Jazzy Jay
Encyclopedia
Jazzy Jay born in Beaufort
, South Carolina
, United States
, November 18, 1961), also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay, is a pioneering American
hip hop
DJ
and producer. He has collected roughly 400,000 records.
family in coastal South Carolina. He moved with his family to New York City at a young age and took up the drums, his first instrument. He began his career in hip hop in the 1970s in The Bronx
, New York
, the epicenter of hip hop culture during the first decade of its development, at the age of 13. An early member of Afrika Bambaataa
's Universal Zulu Nation
, he was a protege of Bambaataa as well as his older cousin, Kool DJ Red Alert. Beginning as a Zulu King dancer in the early 1970s, Jay later became a Universal Zulu Nation DJ and was a member of the Zulu group Jazzy Five
, with which he recorded the single "Jazzy Sensation."
Although Jazzy Jay began performing primarily at street parties, in the 1980s he began DJing in New York clubs such as Negril, the Roxy, the Ritz, and Danceteria
. He also hosted a hip hop radio program on KISS FM
and in 1984 he played himself as The Roxy
's DJ in the influential hip hop film Beat Street
.
Jazzy Jay and Afrika Islam
performed some of the first DJ team routines, and teamed up to battle both Grandmaster Flash
(solo) and Grand Wizard Theodore
(solo).
and assisted him in laying the foundation for what would become Def Jam Recordings
. The label's first official single was the single "It's Yours" by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay. Jay later introduced Rubin to Russell Simmons
, creating one of the most important partnerships in hip hop production. Jazzy Jay also put out Def Jam's third 12" in 1985, entitled "Def Jam" b/w "Cold Chillin' In The Spot," which featured Russell Simmons on vocals.
In 1986, he participated in the recording Planet Rock - The Album, which was certified gold
.
Also a producer, Jay founded Jazzy Jay's Studio in the Bronx, where he produced early recordings by Diamond D
, Fat Joe
, Brand Nubian
, A Tribe Called Quest
, and others. He also began his own label, Strong City Records, through a partnership with Rocky Bucano.
documentary Scratch
. In the film, he displays his extensive LP
collection (kept in the basement of his home), which he claims comprises at least 300,000 to 400,000 records.
In 2000, Jazzy Jay was inducted into the Technics/DMC DJ Hall of Fame. He sometimes performs together with another hip hop pioneer, Grand Wizard Theodore
.
He is also interviewed extensively in the 2003 hip hop documentary 5 Sides of a Coin.
He was featured in the 2004 song "Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2" by Handsome Boy Modeling School
giving a background on himself and on rap as an art form.
He narrated a walking tour of The Bronx
, "Hip Hop," by Soundwalk, that won the 2004 Audie award
for Best Original Work.
He lives with his wife and three children in Brooklyn
, New York
. In 2011, his older daughter, Jazmine Byas, graduated from the prestigious Eastman School of Music
and is pursuing a career with her oboe.
Beaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,361 in the 2010 census. It is located in the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, November 18, 1961), also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay, is a pioneering American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
DJ
Turntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
and producer. He has collected roughly 400,000 records.
Background
Jazzy Jay was born into a GullahGullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
family in coastal South Carolina. He moved with his family to New York City at a young age and took up the drums, his first instrument. He began his career in hip hop in the 1970s in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the epicenter of hip hop culture during the first decade of its development, at the age of 13. An early member of Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
's Universal Zulu Nation
Universal Zulu Nation
|rightThe Universal Zulu Nation is an international hip hop awareness group formed and headed by hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa. Originally known simply as the Organization, it arose in the 1970s as reformed New York City gang members began to organize cultural events for youths, combining local...
, he was a protege of Bambaataa as well as his older cousin, Kool DJ Red Alert. Beginning as a Zulu King dancer in the early 1970s, Jay later became a Universal Zulu Nation DJ and was a member of the Zulu group Jazzy Five
Jazzy Five
Jazzy Five was a hip hop group founded in the mid 1970s.-History:In the mid seventies, in the area of the South Bronx known as Soundview Houses, the story of Hip hop music pioneers, the "Jazzy Five" MC’s begins.Their founder, the 1st and best rapper in the Soundview area at the time, MC Sundance,...
, with which he recorded the single "Jazzy Sensation."
Although Jazzy Jay began performing primarily at street parties, in the 1980s he began DJing in New York clubs such as Negril, the Roxy, the Ritz, and Danceteria
Danceteria
Danceteria was a well-known four-floor nightclub located in New York City which operated from 1980 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. Throughout its history, the club had seven different locations, three in NYC and four in the Hamptons...
. He also hosted a hip hop radio program on KISS FM
Kiss FM
-United States:* KISS-FM , a brand name used for several Top 40 stations, many owned by Clear Channel Communications including:** KBKS-FM, better known as "106.1 KISS-FM", in Seattle** KHKS-FM, better known as "106.1 KISS-FM", in Dallas...
and in 1984 he played himself as The Roxy
Roxy NYC
Roxy NYC was a popular nightclub located at 515 West 18th Street in New York City. Located in Chelsea section of Manhattan it began as a roller skating rink and roller disco in 1978, it was founded by Steve Bauman, Richard Newhouse and Steve Greenberg then acquired in 1985 by Gene DiNino until it...
's DJ in the influential hip hop film Beat Street
Beat Street
Beat Street is a 1984 drama film, following Wild Style in featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s; breakdancing, DJing, and graffiti.-Plot:...
.
Jazzy Jay and Afrika Islam
Afrika Islam
Afrika Islam also known as the "Son of Bambaataa", is an American hip-hop producer.-Life:He started his carrer in 1977 joining Rock Steady Crew. He was 10 years old back then...
performed some of the first DJ team routines, and teamed up to battle both Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
(solo) and Grand Wizard Theodore
Grand Wizard Theodore
Grand Wizzard Theodore , is an American hip hop DJ. He is widely credited as the inventor of scratching.Born Theodore Livingston in Bronx, New York, his brother, Mean Gene, was Theodore's mentor, and began teaching him DJing before Theodore was even a teen...
(solo).
Origin of Def Jam Recordings
Around 1984, Jay met Rick RubinRick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
and assisted him in laying the foundation for what would become Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
. The label's first official single was the single "It's Yours" by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay. Jay later introduced Rubin to Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
, creating one of the most important partnerships in hip hop production. Jazzy Jay also put out Def Jam's third 12" in 1985, entitled "Def Jam" b/w "Cold Chillin' In The Spot," which featured Russell Simmons on vocals.
In 1986, he participated in the recording Planet Rock - The Album, which was certified gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
Also a producer, Jay founded Jazzy Jay's Studio in the Bronx, where he produced early recordings by Diamond D
Diamond D
Diamond D is a hip hop producer and MC from the Bronx, New York City, and one of the founding members of the legendary D.I.T.C. crew. He started out as a DJ for Jazzy Jay back in the late 1980s and was at the same time perfecting his skills in beat making and turntablism, and together with rhyme...
, Fat Joe
Fat Joe
Joseph Antonio Cartagena , better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad....
, Brand Nubian
Brand Nubian
Brand Nubian is an American hip hop group from New Rochelle, New York, consisting of three MC's: Grand Puba , Sadat X and Lord Jamar , and two DJs: DJ Alamo and DJ Sincere...
, A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
, and others. He also began his own label, Strong City Records, through a partnership with Rocky Bucano.
Recent times
More recently, Jazzy Jay was featured in the 2001 turntablismTurntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
documentary Scratch
Scratch (film)
Scratch is a documentary film, directed and edited by Doug Pray. The film explores the world of the hip-hop DJ. From the birth of hip-hop, when pioneering DJ's began extending breaks on their party records , to the invention of scratching and beat-juggling vinyl, to its more recent explosion as a...
. In the film, he displays his extensive LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
collection (kept in the basement of his home), which he claims comprises at least 300,000 to 400,000 records.
In 2000, Jazzy Jay was inducted into the Technics/DMC DJ Hall of Fame. He sometimes performs together with another hip hop pioneer, Grand Wizard Theodore
Grand Wizard Theodore
Grand Wizzard Theodore , is an American hip hop DJ. He is widely credited as the inventor of scratching.Born Theodore Livingston in Bronx, New York, his brother, Mean Gene, was Theodore's mentor, and began teaching him DJing before Theodore was even a teen...
.
He is also interviewed extensively in the 2003 hip hop documentary 5 Sides of a Coin.
He was featured in the 2004 song "Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2" by Handsome Boy Modeling School
Handsome Boy Modeling School
Handsome Boy Modeling School was a collaborative project between renowned hip hop producers Dan the Automator and Prince Paul...
giving a background on himself and on rap as an art form.
He narrated a walking tour of The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, "Hip Hop," by Soundwalk, that won the 2004 Audie award
Audie Awards
The Audie Awards are annually bestowed annually in the USA for outstanding audiobooks. The Audies have been granted by the Audio Publishers Association, a not-for-profit trade organization, since 1996. The nominees are announced each year in January, and the winners are announced at a gala banquet...
for Best Original Work.
He lives with his wife and three children in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In 2011, his older daughter, Jazmine Byas, graduated from the prestigious Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
and is pursuing a career with her oboe.