead at his recording studio in New York City. Various investigations were undertaken over the next several years, and in 2020 two longtime suspects—Karl Jordan, Jr., who was Jam Master Jay’s godson, and Ronald Washington, a longtime friend—were indicted for the musician’s murder. Four years later they were found guilty. According to prosecutors, Jam Master Jay had begun dealing cocaine to pay bills, and Jordan and Washington killed him over a drug deal gone bad.