Rap Musician, DJ. One of the pioneers in rap music, he was the disc jockey and founding member of the multi-platinum selling rap group "Run-D.M.C.," which included himself, Joseph 'DJ Run' Simmons and Darryl 'DMC' McDaniels. In the 1980s after the trio graduated from St. Pascal's Catholic School in their native Hollis, Queens, New York, "Run-D.M.C." became one of the first rap groups to become a household name. Jason Mizell's manipulations of the turntables, a process known as scratching, was an essential part of the groups sound. Turned down by a number of major labels, the group finally signed with Profile Records, which released their first single in April of 1983. Run-D.M.C. went on to notch Rap Music's first platinum album, "Raising Hell" in 1986. By the end of the 1980's Run-D.M.C.'s fusion of rap and rock brought the group and the rap genre mainstream success and paved the way for all who followed. The trio became the first rappers to appear on MTV, American Bandstand, Saturday Night Live and the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. They were also the first rap group to earn gold and platinum albums and the first to be nominated for a Grammy. On February 25, 2002, Run-D.M.C. were the first hip hop artists inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame. On the evening of October 30, 2002, the 37 year old Mizell was shot and killed along with another individual at a recording studio near his home in Jamaica, Queens, New York by two gunmen who were unknown until they were arrested in August of 2020 and later convicted on February 27, 2024. His death sent shockwaves through the music industry. Following the shooting, a large and shocked crowd quickly formed in the cold rain, crying and comforting one another and occasionally lashing out in anger. In 2009, Jam Master Jay was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Run-D.M.C. (the second hip hop group inducted after Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five). While rap has been criticized for promoting violence, Run-D.M.C. created rap with a social conscience, urging listeners to stay in school, fight prejudice and love one another.