Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC dead?

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What the hell -- anyone who gets the allhiphop.com spam will have just seen this in their mailboxes:

"Legendary DJ Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC was shot in the head and according to sources, killed in a studio in Queens, New York an hour ago. Another unidentified man was shot in the leg. Authorities had no motive at press time. Please send your prayers to his family and friends."

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 31 October 2002 03:25 (twenty-three years ago)

:'(

― jess (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 31 October 2002 03:34 (twenty-three years ago)

Are you serious Ned? Shit, I should get offline and call a press friend who would know...

― hstencil, Thursday, 31 October 2002 03:35 (twenty-three years ago)

This isn't another hoax, is it?

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 31 October 2002 03:35 (twenty-three years ago)

I hope not. I'm not especially looking fwd to Run-D.M.C.'s next album or anything, but no one deserves to die in that manner

― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 31 October 2002 03:37 (twenty-three years ago)

If anyone can get confirmation, please do so. All I'm saying is what I'm seeing in my mail.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 31 October 2002 03:40 (twenty-three years ago)

http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=1302

Here's the page Ned's news is culled from. One source is just not enough, though. I'll start mourning after I hear more.

― paul cox (paul cox), Thursday, 31 October 2002 03:41 (twenty-three years ago)

like a duck in a noose, indeed

― boxcubed (boxcubed), Thursday, 31 October 2002 03:47 (twenty-three years ago)

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-jam,0,6751387.story?coll=ny%2Dtop%2Dspan%2Dheadlines

― Honda, Thursday, 31 October 2002 03:52 (twenty-three years ago)

:`(

― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 31 October 2002 04:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, it's looking more and more like truth.

JMJ, RIP

― paul cox (paul cox), Thursday, 31 October 2002 04:00 (twenty-three years ago)

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1458435/20021030/run_dmc.jhtml?headlines=true

― paul cox (paul cox), Thursday, 31 October 2002 04:04 (twenty-three years ago)

horrible. i thought hip-hop had got all this viciousness out of its system. how wrong can you be? great shame - great band.

― Charlie (Charlie), Thursday, 31 October 2002 04:17 (twenty-three years ago)

what are you talking about charlie

― boxcubed (boxcubed), Thursday, 31 October 2002 04:23 (twenty-three years ago)

JMJ

Jean Michel Jarre died??

Seriously though, this is sad.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 31 October 2002 04:27 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm pretty certain that the platform his turntables were on (at least in the 80's) had a giant "JMJ" draped across it. Is my memory playing tricks?

― paul cox (paul cox), Thursday, 31 October 2002 04:31 (twenty-three years ago)

what are you talking about charlie

Well, I just think it's fairly odd, cos Run DMC have never really been attached to anything even vaguely gangstery, if my memory serves me. Am I wrong on this?

― Charlie (Charlie), Thursday, 31 October 2002 04:42 (twenty-three years ago)

No, but they worked with Fred Durst and Kid Rock.

― paul cox (paul cox), Thursday, 31 October 2002 04:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Still, the new album should be interesting: Sympathy Reviews

― Charlie (Charlie), Thursday, 31 October 2002 04:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Why assume that this had anything to do with gang activity?

― Matt C., Thursday, 31 October 2002 05:10 (twenty-three years ago)

Why assume that this had anything to do with gang activity?

Good point. Just musing aloud. I concede...

― Charlie (Charlie), Thursday, 31 October 2002 05:22 (twenty-three years ago)

this sucks. rest in peace.

― Rahul Kamath (Rahul Kamath), Thursday, 31 October 2002 05:36 (twenty-three years ago)

RIP.

― robin carmody (robin carmody), Thursday, 31 October 2002 05:54 (twenty-three years ago)

the new album came out last year; unless there's one in the works I don't know about

― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 31 October 2002 06:19 (twenty-three years ago)

the new album came out last year; unless there's one in the works I don't know about

It certainly looks like they had something in the pipeline:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457334/09052002/run_dmc.jhtml

Mmm...P Diddy.

― Charlie (Charlie), Thursday, 31 October 2002 06:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Like Public Enemy said in Fight the Power:

Run-DMC first said a deejay could be a band
Stand on its feet, get you out your seat

And he was right. Jam Master Jay was the first DJ/performer that made arenas around the world fill up with hip-hop fans about to have one of the nights of their lives. I should know, because Run DMC headlined the first gig I ever went to. Jam Master Jay was the master of a disco scratch, there wasn't a break that he couldn't catch.

― JoB (JoB), Thursday, 31 October 2002 08:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Shit... godspeed Jay.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 31 October 2002 09:13 (twenty-three years ago)

damn. RIP.

― Jeff W, Thursday, 31 October 2002 09:58 (twenty-three years ago)

awful. talent and a gentleman. take it easy, Jay.

― Barnaby (Barnaby), Thursday, 31 October 2002 10:01 (twenty-three years ago)

is there any news on why this happened? i must admit, when i saw it on tv this morning i immediately thought 'gang related'... but run dmc were so detached from that strand of hip hop. i was watching the infamous bill hicks chicago show on video last night. remember the bit about how it's always the good guys that get murdered? peace, jay.

― s magnet, Thursday, 31 October 2002 10:47 (twenty-three years ago)

just a massive shock and a major tragedy. how fucked up is this?!

― angelo (angelo), Thursday, 31 October 2002 11:08 (twenty-three years ago)

Terrible news, RIP.

― stevo (stevo), Thursday, 31 October 2002 11:51 (twenty-three years ago)

They showed this news on MTV while playing Missy's "Work It", which just goes to show what a great legacy Jay has left behind.

― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 31 October 2002 12:05 (twenty-three years ago)

"Peter Piper" made me give up the air-guitar at age 10 to take up the air-turntable. What a fucking tune!

― tacit (tacit), Thursday, 31 October 2002 12:30 (twenty-three years ago)

Man, that's really shitty. Run-DMC's first album is still in my all-time top 25. RIP.

― J (Jay), Thursday, 31 October 2002 13:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Shit! This morning, on the Washingtonpost.com website, there was an article about this, and there was a quote from Chuck D. where he blamed this death on the record labels because they promote violence, or some bullshit like that, and now it's been replaced with a different article. It pissed me off, Chuck D. doing his typical attack on the record industry, but in a totally inappropriate and stupid way. Did anyone else see this?

― Nick A. (Nick A.), Thursday, 31 October 2002 15:57 (twenty-three years ago)

there's already a thread about that, Nick:
You Played Yourself

― Jeff W, Thursday, 31 October 2002 16:06 (twenty-three years ago)

D'oh! When I come in in the morning, I start at the bottom and read up chronologically. This is now obvious.

― Nick A. (Nick A.), Thursday, 31 October 2002 16:12 (twenty-three years ago)

just a major shock, our heroes often die through there own stupid mentality but to be in a studio and to be shot is simply a shocking and saddening affair.

Having grown up on RUN
DMC - a group so genre, cultural and race splittingly amazing i feel so shocked by this. But i would like to end on a high note - thankyou Jay et al for the glorious peices you gave us all, i did have "king of rock" and "tougher than leather" in my bag for saturdays dj'ing - im in two minds now whether to take them

People help me out - Tribute or Rubber necking

― james (james), Thursday, 31 October 2002 16:46 (twenty-three years ago)

Play 'em.

― hstencil, Thursday, 31 October 2002 16:58 (twenty-three years ago)

kurtis blow did it! Its really too bad, first rap tape I ever bought!!! RIP!

― Chris V. (Chris V), Thursday, 31 October 2002 17:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Absolutely play 'em.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 31 October 2002 17:08 (twenty-three years ago)

I am going crazy racking my brain, doesn't el-p or aesop rock have a lyric where they shoot jam master jay??

someone help me out with this one.

― Josh Dowling, Thursday, 31 October 2002 17:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Hit it Jay!

― Scott Stanley, Friday, 1 November 2002 09:29 (twenty-three years ago)

run dmc never meant shit to me

― Queen G (Queeng), Friday, 1 November 2002 14:17 (twenty-three years ago)

"run dmc never meant shit to me" posted by Queen G

That's cool, cause you never meant shit to anyone (and probably never will)...while Jam Master Jay and the music he helped make meant something to millions of people around the world.

RIP Jam Master Jay...:(

this christmastime in Hollis Queens
Moms cookin' chicken and collarred greens
but she'll be mourning the death of her little boy Jason
cause of some kinda violent dream some street punk was chasin'
a good man with a good heart that did nothing but good in his community
is taken down with one bullet and assholes want to be offensive rather than at least extend some sympathy
to a fallen fellow human's family

― Nickalicious, Friday, 1 November 2002 20:50 (twenty-three years ago)

nick i adore your rap rock sincerity style, ilm should take a page for real

― ep, Saturday, 2 November 2002 08:58 (twenty-three years ago)

a little baby cries

― Queen G (Queeng), Sunday, 3 November 2002 05:19 (twenty-three years ago)

seventeen years pass...

The finally arrested Jam Master Jays killers and its LiL D who everyone said did it 18 years ago way to go NYPD you freakin lames via ⁦@nytimes⁩ https://t.co/zqojmW9ArR
— Dante Ross (@DanteRoss) August 17, 2020

― healthy butts on perfect cocaine (sic), Monday, 17 August 2020 20:05 (five years ago)

you freakin lames

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Monday, 17 August 2020 20:21 (five years ago)

he don't want no scrub

― healthy butts on perfect cocaine (sic), Monday, 17 August 2020 20:23 (five years ago)

I never thought they'd charge anyone, much less bring his murderers to justice, but yeah, if it was that obvious from the start, it's pretty sickening it took this long. RIP JMJ

― birdistheword, Monday, 17 August 2020 20:54 (five years ago)

yeah, i mean i poke fun at the tweet, but the whole revelation is kind of weird and a reminder of a very sad thing.

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Monday, 17 August 2020 21:15 (five years ago)

one year passes...

2003: a writer for Playboy names Tinard Washington as the shooter in his piece on the killing

2021: Facebook and venture capitalism have strengthened journalism so well that the same writer has to start a blog to post his heavily-researched 7,300 word followup.

― bobo honkin' slobo babe (sic), Friday, 22 October 2021 18:57 (four years ago)

Thanks for the link, but yeah, this should be a cover story for a major magazine, not a blog post. Terribly sad but great article nonetheless.

― birdistheword, Friday, 22 October 2021 21:54 (four years ago)

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