On October 30, 2002 the life of a trailblazer came to a vile end. DJ Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, was brutally murdered inside a recording studio in New York City. His wife, two sons, mother, brother, and sister survive him. He was thirty-seven years of age. Another victim of the shooting was in critical condition, and has since recovered after being shot in the leg (Reid, MTV 1). Currently there has not been any arrest made in this murder mystery, and only brief details have been released to the public. New York City police detec

Jam Master Jay, along with Joe "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, was apart of the rap group Run DMC for nearly twenty years. This disc jockey made music that the world adored. “His scratching and mixing exhibitions on songs such as Jam Master Jay, Sucker MCs and Peter Piper (which Missy Elliott uses a portion of on her latest single, Work It) were as influential on future disk jockeys as Run and DMC's raps were on the MCs who followed in their footsteps” (Reid, MTV 1). The lost of this man is tragic because he helped begin the hip-hop art form, when it was merely a few guys rhyming captivating words in the early nineteen eighties in Queens, New York. Rap artist Ice Cube says, “They’re pioneers. Run-DMC made rap emerge out of hip-hop to be the signature art." Fellow hip-hop legend Big Daddy Kane concurred, "Run-DMC definitely made me feel rap was here to stay" (Reid, MTV 1). Once known as a simple form of music, which many spectators believed was only a trend; hip-hop has developed into a five billion dollar industry. This form of music has crossed all color barriers and can be heard in almost every country around the world. Some would argue that hip-hop, in some form or fashion, has impacted the lives of every American under the age of thirty-five. For these reasons, the senseless death of a pioneer has sent shock waves through the hip-hop culture.

In the opinion of Xavier University freshman and hip-hop fan Leshay Wesson, “Society encourages artists to rhyme about specific topics. For example murder, homosexuality, theft, and drug usage are all encouraged topics because they exist in society. Therefore some artists think rapping or rhyming about them on a record will not have a negative effect on any of their listeners.” At times some artists may even feel pressured to make songs that their listeners will like. This is displayed when Andre 3000, member of the Grammy award winning group Outkast, raps on the song “Elevators.”

Some topics in this essay:
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