Run DMC Pt. 1: Innovation, Evolution and the Mysterious Death of Jam Master Jay

DISGRACELAND

Jake Brennan

True Crime, Music, Society & Culture

4.6 • 13.1K Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Run DMC is directly responsible for elevating hip hop to previously unimagined heights. They took rap music into an entirely different direction and helped mainstream the genre. They were beloved as musicians, innovators, and people – none more than their DJ, Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell, which makes understanding his senseless murder near impossible. Who killed Jam Master Jay and why? And why are there literally zero suspects when there were numerous eyewitnesses? To view the full list of contributors, see the show notes at ⁠www.disgracelandpod.com⁠. This episode was originally published on April 14, 2020. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠disgracelandpod.com/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - ⁠⁠⁠⁠GET THE NEWSLETTER⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Twitter) ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook Fan Group⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Double Elvis.
0:05.0	You've reached the final level.
0:09.0	The Spicy McNuggets side mission.
0:12.0	Maximum flavour, crispy crunch, and a spicy dip with a kick.
0:16.0	Are you ready?
0:19.0	Spicey McNuggets for a limited time only.
0:22.0	Until the night of September 25, fees apply to delivery.
0:24.5	Participation and price may vary.
0:25.6	Subject to availability, serving time supply.
0:27.9	Disgrace Land is a production of Double Elvis. The stories about run DMC are insane, but not in the way you think, not in a particular disgrace-land way.
0:51.6	Their story, born in part out of the crime and grime of 70s and 80s New York City,
0:56.9	gang violence, stick-up kids, and assassins. Aside from the unsolved murder of DJ Jam Master Jay,
1:03.4	the insanity surrounding RunDMC is more about the group's music than it is about true crime.
1:10.1	Run DMC were the first rap group to grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine,
1:14.8	to be played on MTV, to be nominated for a Grammy Award.
1:19.3	Run DMC were not only real-deal B-boys from the block,
1:22.5	they were the first rap group to sell half a million records,
1:26.1	then a million, then the first to have a multi-million
1:28.5	selling album, gold, platinum, and multi-platinum, and it was all due to the groundbreaking music
1:34.4	they recorded. Great music. That music you heard at the top of the show, that wasn't great music.
1:41.2	That was a preset loop from my Melotron called Mallory and Nick MK1. I played you that loop
1:48.3	because I can't afford the rights to jump by Van Halen. And why would I play you that specific
	...

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