Jam Master Jay's sons speak out for first time since their father's killers were convicted
NEW YORK - Jason Mizell, better known as Jam Master Jay, the iconic DJ of the legendary hip-hop group Run-D.M.C. was murdered in his recording studio in 2002.
It took more than 21 years for his killers to be brought to trial, and ultimately convicted.
In their first, rare television interview, two of Mizell's sons are speaking out about their father, sharing some very personal memories, and expressing their feelings on the long-awaited closing of this chapter.
TJ, 33, and Jesse, 29, were 11 and 7 when their father died. They've held his memory close for more than two decades, and over all the years, they've waited for some closure about who is responsible for killing their dad.
"The two men convicted are his godson and a longtime friend. Does that give you any sense of end to the story?" CBS New York's Maurice DuBois asked.
"Like, this person wasn't even that far from from us the whole time," TJ said. "Yeah, I saw him not that long ago at a party. And interestingly, they came up to me, and it was like, 'Oh, just want you to know, I had nothing to do with that.' And he saw the look on our face -- 'cause Jesse was with me -- he saw the look on our face. And we're like, What are you talking about? You know, and he realized that we didn't know what the word on the street was."
"What was the hardest part about hearing about the testimony in the case, for you?" DuBois asked.
"'Jam Master Jay dies from drug deal gone wrong.' And so, that's a little difficult reading. But for us, we know, you know, what my father stood for," Jesse said.
"The narrative right now is that he was selling cocaine to support his family because the Run-D.M.C. money wasn't coming in the way it had been. How does that sit with you?" DuBois asked.
"We strongly believe that that's false. Like, we believe that there, obviously, that there was money involved, and whether that was his money or not. It's not like he's selling drugs, you know," TJ said. "So we really feel like it was like his money being taken and being used to do other things."
"Jam Master Jay is also known for buying cars for everyone on the block on Christmas, and Christmas came around. Three people were getting a Toyota. You know, we have a big family. Like, we never longed for anything," Jesse said.
"You ultimately decided not to go to the trial itself. Why was that? Why'd you want to stay away?" DuBois said.
"We keep ourselves out of all of that. It's all - anything that we try to do that has involvement with our father is positive," TJ said.
Positivity rules for Jam Master Jay's sons. From a cannabis business that honors their father and his unabashed love of weed, to a clothing line that honors their mother Terri Corley, to continuing the music legacy that is part of the fabric of their lives and staying in close touch with New York's Scratch Academy, the DJ school co-founded by their father
"For our family to be one of the people that started this, it was just an amazing feeling," Jesse said. "It's a beautiful establishment."
"Like, we never had turntables in the house. You know, he kind of kept it, the work and the family stuff separately," TJ said.
"Jam Master Jay had no turntables in the house?" DuBois asked.
"Nope," TJ said.
"When you come home, it's really just like, you're not taking calls from home, you're not working, practicing from home. When I come home, I'm gonna chill with the family," Jesse said.
"His style, his personal style, became Run-D.M.C. style," DuBois said.
"My dad comes out the crib, like, with the Levi's and the shell toes and the leather jacket, that's how you guys are gonna dress. That's the uniform. And then like, Run and D are like, alright. And that kind of transcended through all of entertainment and culture," Jesse said.
"I think he understood the power of influence, you know," TJ said. "Still, to this day, it's like the stuff that he did is still translating right now."
"You know what I'm sitting here thinking? Your mom did a hell of a job raising you guys," DuBois said. "What did she have to say about all this?"
"She's from the projects," Jesse said.
"There's a reason why she's not sitting in this chair right now," TJ said.
"The detectives calling her phone. She's like, I don't have information, but do your effing job. Do I work for the police? No," Jesse said. "And so when that happened, she's like, finally someone did their effing job over there."
With that strength, she guided her children through the darkest days of their life
"We were on our way to our grandmother's house in Virginia. And my mom got the call... we turned around on the turnpike, went home," TJ said. "And she was like, 'Hey, don't turn on the TV.' But, obviously, the first thing I do is turn on the TV. And that's the first thing that was on the news."
"This is a story I haven't told either," Jesse said. "I remember being at the funeral. And I was like, I need to go to the bathroom. And Busta Rhymes is in the bathroom, I just remember, and in this moment, he was larger than life to me. And he just like, put his hand on me, and I was like, it's gonna be cool. People remember my dad in this positive light. I knew it was gonna be all right."
"Understanding the impact and understanding the weight that we had, you know, to kind of carry and continue the legacy is like, 'OK, wow, this is enormous.' It's huge. You know, this legacy is massive, and it's beautiful." TJ said.