Thought you all would be interested.
Rapper Jam Master Jay, part of Run DMC, killed in shooting
Wed Oct 30,11:31 PM ET
By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - Jam Master Jay, part of the pioneering rap trio Run DMC, was shot and killed Wednesday, the group's publicist said.
Publicist Tracy Miller confirmed the death of the 37-year-old rapper, whose real name was Jason Mizell.
A legal source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the rapper was shot in the head at a recording studio in the New York City borough of Queens. A second person was shot in the ankle and the shooter was at large, the source said.
Run DMC is widely credited with helping bring hip-hop into music's mainstream, including the group's smash collaboration with Aerosmith on the 1980's standard "Walk This Way."
"We always knew rap was for everyone," Mizell said in a 2001 interview with MTV. "Anyone could rap over all kinds of music."
"It wasn't the soulful R&B of the '70s and '80s," he said of the group's early work. "So we didn't want to be like the soft R&B. We wanted to go hardcore, so we put the rock-and-roll on our rap."
The trio released a greatest-hits album earlier this year. In 2001, the rappers produced Crown Royal, breaking an eight-year silence.
Rapper Jam Master Jay, part of Run DMC, killed in shooting
Wed Oct 30,11:31 PM ET
By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - Jam Master Jay, part of the pioneering rap trio Run DMC, was shot and killed Wednesday, the group's publicist said.
Publicist Tracy Miller confirmed the death of the 37-year-old rapper, whose real name was Jason Mizell.
A legal source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the rapper was shot in the head at a recording studio in the New York City borough of Queens. A second person was shot in the ankle and the shooter was at large, the source said.
Run DMC is widely credited with helping bring hip-hop into music's mainstream, including the group's smash collaboration with Aerosmith on the 1980's standard "Walk This Way."
"We always knew rap was for everyone," Mizell said in a 2001 interview with MTV. "Anyone could rap over all kinds of music."
"It wasn't the soulful R&B of the '70s and '80s," he said of the group's early work. "So we didn't want to be like the soft R&B. We wanted to go hardcore, so we put the rock-and-roll on our rap."
The trio released a greatest-hits album earlier this year. In 2001, the rappers produced Crown Royal, breaking an eight-year silence.
