Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell of Run-D.M.C. Tuxedo

Run-D.M.C. was founded by Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell, all from the Hollis neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The group played a key role in ushering rap music into its second wave in the 1980s, earning a plethora of hip hop firsts: the first rappers to go platinum, to be featured prominently on MTV, and to grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. They were fashion trendsetters, crossed boundaries between rap and rock, and their setup – two MCs and one DJ – created a blueprint for hip hop groups to come. Tragically, the group’s turntable wizard Jam Master Jay was murdered at his recording studio on October 20, 2002.