Monday, October 30 will officially mark the 15-year anniversary of Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell’s killing. New York City police detectives have since conceded that the case has gone cold, with any potential leads in finding Mizell’s killer failing to prove fruitful.
The pioneering Run-DMC member and posthumous Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee was slain in his Queens, New York studio in 2002 at approximately 7:30 p.m. Two men were reportedly buzzed into the studio’s security gate, when one of the men hugged Jam Master Jay before gunfire erupted. While one round missed, a second, fatal found fired at point-blank range is believed to have entered the left side of Jam Master Jay’s head.
Authorities have gone on record as saying at least four other men were in the studio, but none provided enough details to produce useful leads.
“It’s not resolved to the legal eye, but the street always talks,” Mizell Family friend Jeremy “JL” Lam told the Associated Press.
In 2007, federal prosecutors identified Ronald “Tenad” Washington as an armed accomplice of a second unidentified gunman who shot Mizell. Washington denied involvement, was never formally charged, and the case has since gone cold.
After leading the pioneering group Run-DMC to prominence with both his turntable wizardry and stylistic cues, Jay opened his 24/7 Studio in what was considered a violent section of Queens to help up and coming artists. He mentored Onyx and a young 50 Cent under his JMJ imprint.
Mizell died at the age of 37. He was survived by his wife, three sons, mother, brother and sister.
