The rap group Run-D.M.C. was formed in the Hollis section of Queens, New York in the early 1980s, I am from Astoria, Queens never moved in my life and far from Hollis but still in the borough of Queens, my love to my borough and music led me to travel to 205^th Street and Hollis Ave., Queens to see the mural wall painted of this hip-hop pioneer as well as the street sign which was renamed in his name as a commemoration of his importance in music. DJ Jam Master Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell, along with Run (Joseph Simmons), and D.M.C. (Darryl McDaniels), formed part of the pioneering hip-hop group Run-DMC- the group is accredited to this days by all types of musicians and public with being the first rap artists to cross into mainstream popularity and were also the first hip hop group to have sold gold (1984’s Run-DMC), platinum (1985’s King of Rock), and multi-platinum (1986’s Raising Hell) albums.  Other achievements under their belt include being the first hip-hop group with a Rolling Stone Magazine cover and the first hip hop group to have their video played on MTV.

Regrettably, Mizell is the latest of hip-hop’s top stars to die in violence, after Tupac Shakur, who was gunned down in September 1996 in Las Vegas, and The Notorious BIG (Christoper Wallace), who was shot and killed in Los Angeles in March 1997. Crimes which have always been speculated to be a result of an East Coast/West Coast rap war in the 90’s. I then was only in Jr. High School 6^th grade to be precise. But I remember it because the JRHS I went to was surrounded by the projects (Astoria Projects, Queensbridge Projects and Ravenswood Projects) introducing me to hip-hop. The most curious thing to me was the fact that Run DMC songs were never about violence or drugs unlike those of Tupac Shakur and BIG. The group promoted education and unity. DJ Jam Master Jay, a member of the groundbreaking hip-hop group Run-DMC, was shot in the head and killed on October 30th, 2002 in a recording studio in the New York borough of Queens. Jam Master Jay, was one of two men gunned down inside the studio at 7:30 p.m. A New York City Police Department report said that Jason Mizell, 37, died of a gunshot wound to the head. It said that he died on the scene and that another man, Urieco Rincon, 25, was shot in the leg and taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens. He was survived by is survived by his wife, three sons, mother, brother and sister. To this very year, 2014 no arrests had been made and authorities continue to investigate the shooting.