Jam Master Jay: The Heart of Hip-Hop

Front Cover
Simon and Schuster, 2003 - Biography & Autobiography - 185 pages
HE TOOK THE SOUND OF THE STREETS TO THE TOP OF THE CHARTS.... JAM MASTER JAY Before anyone heard of New Jack, Gangsta, East or West Coast, Jam Master Jay had already gained worldwide acclaim in the early days of rap. As one third of Run DMC, Jay worked the turntables into a funky, catchy sound that combined hard-rock riffs with slamming street rhythms, and ushered in a new era of popular music. Respected both as an artist and as a devoted family man, Jam Master Jay lived the American dream -- until one fateful night in October 2002, when a murderer's bullet stopped the music forever. Here is the true story of an urban cultural icon whose popularity crossed racial lines and introduced the world to a new sound that would soon grow into a creative movement unmatched in the history of American music. Featuring interviews with Jay's surviving Run DMC bandmates and friends at Def Jam Records and those who knew him when he was simply Jason Mizell from the neighborhood -- while also exploring the tragic act of violence that took his life -- this is a compelling chronicle of one man's journey from the hard knocks of life to the heights of fame and fortune, and the musical legacy he leaves behind.
 

Selected pages

Contents

one LAST DAY ON EARTH
1
three HIP HOP CRUCIBLE
25
four BREAKTHROUGH
43
five WE THREE KINGS
60
six ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE
77
seven ON THE ROAD
94
eight WALK THIS WAY
115
nine GO YOUR OWN WAY
134
ten FALLING STAR
153
epilogue THE SCRATCH GOES ON
173
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