By Courtney Dentch
The 38-year-old Hollis native, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was slain after two men were buzzed into the second-floor studio at 90-10 Merrick Blvd., just after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said. No arrests had been made by Thursday evening.
Another man, Uriel Rincon, 25, was shot in the leg, and was taken to
Mary Immaculate Hospital for treatment. An unknown number of people were also in the studio at the time of the shooting, but no other injuries were reported.
Police were still looking for a motive for the shooting, which took place less than a mile from Mizell's childhood home on 203rd Street in Hollis.
“These two guys in ski masks just came in and pushed one of the girls out of the way,” said Joseph Brown, 20, of St. Albans, who said he was in the studio with a friend when the shooting happened. “They went right up to Jay and shot him.”
The news of Jay's death has shaken a legion of fans, friends, family and fellow rappers in the southeast Queens communities Jay called home.
“We're very, very shocked,” said Eleta “Sparkle” Boone, a singer and Jay's niece. “He was a good man, he was a family man. He cared about this neighborhood.”
Some Run DMC fans went to Mizell's old house, where he started DJing in the basement, and where his sister still lives. Others set up a memorial outside the Jamaica recording studio as cars drove down Merrick Boulevard with rap songs blasting in tribute. Posters, candles, a T-shirt and an Adidas sneaker, which the band popularized in their hey-day, lined the fence next to the studio.
“Your music and your life are part of history,” read a poster signed by “Robert Aponte, southside Queens.” “Thank you for who you were, in hip-hop, a legend.”
Mizell, who lived on Sawyer Ave. in Hollis Hill, was married with three
children.
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 138.
