Snitches Get Stitches: The Murder Of Jam Master Jay: UPDATED ON 8/17/2020 Arrests Made!

UPDATE:Ronald “Tinard” Washington and Karl Jordan Jr. were charged with murdering Jam Mastery Jay during a drug deal at the studio that ended with the turntable wizard being shot at point-blank range. 

Court papers said Washington and Jordan were involved in “a conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of a mixture or substance containing cocaine,” and “did knowingly and intentionally kill” Jay.

Washington was convicted in 2007 in a string of armed robberies in New York City and on Long Island and is currently serving a more than 17-year prison sentence. He was due to be released in April 2021.

Jordan is charged with being the trigger man and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Brooklyn federal court Monday afternoon. Washington is set to be arraigned later in the week.

"Back in the day, if someone said that hip hop and rap was a fad, that was a joke to me because they just didn't know what they were talking about."-Jason Mizell

He was the kind of guy that would help friends and strangers alike if they were in need. He single-handedly helped to commercialize rap music.

Jam Master Jay was born as Jason William Mizell on January 21st, 1965 in Brooklyn, New York to  Jesse Mizell and a school teacher named Connie Thompson Mizell. He was the youngest of three siblings. He  always loved music and would often make music out of ordinary objects. At age 3, Jason began playing trumpet. He learned to play bass, guitar, and drums. He performed at his church and in various bands. After he and his family moved to Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1975 at the age of 10, he discovered the turntables.

Hollis was a lower middle class neighborhood. People had moved there from the hoods to seek a better life. All the kids that hung out on Hollis Avenue were called the "Hollis Crew". Jason, Randy Allen and Darren Jordan aka "Big D", who lived across the street from Jason and DJ Hurricane, were some members of the Hollis Crew. The Hollis Crew protected the neighborhood from outsiders who would come around and try to cause trouble. Jason was the peacekeeper of the neighborhood and people always felt safe when he was around.

At 13 years old Jason felt like he was good enough to play in front of people. He attended Andrew Jackson High School and started calling himself Jazzy Jase. Jason started playing in parks, local parties and bars. He became a DJ because he just wanted to be a part of the band. He played bass and drums in several garage bands. In 1982, he joined Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels just after they graduated from high school and agreed to DJ for them. Run And D.M.C. also adopted Jason's wardrobe.

Around 1984 Howard "Happy" Mason and Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nicolas formed and ran a drug smuggling gang called the Bebos.  They began selling drugs in Hollis and netted as much as $200,000 per month in profit.

On Run-D.M.C's album Raising Hell, they covered rock band Aerosmith's song  "Walk this way." Jason also played keyboards, bass, and live drums in addition to his turntable work. After the release of this album, Run-D.M.C was rocketed to superstardom.

Jason made a lot of money and he would share his wealth. He wanted everyone to do well and would help those out that he could. During Christmas time he'd give out gifts in his neighborhood. That is what Run-DMC's song "Christmas at Hollis" is about. 

The Hollis Crew would would travel with Jason and Run-DMC and work for them as security. Jason tremendously helped Randy Allen and Big D and their families.

In 1989, the popularity of Run-D.M.C. started to fade and Jason established Jam Master Jay Records. The label is most known for signing 50 Cent and Onyx. During this time, gangster rap was introduced to the music scene and the world as Jason knew it became more violent. On consecutive Christmas holidays, he survived a car accident and a gunshot wound to the leg, respectively.He also had been receiving threatening, anonymous phone calls. Jason started carrying a gun for protection.

On October 30th, 2002, Bonita, had a funny feeling as the cold rain poured down. 

Bonita's brother, Jason, was in his recording studio five minutes from where he grew up. It was about 7:30 p.m. and Jason's group "Rusty Waters" was in the studio with him preparing to go on tour. Rusty Waters consisted of Jason's nephew Rodney Jones and Randy Allen. 

Rodney Jones wasn't there at the time, but Mike B., Urieco Rincon and an aspiring female artist were in the studio. Mike B. was a rapper and Rincon was a car sitter. There was a buzz at the door. Receptionist and Randy Allen's sister, Lydia Hyde, let two people in brandishing guns as Jason and Rincon were playing video games. Hyde ran for the door as the first gunman entered, but was stopped by the second gunman and told to get on her hands and knees on the floor. Jason couldn't reach for his gun fast enough and was shot once in the head, execution style, and killed. Rincon, was sitting right next to Jason and claims he was reaching for his phone and was shot in the ankle but survived.

As Rodney came out of the barber shop that was close by, Mike B. ran up to him and told him that there was shooting in the studio. When Rodney got inside the studio, Hyde was on the floor screaming and Jason was also on the floor with his feet to the door. He wasn't moving so Rodney nudged him with his foot, trying to wake him up. Rodney then turned around and went back out of the studio and down the stairs. That is when the police showed up.

There had been surveillance cameras in the studio at the time of the shooting, but someone had stolen the tape. There was also a police station right across the street..

Jason's business partner, Randy Allen was a suspect. Allegedly on that fateful day, Allen saw what happened, ran out and may have fired his gun at the fleeing perpetrators. It turned out that Allen had a big life insurance policy out on Jason. Allegedly, Jason had previously told a friend that Allen was stealing money from him. Allen denied having anything to do with Jason's murder or stealing money from him.

Curtis Scoon was another person that was looked into. Allegedly, Scoon and Jason had beef with each other over a drug deal gone bad. Many people think that this is ridiculous because Jason never sold drugs. But, investigating this hypothesis, authorities found out that Jason was terribly in debt. He had been trying to take care of so many people for so long. And that he in fact tried to purchase some cocaine, but the deal went bad. Some say that Scoon did blame him for losing a whole lot of money. Allegedly, Randy Allen had told some people that Scoon was the one who killed Jason and that his is the one who told him that it was Scoon who pulled the trigger.

Executive at Def Jam Records,"Big D." Jordan and his son knew Jason from the neighborhood and became suspects in his murder. Jason introduced Big D's son to the rap game, by using his connections at Rush Management to get a job in the office.  There was a theory that Jason owed a debt that he couldn't pay and that is why he was killed. Big D and his son deny any involvement with Jason's murder. Big D also said that, "Everybody in the studio that day is a culprit and should be arrested or buried."

In 2003, Kenneth McGriff, a convicted drug dealer and longtime friend of Murder Inc. founders Irving "Irv Gotti" Lorenzo and his older brother Christopher, were investigated for targeting Jason because the DJ defied an industry blacklist of rapper 50 Cent that was imposed because of "Ghetto Qu'ran", a song 50 Cent wrote about McGriff's drug history. 50 Cent was seen as a snitch. 50 Cent had also been picking on Ja Rule who was a "henchman" for Murder Inc.

In April 2007, federal prosecutors named Ronald Washington as an accomplice in Jason's murder. According to court papers filed by the prosecution, Washington "pointed his gun at those present in the studio, ordered them to get on the ground and provided cover for his associate to shoot and kill Jason Mizell."

Washington was a guy from the neighborhood and was allegedly staying with Jason's mother back in October of 2002. He claimed that on the night of Jason's murder, Jason had given Washington his gun and $200 and told him to go buy some bullets. Washington said that Jason was scared and wanted protection. Washington also claimed that he saw Big D and his son run into Jason's studio around the time of the murder. Washington had been a suspect from the beginning and police originally thought that he was a possible lookout. He also is a suspect in the 1995 murder of Randy "Stretch" Walker, a former close associate of the late rapper Tupac Shakur. 

Jason's case is still open and unsolved.

The Scratch DJ Academy in Manhattan was founded in 2002, the year of his death. The academy was created to "provide unparalleled education and access to the art form of the DJ and producer."

Jason was the father of three sons: Jason Mizell Jr., Jesse Mizell, and T.J. Mizell who are all DJ's. He also had a daughter, Tyra Myricks. 

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