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Was Jam Master Jay killed because of his ties to 50 Cent? Police speculate that the young rapper's ridicule of gangsta rap may have inspired the murder of his mentor, the Run-DMC DJ by Gary Susman

To the rap world, Wednesday's murder of Jam Master Jay seemed inexplicable. The 37-year-old Run-DMC DJ was beloved as an old-school mentor, and his group had a reputation for avoiding feuds and preaching against violence. Nonetheless, police speculate that Jay (real name: Jason Mizell) may have been killed because of one of his protégés, fellow Queens-born rapper 50 Cent, a rising star who may have angered other hip-hoppers because of his lampooning of gangsta rap.

The rising rapper, who is poised for fame with an appearance on the soundtrack album to Eminem's upcoming movie ''8 Mile,'' is known for his parodies of other rappers' songs. This summer, he had a hit called ''Wanksta'' that ridicules gangsta rappers who can't come up with enough cash to buy the fancy cars they boast about because of their frequent stints behind bars. ''One of the theories is that somebody was trying to get back at 50 Cent by taking out Mizell,'' a police spokesperson told the New York Times.

50 Cent (real name: Curtis Jackson) was scheduled to perform Wednesday night in midtown Manhattan, a few miles away from the Queens studio where Jay was shot. Police informed him of the murder and convinced him to cancel the show after what they called a credible threat, the New York Daily News reports. Police also offered to provide him with uniformed cops to guard him, but he declined and left the city, the Daily News reports.

The New York Post reports that he has already survived two attacks on his life, back in 2000. He was stabbed in March of that year and shot three times in May. New York police sources told the Post that cops in California and Florida had said that there were still active threats against the 26-year-old boxer-turned-rapper. 50 Cent has not commented on Jay's shooting or possible threats against himself.











dont believe the hype edit!!
[This message was edited Fri Nov 1 7:31:49 PST 2002 by SkletonKee]

I wondered if it was a "gangsta" connection. All gangsta rappers need to be rounded up and put on a desert island where they can just kill each other off.

run-dmc wasn't a "gangsta" rap group, not in the least. let the media feed on their own swill.

PlastikLuvAffair said:

i dont think the media are claming that...the article states that this 50Cents dude is the reason why..I guess he is the Weird All of rap...

PlastikLuvAffair said:

No, no, no... they are saying that a rapper called "50 cent" was friends with Jam Master Jay... the rapper called "50 cent" makes fun of "gansta rappers" and they are saying that "gansta rappers" might have killed Jam Master Jay in order to get at "50 cent" in some way.

Jeeezuz, this shit is LAME.

IceNine said:

ahhh, awright...lame, indeed. 4 shame....

...but i still say let the media dine on their own swill.



this 2, shall pass...
[This message was edited Fri Nov 1 8:10:46 PST 2002 by PlastikLuvAffair]

PlastikLuvAffair said:

You'd be amazed at the number of hip-hop fans who work for media organizations and have had to, in many cases tied solely to the JMJ story, fight to ensure that ignorance and bias not play a role in the handling of this story.

It's far easier to spout ill-informed pith. If the industry were a lot more diverse (particularly in senior management and ownership), we wouldn't see so much junk passed along as news.

For example, why don't news outlets report more on the drug habits and lifestyles of rock stars who overdose?

ThreadBare said:

It really has to do with sensationalism and selling advertising... that is what is killing the "integrity" of the media.

IceNine said:

It also has a lot to do with ignorance and, in a few cases, racial and/or generational prejudice being the basis for "news judgment." And, those qualities aren't tied so much to corporate greed (which has affected newsrooms in a lot of ways in recent years). No, those qualities are tied more to personal biases.

ThreadBare said:

Because the media in general is busy "romanticizing" it.

rdhull said:

And... drug overdoses are not violent deaths and are not MURDER, as are the murders among the rap community.

IceNine said:

Im aware of the difference and I was adressing the media and drug overdoses of "the stars"...but nevertheless the media still romanticizes certain maladaptive behaviors. Like wife,girlfriend beatings, imperial entaglements. And of course murder is going to be a free for all regardless of genre and class etc. I mean look at Robert Blake..he's been all over the place everyday since.

rdhull said:

True, true, my friend...

BTW: I wasn't directing my comments at you, I was adding to the comment.

IceNine said:

I hear ya. I was actually trying to compare how Robert Blakes murder case has been played down by the media in contrast to other senseationalist murder cases--and yes there were huge differences that caused some of this etc..BUT, it's also telling that in the movie Krush Groove, Jay was going to shoot LL Cool J. Not saying that that was a precursor or having anything to do with his lifestyle but its always something that stuck out in my mind since 1987. Im beginnig to think of the power of images.

IceNine said:

You're right, and the distinction between being murdered and OD'ing isn't lost on me, believe me. The difference, for me, is how similarly these two disparate phenomena are treated. Because both involve -- or so the implicit logic goes -- lifestyle choices that involve illegal or immoral behavior.

How many rockers have had drug-related deaths (and, let's not limit it to overdoses -- also include senselessly tragic accidental deaths that would not have befallen a sober person). At least a few dozen, right? Wouldn't you agree?

But, how many rappers have been murdered? Do you know? The Associated Press circulated a list, yesterday. There were about 6 artists, including Jam Master Jay.

Society treats this topic as if rappers -- when they're not busy recording albums, shooting videos, promoting social responsibility & artistic growth (not all rappers are about the bling-bling, you know) -- are cannibalizing their artistic community, one artist at a time or are being consumed by their followers.

But, that's not true, and by lumping these killings into a dubiously neat pile, people unfamiliar with, or antagonistic toward, the hip-hop movement perpetuate the distortion and the stereotype of an epidemic.

That's my point.

Let me redo this...Im not saying Jays image was a thug etc and tough B boy ala his stance in Krush Groove (pulling out a gun etc) or in that horrible Tougher Than Leather..because images are just that..images. If one cant get the difference between portrayal and real life than thats a problem...even if ones image is that of a flower child or gangtser,it is still no excuse for violence put upon someone. Folks are just psychopathic, ignorant etc and ehtically and morally void in these certain situations. I just hope the media understand s this.I dont know what Im trying to say so I'll shut the fuck up now
[This message was edited Fri Nov 1 9:36:28 PST 2002 by rdhull]

i dont see why we are all hating on the media right now...they are pointing out serious concerns about violent images within the hip/hop community...most reports I have seen reference Jam Master's mostly positive stance...i think this is why its getting so much coverage...he seemed like an angel compared to most other rappers...


i watched a real good interview with Salt (from Salt & Pepper) on CBS's This Morning...they covered Jam's positive image...but Salt said that if this is a wake up call for Rap to clean up its image too...then maybe something good can come from this...


how many of you complaining about the media have been watching the news reports? are you just making blanket statements because you despise the media? not putting blame, just curious...

SkletonKee said:

I never see why folks do that, but I'll concede my own bias.

SkletonKee said:

Personally, I make blanket statements about the media. I don't trust them at all and I think that they have no integrity.

That's just my opinion though.

IceNine,

Do you have a response to my earlier post? You mentioned something about romanticized overdoses.

ThreadBare said:

Actually, RDHULL mentioned romanticized overdoses.

*having checked*

Right you are. Pardon me, please.

damn...we are being way to polite on this thread...



threadbare...suck a cameltoe...



icenine...just suck!!!

SkletonKee said:

LOL