Jam Master Jay : The Heart of Hip-Hop [Mass Market Paperback]

David E. Thigpen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

This book examines the rise of JAM MASTER JAY, from high school to his ascent as a member of Run DMC. It also tells the story of the rise of hip-hop, intertwined with Jay's career. Through interviews with the surviving members of Run DMC, executives at Def Jam Records, Jay's wife and mother, neighborhood figures, teachers and recording industry associates, it traces his remarkable path-as a high school drop-out who did a stint in the juvenile penal system, to his glory days touring the world, to the group's breakup in the 1990's and their resurgence. The texture of his life - his easygoing style, his allegiance to his neighbourhood, his disbelief at his own good fortune, is reconstructed through interviews with his intimates. The story ends with the mystery of his murder - what happened, what the evidence shows, the theories from the police and from the street, and where he might have gone in his fast, fruitful life. JAM MASTER JAY had few enemies. And as the throngs that appeared on the rain-soaked streets in the hours after his killing show, he was as loved locally as he was internationally. The man and the celebrity were true and indistinguishable.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

"Jam Master Jay was one-third of what is possibly the most important rap group of all time: Run-DMC," says Thigpen, and indeed, Run-DMC's exuberance brought hip-hop to the mainstream, especially in its collaboration with Aerosmith on the wildly popular remake of "Walk This Way." Thigpen also observes that "some of the other members of Run-DMC" were in the crowd at the scene of Jay's murder. Since Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels constitute all the rest of the group, Thigpen's phrasing seems coy, but its inaptness is indicative of Thigpen's style throughout as he revisits Jay's turf and tells his life story. Such details as "He died wearing a brown leather hat and his white Adidas," and Thigpen's comparison of the reaction to Jay's violent demise and reactions to JFK's and Princess Di's similar deaths, remind the reader in no uncertain terms that this is no deep meditation on life and death in the spotlight. It is, however, a good-enough place to start rehashing the latest bit of hip-hop mayhem. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

David E. Thigpen is a correspondent on staff at Time magazine. From 1993 to 2000 he was a New York-based pop music writer for Time, covering hip-hop, rock, and jazz, contributing to Time's milestone "Hip-Hop Nation" cover story and regularly providing record reviews and artist profiles. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, People, and Rolling Stone. He is currently based in Chicago.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: MTV (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743476948
• ISBN-13: 978-0743476942
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,022,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jam Master Jay: The Heart Of Hip Hop, March 22, 2004

By 

Paul Hirigoyen (Baldwin Park, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jam Master Jay : The Heart of Hip-Hop (Mass Market Paperback)

When I first got this book it was for my English class. We had to read the book every other day and then do a project on it. At first, I just grabed the book because I like hip hop and I knew who Run DMC was. The first day I was thinking, "Man I have to read for 15 mins!" So, i started reading and I could'nt put this book down. This book talks about his childhood to his death. There's so many intresting things in this book and it's not hard to read. If you want my advice, then pick up this book and never let it down.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book., August 9, 2003

By 

"derbyfanforever" (tx usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jam Master Jay : The Heart of Hip-Hop (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this as a holiday book, for the plane, but i couldn't put it down the whole time i was there. Really good, detailed account of the best dj ever's life. However, it could do with the pictures being spread about and more common because it's quite hard going.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Jam Master Jay Matters, July 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Jam Master Jay : The Heart of Hip-Hop (Mass Market Paperback)

In the mid-eighties, before rap splintered into countless subfactions - gangsta, political, bohemian and so on - Run-DMC were hip-hop to the better part of mainstream America. Run, DMC and Jay's family didn't contribute interviews to this book, yet despite being consigned to the outside looking in, Thigpen pieces together a taut story, locating Jay at the center of all things Run-DMC and, in turn, all things hip-hop. Interviews with Jay's childhood friends and music executives, plus a host of quotes culled from other sources, show Jay to be not only a generous person but also the one who held his group together as personal demons and difficult attitudes threatened to tear it asunder. Whose house? Jay's house.
By jon caramanica