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'His job is finished'
©Associated Press NEW YORK -- Pallbearers wearing white unlaced Adidas carried the body of slain Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay from a funeral service Tuesday at which he was remembered as "the embodiment of hip-hop." A funeral cortege of white stretch limousines and luxury SUVs was lined up outside the Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in the rapper's native Queens. Inside, groupmates Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniel eulogized their friend, whose real name was Jason "Jay" Mizell, as a great man and groundbreaking musical force. "Jason helped build hip-hop, and his job is finished," said Simmons, also an ordained minister, wearing a broad-brimmed black hat and clerical collar. "He just couldn't leave without drama." The funeral came six days after Mizell was shot in his Queens recording studio by a masked assailant. No one has been charged. A who's who of hip-hop attended the service, including LL Cool J, Chuck D of Public Enemy, Queen Latifah and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, the brother of Joseph. Many in the church and among the crowd outside wore the white Adidas and black leather that Run-DMC turned into a fashion trend in the 1980s. As DJ for the pioneering group, Jam Master Jay worked the turntables as Simmons and McDaniels rapped a string of hits over nearly 20 years. McDaniels brought the overflow crowd of 2,300 to its feet with his eulogy, getting in a dig at anyone who would call the slaying another example of rap violence. "Jam Master Jay was not a thug," McDaniels said. "Jam Master Jay was not a gangster. Jam Master Jay was a unique individual. . . . He was the embodiment of hip-hop." Surrounded by more than a dozen wreaths, including one in the shape of twin turntables, McDaniels then rapped from the band's song Jam Master Jay, with the audience joining in at the end to shout the slain DJ's name. A heavy police presence included officers on surrounding rooftops. Elsewhere, police continued to search for the man who put one bullet in the 37-year-old's head last Wednesday. Mizell was married and had three children, and he had campaigned against drug use. He was a role model for many in the neighborhood where he grew up and met Simmons and McDaniels, and his violent death puzzled family and friends. "Let's try to work for the good that Jay was working toward," McDaniels said. "Peace for everybody." Among the group's hits were a collaboration with Aerosmith on a remake of Walk This Way, It's Tricky and the sneaker homage My Adidas. Mizell's body was taken to the church in a white, horse-drawn carriage encased in glass. The 90-minute service was followed by burial at a Westchester County cemetery.
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From the wire |
