Two Arrests Made in 2002 Killing of Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC

Before the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement, the normality of taking black lives were orchestrated on a daily occurrence and documented within the roots of hip-hop for multiple eras of the genre. 

At a time where we mourn our current icons and the multiple names that trend each year, justice has finally reached Run-DMC's DJ Jam Master Jay, as two men have been arrested for his mysterious killing on October 30th, 2002.

According to The New York Times, two men whom investigators have suspected of participating in the killing of Jason Mizell, internationally known as DJ Jam Master Jay, were charged with murder while engaged in drug trafficking in a 10-count indictment unsealed on Monday in the U.S District Court in Brooklyn. 

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Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan, Jr., were indicted on charges of murder while engaged in drug trafficking, according to two law enforcement officials [inside the NYT report], who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Officials explored several possible explanations for the shooting, including a grudge against rapper 50 Cent, who was a protégé of Jam Master Jay. According to the report, the theory was later dismissed.

According to The New York Times report, the court filings' description on Monday provides information that Washington and Jordan were armed when they broke into Jam Master Jay's Queens, New York recording studio at about 7:30 p.m and fired a bullet into the performers head, killing him almost instantly.

The paper also details in the Run-DMC DJ's involvement with "a multi-kilogram, multistate narcotics transaction" just months before the murder, which allegedly led to the two men searching to execute him after he threatened to cut them out in the deal exchange.

The outlet reports that Washington, 56, is currently serving a federal prison sentence for robbery, while Jordan, 36, was taken into custody on Sunday. The investigation has lingered in mysterious suspicion for 18 years. 

His legacy rests in the pulse of one of the biggest hip-hop groups of all time as the founding role of Run-DMC's DJ and his efforts of taking hip-hop to the next revolutionary level, creating its own impactful era. The 37-year-old turn-tables pioneer contributed to music history alongside members, Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons and  Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels through receiving induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009 and given a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2016. 

With songs like "Its Like That" in 1983,  "Walk This Way" remix with Aerosmith in 1986, "It's Tricky" in 1986 and many more, their mark in history remains and the hip-hop community shall continue to remember his name, stardom and triumph as more information has yet to come.

UPDATED on August 18th, 2020, 10:40 a.m.

Written by: Tasha Dowbachuk