- By Ian Youngs
- Entertainment and Arts Reporter
1 hour ago
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Jam Master Jay's murder shocked the music world in 2002
A court has heard that Run DMC star Jam Master Jay was shot dead by his godson more than two decades ago in revenge for being left out of a drug deal.
Karl Jordan Jr., 40, and another man, Ronald Washington, 59, are on trial for murder in New York.
In their opening arguments Monday, prosecutors claimed the pair carried out an “execution” that was “motivated by greed and revenge.”
However, their lawyers told the jury that they did not kill the pioneering DJ.
Jam Master Jay, real name Jason Mizell, was 37 years old when he was shot in the head in October 2002 at his recording studio in Queens, New York.
He was one-third of Run-DMC, the influential hip hop group known for 1980s tracks such as It's Tricky, It's Like That and the Aerosmith collaboration Walk This Way.
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Run-DMC is one of the most influential groups in hip-hop history
They spoke out against drug culture and even recorded a public service announcement in 1988 called “Just Say No.” But prosecutors said Mizell became involved in cocaine deals as a middleman to support his lifestyle and that of others close to him, as well as the group's music career, which faded.
They said Mr. Jordan, who was 18 at the time, and Mr. Washington, a friend who was staying with Mizell's sister, thought they would be part of a deal worth nearly $200,000 and were upset when they did were excluded.
They planned to kill him after they had “nothing left to do,” New York prosecutor Miranda Gonzalez told jurors, according to Portal.
Another man, Jay Bryant, faces a separate trial in 2026. He is accused of entering the studio through the front door and letting Mr. Jordan and Mr. Washington in through a locked emergency exit before Mr. Jordan allegedly shot Mizell with a handgun.
“He would be murdered in his own music studio by people he knew,” Ms Gonzalez told the court, AFP news agency reported.
“I have no idea who did it.”
But defense attorney Ezra Spilke called the prosecution's account “one version of many” and said the defendant couple had “no idea who did it.”
There was no forensic evidence linking his client, Mr. Washington, to the murder, only “aging memories,” he said.
Mr. Washington was an alcoholic and relied on Mizell to keep a roof over his head. “Why bite the hand that feeds you?” said Mr. Spilke. “Why kill the person you depend on?”
He told the jury: “Mizell was a beloved artist, but convicting the wrong person… does not resolve the tragedy. It just adds one more.”
Mr. Jordan's lawyer, John Diaz, noted that “the narrative has changed over time” and that some prosecution witnesses have cooperated with federal investigators in return for leniency in their own criminal cases.
The trial is expected to last four weeks.