Jam Master Jay killed in shooting

Jam Master Jay, part of the pioneering rap trio Run DMC, was shot and killed at a New York City recording studio, the group's publicist said.

His publicist Tracy Miller confirmed the death of the 37-year-old disc jockey, whose real name was Jason Mizell.

He was shot once in the head and was dead at the scene, said Detective Robert Price, a police spokesman. He said the killer remained at large and police had no information on a motive.

A second man, identified by police as 25-year-old Urieco Rincon, was shot in the leg and was taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital. The hospital did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Run DMC is widely credited with helping bring hip-hop into music's mainstream, including the group's smash collaboration with Aerosmith on the 1980s standard "Walk This Way."

"We always knew rap was for everyone," Mizell said in a 2001 interview with MTV. "Anyone could rap over all kinds of music."

"It wasn't the soulful R&B of the '70s and '80s," he said of the group's early work. "So we didn't want to be like the soft R&B. We wanted to go hardcore, so we put the rock-and-roll on our rap."

Mizell served as the group's disc jockey, providing background for singers Joseph Simmons, better known as DJ Run, and Darryl McDaniels, better known as DMC.

Mizell was married and had three children, Miller said.

"He was a great producer, a hard worker," Miller told The Associated Press. "He's a family man."

Dozens of fans gathered on the outskirts of the crime scene in Queens, where the members of Run DMC grew up.

"They're the best. They're the pioneers in hip-hop," said fan Arlene Clark, 39.

Another fan who lives nearby, Leslie Bell, 33, said the members of Run DMC often let local musicians record for free at their studio.

"That was their decision, to stay here and give back to the community," Bell said. "He is one great man. The good always die young. He's the good guy."

Miller said Mizell and McDaniels had planned to perform in Washington, D.C., yesterday at a Washington Wizards basketball game. Mizell had performed on Tuesday in Alabama, Miller said.

The trio released a greatest-hits album earlier this year. In 2001, the rappers produced "Crown Royal," breaking an eight-year silence.

In 1986, the trio said they were outraged by the rise of fatal gang violence in the Los Angeles area. They called for a day of peace between warring street gangs.

"This is the first town where you feel the gangs from the minute you step into town to the time you leave," Mizell said at the time.