Nearly twenty-five years after the murder of Run-DMC legend Jam Master Jay, one man has admitted to his role in the crime.
52-year-old Jay Bryant pleaded guilty on Monday to a federal murder charge, telling a federal magistrate that he helped other individuals enter a building so they could ambush the DJ behind hit songs like “It’s Tricky,” “My Adidas,” “Christmas In Hollis,” and “Run’s House.”
“I knew a gun was going to be used to shoot Jason Mizell,” Bryant said in court. “I knew that what I was doing was wrong and a crime.”
Bryant’s guilty plea brings some closure to one of hip-hop’s longstanding mysteries. Still, it adds even more questions to a case that popped back into the public consciousness after two men were convicted in a 2024 trial related to the killing, only for one of them to have their conviction overturned.
Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington were arrested for their alleged roles in connection with the 2002 death of Jam Master Jay (born Jason Mizell). Mizell was shot and killed inside a Queens, New York recording studio and the case went cold.
Bryant had previously informed a judge that he planned to enter a plea of guilty in the case.
In 2020, authorities arrested Jordan, Mizell’s godson and Washington, Mizell’s old friend, for their roles in the killing. During the trial, prosecutors alleged the two men were bitter about losing out on a piece of a drug deal that Mizell had tried to set up in Baltimore. Prosecutors painted a picture during the trial of Mizell, who helped foster an anti-drug message with Run-DMC, as someone who moonlighted as a cocaine dealer to cover bills and keep up the appearance of being wealthy after the money from his music career dried up.
Prosecutors at trial stated that Jordan shot Mizell and Washington, who was blocking the door, ordered one of Mizell’s friends at the studio to get on the ground. Both men denied participating in the crime and claimed alibis. Bryant’s uncle stated that he admitted he shot Mizell after the DJ reached for a gun. Artie McConnell, who was a prosecutor during the 2024 trial, argued that Bryant was “involved, but he’s not the killer,” and his DNA was found at the crime scene.
Jordan had his conviction vacated, although he remains behind bars on an unrelated drug charge. Washington appealed his conviction, but the appeal was denied.
Run DMC released five albums and one EP during Mizell’s lifetime. Their debut album, “Run-D.M.C.,” and third album, “Raising Hell,” are widely considered classics and helped push hip-hop mainstream. The group, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, was the first hip-hop group to earn gold and platinum records and helped engineer one of hip-hop’s first massive crossover successes with a collaboration with Aerosmith for “Walk This Way.”
