A sensational decades-old hip-hop murder may soon be solved: The death of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay

On Oct. 30, 2002, Run-DMC DJ Jam Master Jay was murdered in cold blood in his recording studio. Are we finally going to find out who did it?

Hip-hop has a long, tragic history of murder and mayhem. Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G., Big L., Fat Pat, Mac Dre, Big Hawk, Magnolia Shorty, XXXTentacion, Nipsey Hustle, Pop Smoke and dozens of others have been shot since the late ’80s. In terms of infamy, the unsolved murders of Shakur and Biggie have attracted the most attention, but right behind them is the shooting of Jason Mizell, otherwise known as Jam Master Jay, the DJ behind Run-DMC.

For more than two decades, the case ran cold with no arrests or convictions. Now, though, that may change.

At around 7:30 p.m. on a cold, rainy Wednesday in late October 2002, two men were buzzed into a recording studio on Merrick Avenue in Queens, New York. They walked up the stairs, down a long hall and into the studio. One man blocked the door while the other, clad in a wool mask, shot Jay in the head as he was playing video games, killing him instantly. Then they vanished.

Two people other people — Lydia High, the studio manager and Tony Rincon, another employee — were in the room at the time. Neither was much help in the investigation. High says she was ordered to lie face down by the man blocking the door, so she didn’t see anything. Rincon was shot in the leg and refused to give a statement to police.

When footage from the four security cameras was checked, it was useless. And despite being in a commercial area and down the block from the 103rd Precinct — a three-minute walk away — no one ever found any security camera video that showed anything.

There is, however, an account from Tanya Edwards, the receptionist at a financial services company with an entrance along the long hallway leading to the studio. She remembers seeing a woman in a brown floppy hat leading a male in a velour tracksuit down the hallway at around the time of the shooting. At first, she identified that woman as High. In 2016, she recanted, saying that she couldn’t be sure.

Jam Master Jay was one of the most liked and most admired rappers of his day. He was by all reports kind and generous and always willing to help out family and friends. (One Christmas, he bought five cars for other people). He stayed out of trouble and was regarded as something of a peacekeeper. So why would anyone want him dead?

In the tight-knit hip-hop community in Queens, there was talk about who was responsible. Because of distrust of the police and the “snitches get stitches” code, no one was willing to go on record. All anyone could do was speculate and theorize.