Grandmaster Jay
Encyclopedia
John Johnson better known by his stage name
Grandmaster Jay, is an American MC
/DJ
and producer. Over his career, he has been known by several pseudonyms including "MC Master Jay", "Jay Blaze", "The Grand Imperial DJ Prince", and "Jay Blax".
He was crowned the KISS MasterMix Champion two years in a row (1984–1985) and was one of the premier battle emcees of the early hip hop
era (http://www.elbravador.com/oldschooldjs.htm) . Grandmaster Jay and The Fresh Five (Magic Dee, Dallas B, Tony T, Mr. Ease) held the Southern hip hop scene against such East Coast rappers as Biz Markie
, UTFO
and Run DMC until the decline of Rap's Golden Era around 1987. In the early days of hip hop, he was one of the first rappers to garner enough street popularity on both the East Coast and the Deep South to attract to the attention of Sugar Hill Records creator Sylvia Robinson. In 1981 he was presented to Ms. Robinson by Angie B (Angie Stone
) of the first female rap group, The Sequence
after performing at a rap concert in Richmond, Virginia
on Aug 16,1981 at Virginia Union University
's Hovey Field
. It was at this same concert that MC Master Jay was given accolades by The Treacherous Three after performing and winning a rap battle using The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel
. By this time he had already formed The Imperial Mix Masters, Virginia
's first publicly known rap crew. Ms. Robinson offered Jay a recording contract
on the spot. However due to his age this offer was refused by his mother. MC Master Jay continued to perform. His popularity grew and he became known as one of the most popular and talented battle emcees in the VA, MD, DC region and simultaneously in the NYC, NJ area where he spent his summers.
As hip hop continued to grow, so did the opportunities and audiences for Master Jay. As his search for a good show deejay proved fruitless, he began to learn the art of deejaying and rose through those ranks as rapidly as he did an emcee. In 1982 his name was changed to Grandmaster after serveral concert promoters bestowed this title upon him. Being one of the only deejays who was also an emcee, the tag DJMC was appended to his name. In 1983 new crew was born out of some of the most popular street emcees at the time. In 1983 The Grandmaster Jay and The Fresh Five Emcees dominated the hip hop street scene with their combination of witty rhymes and Jay's turntable
shows.
On Nov 5, 1983 Grandmaster Jay became the KISS 96 FM Mastermix Championship Tournament in which he eliminated 189 DJ crews by both rapping and dejaying on what appeared to be 4-6 turntables simultaneously. In an era prior to multitrack
recorders and samplers, GMJ demonstrated that was ahead of his time by unveiling a technique that many call the first true mix tape. More significantly on Feb 5, 1984 he deejayed and hosted the Electric Explosion Fresh Fest at The Richmond Coliseum
which featured Run DMC, Kurtis Blow
, Whodini
, The Fat Boys
, Captain Rock, Divine Sounds, The New York City Breakers. This was the first hip hop concert to sell out a major arena. It was after this concert that Jay met young Russell Simmons who told him about the new label he was forming called Def Jam. Jay auditioned for Russell in his hotel room at The Holiday Inn
on Franklin Street in Richmond, Va with DMC, Whodini, and many others present. Russell said he would choose between Jay and another young man he was listening to by the name of James Todd Smith who went on to become LL Cool J
.
Grandmaster Jay traveled to NYC and met with Russell Simmons
and Rick Rubin
in their Def Jam offices when they were located on Varwick Avenue and returned to Va to await the next steps as his Mastermix recording swept the underground. He was shocked when Run-D.M.C.
emerged with Jam Master Jay (which phonetically sounded like Grandmaster Jay). Many of those familiar with GMJ assumed he was JMJ and the popularity grew for both. But it was after Run DMC's meteoric rise via their rap songs that began to illuminate that JMJ was not the GMJ that was so well known for his turntable and rapping skills. In 1987 Grandmaster Jay filed a DBA and copyright for the name Grandmaster Jay but by then the damage had been done. As the Golden Age of hip hop came to a close and gave way to G-Funk
and Gangsta rap
, this controversy was forgotten as many from this era were moved to the Old School category.
Grandmaster Jay continued to deejay and produce rap songs for many artists and then departed the hip hop scene by enlisting in the US Army in 1990. This event was marked by an on the air live rap battle in October 1990 on WCDE Richmond hosted by Michael Street and El Bravador with DJ Drake and Sir RJ. Grandmaster Jay served in the US military from 1990 through 2005 yet remained active in music all along the way. As hip hop grew and matured into a multi-billion dollar business, he found flashes of greatness along the way. Most notably in 1995 he toured on the Russell Simmons Def College Tour which featured Wu-Tang
, Def Squad
, Onyx
, DJ Enuff
, and Sweet T. It was during this tour that GMJ and JMJ spoke of working together with Jay recording on Jam Master Jay's JMJ Label. In 1996 GMJ moved into the field of promoting arena hip hop shows when most shows were relegated to clubs because of fear by venue owners over how violent hip hop had become. Throwing some of the most successful hip hop shows in large venues, Jay gave artists Biggie Smalls, Jay Z, Keith Murray
, Chino XL
, The Alkoholics, RUN DMC, and Immature the chance to prove so many wrong about the state of real hip hop. In 1996 Grandmaster Jay teamed up with Washington DC go-go rapper/dj DJ Kool
. This collaboration resuled in the classic song Let Me Clear My Throat
and garnered a contract to Warner Brothers American label which was chaired by none other than Rick Rubin. During their appearance at Hampton, Virginia's WOWI FM's's JamzFest 7, Jay met Phyllis Hyman
's niece Sharae. The two kept in touch and in 1997 she asked Jay to come to Loud Records
RCA to assist with her artist Yvette Michelle. A meeting with Loud Record's CEO Steve Rifkind
resulted in a whirlwind of international shows and two videos. Yvette Michelle thanked Jay in the liner notes of her album My Dream for "teaching her how to perform live." and being her DJ. Yvette was being produced by NYC DJ Funkmaster Flex
who took a keen interest in Grandmaster Jay and on Aug 16, 1997 offered him a label deal on his Franchise/RCA Records label. Many artist of that time from SWV to Fatman Scoop
requested Jay to work with them in the studio and on the road.
However as Grandmaster Jay's popularity within the music industry grew, many of those around him who were singing his high praises became intimidated. Jay was asked to do deejay events ranging from The Source's Hip Hop Fashion Show to emcee appearances on "Everybody's In Da House", a who's who of Southern emcees produced on J Records
. After attending a recording session with Yvette Michele
at D&D Studios in Nov 1998, Grandmaster Jay walked away from the music scene altogether and returned to North Carolina
. This move effectively ended the career of Yvette Mechele, Loud Records's deal with Franchise, and severed his ties with the publicity arm of his fame, Double Exposure NYC.
Grandmaster Jay did not emerge again until 2003 when he teamed up with Johnny Cabbell and his Hit After Hit Entertainment Group from Atlanta, Georgia. Touring with Crime Mob
GMJ established himself securely in the Dirty South hip hop movement. In 2005 GMJ relocated to Atlanta, GA. and then to Cincinnati, Ohio
.While there he was invited to join The CORE
DJs by North Carolina DJ Ike Geeda. This DJ coalition consisted of mostly new DJs from the Mid-West and South and was being headed up by Tony Neal of Milwaukee. Jay's first encounter with The CORE revealed a bunch of deejays who did not know hip hop history yet managed to build relationships with the major record label
s. However since they embraced the role of the deejay, GMJ supported them even going so far as to become a major title sponsor of their 8th DJ Retreat which was held in New Orleans. Yet the CORE's failure to recognize the real deejays that built hip hop in the original markets like VA., DC., NYC,PA. and their failure to open any doors for new artists or talented deejays caused Jay to sever all ties with them in 2009. In 2007 Grandmaster Jay appeared at the 80s Was The Greatest Hip Hop Festival in Richmond, VA. He returned again in 2008 and performed with DJ Kool
and Doug E Fresh, Lil Vicious at the Stone Soul Fest held at The Strawberry Downs Complex. In December 2008 he performed as the show deejay for Young Jeezy
at the Baltimore Coliseum
.
In 2009 Grandmaster Jay hosted a Stop The Violence Weekend in Detroit that lasted three days, touched all facets of the community, involved the media, school system, and culminated in The Pioneers of Hip Hop show at the Fox Theatre
that featured Sugar Hill Gang, Whodini
, Big Daddy Kane
, Doug E Fresh and Slick Rick
, MC Lyte
, and Grandmaster Jay deejaying for KRS One. Photographs of all these events are on constant display as well as samples of Grandmaster Jays rap songs and deejay mixes on his Myspace Page http://www.myspace.com/grandmaster.jay Today Grandmaster Jay is considered by many to be one of hip hop's most overlooked icons. Even after the murder of Jam Master Jay in 2006, many still get these two confused while others don't even know JMJ is dead, because they only knew and still know GMJ. Grandmaster Jay still performs at major events and in major venues as a constant example to the upcoming. On April 22, 2010 he performed/hosted the Reflection Eternal Tour kickoff with Talib Kweli
, Hi-Tek
, and J Cole at the Madison Theater in Covington, Kentucky
. He was immediately asked by Hi-Tek to join the tour, which he declined.
In February 2011 Grandmaster Jay performed with The Legendary George Clinton
and Parliament
Funkadelic
. During this show he met the daughter of Brides of Funkenstein's Tamalya "TJ" Evans. Also the niece of legendary bassist Cornell "Boogie" Molson, TJ, already in the studio recording with Molson, invited Jay to appear on her second debut "Shaky Land". Jay and TeeJay collaborated in the studio and under Jay's guidance created a new song,"Shakey Ground" which was released in conjunction with TJ's song with Molson entitled "Paradiso". On May 31, 2011 Grandmaster Jay appeared with George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic, and TJ Evans at BB Kings in New York City. Jay brought Mr. Cheeks
of The Lost Boys
.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Grandmaster Jay, is an American MC
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
/DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and producer. Over his career, he has been known by several pseudonyms including "MC Master Jay", "Jay Blaze", "The Grand Imperial DJ Prince", and "Jay Blax".
He was crowned the KISS MasterMix Champion two years in a row (1984–1985) and was one of the premier battle emcees of the early 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...
era (http://www.elbravador.com/oldschooldjs.htm) . Grandmaster Jay and The Fresh Five (Magic Dee, Dallas B, Tony T, Mr. Ease) held the Southern hip hop scene against such East Coast rappers as Biz Markie
Biz Markie
Marcel Theo Hall better known by his stage name, Biz Markie, is an American rapper, beatboxer, DJ, comedian, singer, reality television personality, and commercial spokesperson. He is best known for his single "Just a Friend", an American Top 10 hit in 1989...
, UTFO
UTFO
UTFO is an old school hip-hop group, popular in the 1980s, that was mentored by the contemporary R&B group Full Force. The group consists of the Kangol Kid , the Educated Rapper , Doctor Ice , and Mix Master Ice...
and Run DMC until the decline of Rap's Golden Era around 1987. In the early days of hip hop, he was one of the first rappers to garner enough street popularity on both the East Coast and the Deep South to attract to the attention of Sugar Hill Records creator Sylvia Robinson. In 1981 he was presented to Ms. Robinson by Angie B (Angie Stone
Angie Stone
Angie Stone is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She has been nominated for three Grammy Award. She is more successful on the charts R&B charts, with four Top 10 albums, forms including a number one album and 10 singles on the R&B chart,...
) of the first female rap group, The Sequence
The Sequence
The Sequence is a former female old school hip hop trio signed to the Sugar Hill label in the early-1980s. The group consisted of Cheryl Cook , Gwendolyn Chisolm , and lead singer/rapper Angie Brown Stone...
after performing at a rap concert in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
on Aug 16,1981 at Virginia Union University
Virginia Union University
Virginia Union University is a historically black university located in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It took its present name in 1899 upon the merger of two older schools, Richmond Theological Institute and Wayland Seminary, each founded after the end of American Civil War by the American...
's Hovey Field
Hovey Field
Hovey Field is a stadium in Richmond, Virginia. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Virginia Union University. Historic Hovey Field has been the home to Virginia Union University football since 1907. On land originally purchased for just over $8,000, Hovey...
. It was at this same concert that MC Master Jay was given accolades by The Treacherous Three after performing and winning a rap battle using The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel
The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel
"The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" is a single released by Grandmaster Flash in 1981. It is a live DJ mix recording of Flash scratching and mixing records from various groups using three turntables...
. By this time he had already formed The Imperial Mix Masters, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
's first publicly known rap crew. Ms. Robinson offered Jay a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
on the spot. However due to his age this offer was refused by his mother. MC Master Jay continued to perform. His popularity grew and he became known as one of the most popular and talented battle emcees in the VA, MD, DC region and simultaneously in the NYC, NJ area where he spent his summers.
As hip hop continued to grow, so did the opportunities and audiences for Master Jay. As his search for a good show deejay proved fruitless, he began to learn the art of deejaying and rose through those ranks as rapidly as he did an emcee. In 1982 his name was changed to Grandmaster after serveral concert promoters bestowed this title upon him. Being one of the only deejays who was also an emcee, the tag DJMC was appended to his name. In 1983 new crew was born out of some of the most popular street emcees at the time. In 1983 The Grandmaster Jay and The Fresh Five Emcees dominated the hip hop street scene with their combination of witty rhymes and Jay's turntable
Turntable
A turntable is generally a rotating platform, and may refer to:-Music:* Turntable, a motor-driven platform that normally rotates a gramophone record at a constant rotational velocity as part of a phonograph....
shows.
On Nov 5, 1983 Grandmaster Jay became the KISS 96 FM Mastermix Championship Tournament in which he eliminated 189 DJ crews by both rapping and dejaying on what appeared to be 4-6 turntables simultaneously. In an era prior to multitrack
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
recorders and samplers, GMJ demonstrated that was ahead of his time by unveiling a technique that many call the first true mix tape. More significantly on Feb 5, 1984 he deejayed and hosted the Electric Explosion Fresh Fest at The Richmond Coliseum
Richmond Coliseum
Richmond Coliseum is an arena in Richmond, Virginia, where the SPHL Richmond Renegades played until the 2008-2009 season and the SIFL Richmond Raiders will play starting with the 2010 season. It is also the venue for various large concerts. The arena opened in 1971 and holds 13,500 people. A...
which featured Run DMC, Kurtis Blow
Kurtis Blow
Kurt Walker , better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the first commercially successful rappers and the first to sign with a major record label...
, Whodini
Whodini
Whodini is a hip hop group that was formed in 1981. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, aka Ecstasy ; and turntable artist DJ Drew Carter, aka Grandmaster Dee.-Early years:Whodini was among the first hip-hop groups to...
, The Fat Boys
The Fat Boys
The Fat Boys are a successful African American hip-hop music trio from Brooklyn, New York City, that emerged in the early 1980s. Briefly, the group was known originally as the Disco 3.-Members:*Mark Morales a.k.a. "Prince Markie Dee"...
, Captain Rock, Divine Sounds, The New York City Breakers. This was the first hip hop concert to sell out a major arena. It was after this concert that Jay met young Russell Simmons who told him about the new label he was forming called Def Jam. Jay auditioned for Russell in his hotel room at The Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
on Franklin Street in Richmond, Va with DMC, Whodini, and many others present. Russell said he would choose between Jay and another young man he was listening to by the name of James Todd Smith who went on to become LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
.
Grandmaster Jay traveled to NYC and met with Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
and Rick Rubin
Rick 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...
in their Def Jam offices when they were located on Varwick Avenue and returned to Va to await the next steps as his Mastermix recording swept the underground. He was shocked when Run-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C.
Run–D.M.C. was an American hip hop group from Hollis, in the Queens borough of New York City. Founded by Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell, the group is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture.Run–D.M.C...
emerged with Jam Master Jay (which phonetically sounded like Grandmaster Jay). Many of those familiar with GMJ assumed he was JMJ and the popularity grew for both. But it was after Run DMC's meteoric rise via their rap songs that began to illuminate that JMJ was not the GMJ that was so well known for his turntable and rapping skills. In 1987 Grandmaster Jay filed a DBA and copyright for the name Grandmaster Jay but by then the damage had been done. As the Golden Age of hip hop came to a close and gave way to G-Funk
G-funk
G-funk, or Gangsta-funk, is a sub-genre of hip hop music that emerged from Westcoast gangsta rap in the early 1990s. G-funk incorporates multi-layered and melodic synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, background female vocals, the extensive sampling of P-funk tunes, and a high-pitched...
and Gangsta rap
Gangsta rap
Gangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...
, this controversy was forgotten as many from this era were moved to the Old School category.
Grandmaster Jay continued to deejay and produce rap songs for many artists and then departed the hip hop scene by enlisting in the US Army in 1990. This event was marked by an on the air live rap battle in October 1990 on WCDE Richmond hosted by Michael Street and El Bravador with DJ Drake and Sir RJ. Grandmaster Jay served in the US military from 1990 through 2005 yet remained active in music all along the way. As hip hop grew and matured into a multi-billion dollar business, he found flashes of greatness along the way. Most notably in 1995 he toured on the Russell Simmons Def College Tour which featured Wu-Tang
Wu-Tang
Wu-Tang or Wudang may refer to:*Wudang Mountains or Wu-Tang Mountains, a mountain range in central China*Wudangquan or Wu-Tang quan, a form of Chinese martial arts*Wudang District, a district in Guiyang, Guizhou, China...
, Def Squad
Def Squad
Def Squad is a rap supergroup consisting of Erick Sermon, Redman & Keith Murray. Mally G is considered an honorary member of the Def Squad. Before officially forming as a group to release an album in 1998, they had each been featured on tracks by each other...
, Onyx
Onyx
Onyx is a banded variety of chalcedony. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color . Commonly, specimens of onyx contain bands of black and/or white.-Etymology:...
, DJ Enuff
DJ Enuff
DJ Enuff is a DJ and radio personality from the United States. He mixes on-air during "The Angie Martinez Show" from 4:30 to 6pm. He also was The Notorious B.I.G's official road DJ and also helped break acts like 50 Cent and Kanye West.-Early career:DJ Enuff was raised in the Lower East Side of...
, and Sweet T. It was during this tour that GMJ and JMJ spoke of working together with Jay recording on Jam Master Jay's JMJ Label. In 1996 GMJ moved into the field of promoting arena hip hop shows when most shows were relegated to clubs because of fear by venue owners over how violent hip hop had become. Throwing some of the most successful hip hop shows in large venues, Jay gave artists Biggie Smalls, Jay Z, Keith Murray
Keith Murray (rapper)
Keith Murray is an American rapper and a member of the rap trio Def Squad, which includes fellow rappers Redman and Erick Sermon.-Music career:...
, Chino XL
Chino XL
Derek Keith Barbosa , better known by his stage name Chino XL, is an American hip hop lyricist, battle rapper, and actor of Puerto Rican and African American descent...
, The Alkoholics, RUN DMC, and Immature the chance to prove so many wrong about the state of real hip hop. In 1996 Grandmaster Jay teamed up with Washington DC go-go rapper/dj DJ Kool
DJ Kool
John W. Bowman, Jr., better known by his stage name DJ Kool is a rapper who, in the late 1990s, produced several popular rap singles. Born in 1959 in Washington, D.C., his influence from his years of working the go-go and rap circuits became apparent in his music...
. This collaboration resuled in the classic song Let Me Clear My Throat
Let Me Clear My Throat
"Let Me Clear My Throat" is a 1996 song by hip-hop artist DJ Kool from his album of the same name Let Me Clear My Throat. It was recorded live at the Bahama Bay club in Philadelphia.-Track listing:...
and garnered a contract to Warner Brothers American label which was chaired by none other than Rick Rubin. During their appearance at Hampton, Virginia's WOWI FM's's JamzFest 7, Jay met Phyllis Hyman
Phyllis Hyman
Phyllis Linda Hyman was an American soul singer and actress.-Early years:Phyllis Hyman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the St. Clair Village, the South Hills section of Pittsburgh...
's niece Sharae. The two kept in touch and in 1997 she asked Jay to come to Loud Records
Loud Records
Loud Records is a subsidiary of SRC Records founded by Steve Rifkind in 1992.Loud was a hip hop label which has released material by acts such as Wu-Tang Clan, Big Punisher, Mobb Deep, Krayzie Bone, The Beatnuts, M.O.P., Tha Alkaholiks, Pete Rock, Lil' Flip, Three 6 Mafia, Project Pat, Xzibit,...
RCA to assist with her artist Yvette Michelle. A meeting with Loud Record's CEO Steve Rifkind
Steve Rifkind
Steve Rifkind is a music entrepreneur who is, according to XXL magazine, "responsible for breaking in some of hip-hop’s biggest artists in his 25 years in the business". Rifkind was the founder and chairman of Loud Records as well as the founder and current chairman and CEO of SRC Records...
resulted in a whirlwind of international shows and two videos. Yvette Michelle thanked Jay in the liner notes of her album My Dream for "teaching her how to perform live." and being her DJ. Yvette was being produced by NYC DJ Funkmaster Flex
Funkmaster Flex
Aston George Taylor, Jr. better known as Funkmaster Flex is an American hip hop DJ, rapper, musician and producer on New York City's Hot 97 radio station and host of the hit MTV show Funk Flex Full Throttle....
who took a keen interest in Grandmaster Jay and on Aug 16, 1997 offered him a label deal on his Franchise/RCA Records label. Many artist of that time from SWV to Fatman Scoop
Fatman Scoop
Isaac Freeman III, better known by his stage name Fatman Scoop is a hip hop promoter and radio personality famed for his on-stage rough, raw, loud voice....
requested Jay to work with them in the studio and on the road.
However as Grandmaster Jay's popularity within the music industry grew, many of those around him who were singing his high praises became intimidated. Jay was asked to do deejay events ranging from The Source's Hip Hop Fashion Show to emcee appearances on "Everybody's In Da House", a who's who of Southern emcees produced on J Records
J Records
J Records was an American record label, owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment, and was distributed through the RCA Music Group.-Company history:...
. After attending a recording session with Yvette Michele
Yvette Michele
Yvette Michele is an American R&B singer who released her debut album, My Dream, on August 26, 1997 on the RCA record label, which peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200...
at D&D Studios in Nov 1998, Grandmaster Jay walked away from the music scene altogether and returned to North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. This move effectively ended the career of Yvette Mechele, Loud Records's deal with Franchise, and severed his ties with the publicity arm of his fame, Double Exposure NYC.
Grandmaster Jay did not emerge again until 2003 when he teamed up with Johnny Cabbell and his Hit After Hit Entertainment Group from Atlanta, Georgia. Touring with Crime Mob
Crime Mob
Crime Mob was a hip hop/crunk group consisting of six members, M.I.G., Cyco Black, Princess, Lil' Jay, Diamond, and Killa C....
GMJ established himself securely in the Dirty South hip hop movement. In 2005 GMJ relocated to Atlanta, GA. and then to Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
.While there he was invited to join The CORE
The Core
The Core is a 2003 American disaster film loosely based on the novel Core by Paul Preuss. It concerns a team that has to drill to the center of the Earth and set off a series of nuclear explosions in order to restart the rotation of Earth's core...
DJs by North Carolina DJ Ike Geeda. This DJ coalition consisted of mostly new DJs from the Mid-West and South and was being headed up by Tony Neal of Milwaukee. Jay's first encounter with The CORE revealed a bunch of deejays who did not know hip hop history yet managed to build relationships with the major record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s. However since they embraced the role of the deejay, GMJ supported them even going so far as to become a major title sponsor of their 8th DJ Retreat which was held in New Orleans. Yet the CORE's failure to recognize the real deejays that built hip hop in the original markets like VA., DC., NYC,PA. and their failure to open any doors for new artists or talented deejays caused Jay to sever all ties with them in 2009. In 2007 Grandmaster Jay appeared at the 80s Was The Greatest Hip Hop Festival in Richmond, VA. He returned again in 2008 and performed with DJ Kool
DJ Kool
John W. Bowman, Jr., better known by his stage name DJ Kool is a rapper who, in the late 1990s, produced several popular rap singles. Born in 1959 in Washington, D.C., his influence from his years of working the go-go and rap circuits became apparent in his music...
and Doug E Fresh, Lil Vicious at the Stone Soul Fest held at The Strawberry Downs Complex. In December 2008 he performed as the show deejay for Young Jeezy
Young Jeezy
Jay Wayne Jenkins , better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. He is the member of the hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America and a former member of BMF...
at the Baltimore Coliseum
Baltimore Coliseum
Baltimore Coliseum was an indoor arena in Baltimore, Maryland. It hosted the NBA's original Baltimore Bullets from 1944 until 1954.The Coliseum was built in 1930 on the corner of Monroe Street and...
.
In 2009 Grandmaster Jay hosted a Stop The Violence Weekend in Detroit that lasted three days, touched all facets of the community, involved the media, school system, and culminated in The Pioneers of Hip Hop show at the Fox Theatre
Fox Theatre
Fox Theatres was a large chain of movie theaters in the United States dating from the 1920s either built by Fox Film Corporation studio owner William Fox, or subsequently merged in 1929 by Fox with the West Coast Theatres chain, to form the Fox West Coast Theatres chain.-Architectural styles:Many...
that featured Sugar Hill Gang, Whodini
Whodini
Whodini is a hip hop group that was formed in 1981. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, aka Ecstasy ; and turntable artist DJ Drew Carter, aka Grandmaster Dee.-Early years:Whodini was among the first hip-hop groups to...
, Big Daddy Kane
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MC's in Hip Hop...
, Doug E Fresh and Slick Rick
Slick Rick
Richard Walters , better known by his stage name Slick Rick is a Grammy-nominated English-American rapper...
, MC Lyte
MC Lyte
MC Lyte is an American rapper who first gained fame in the late-1980s becoming the first solo female rapper to release a full album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock.-Early life:...
, and Grandmaster Jay deejaying for KRS One. Photographs of all these events are on constant display as well as samples of Grandmaster Jays rap songs and deejay mixes on his Myspace Page http://www.myspace.com/grandmaster.jay Today Grandmaster Jay is considered by many to be one of hip hop's most overlooked icons. Even after the murder of Jam Master Jay in 2006, many still get these two confused while others don't even know JMJ is dead, because they only knew and still know GMJ. Grandmaster Jay still performs at major events and in major venues as a constant example to the upcoming. On April 22, 2010 he performed/hosted the Reflection Eternal Tour kickoff with Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...
, Hi-Tek
Hi-Tek
Tony Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek, is an American record producer and rapper from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli on his Reflection Eternal album and on Black Star...
, and J Cole at the Madison Theater in Covington, Kentucky
Covington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...
. He was immediately asked by Hi-Tek to join the tour, which he declined.
In February 2011 Grandmaster Jay performed with The Legendary George Clinton
George Clinton (musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
and Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
. During this show he met the daughter of Brides of Funkenstein's Tamalya "TJ" Evans. Also the niece of legendary bassist Cornell "Boogie" Molson, TJ, already in the studio recording with Molson, invited Jay to appear on her second debut "Shaky Land". Jay and TeeJay collaborated in the studio and under Jay's guidance created a new song,"Shakey Ground" which was released in conjunction with TJ's song with Molson entitled "Paradiso". On May 31, 2011 Grandmaster Jay appeared with George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic, and TJ Evans at BB Kings in New York City. Jay brought Mr. Cheeks
Mr. Cheeks
Mr. Cheeks is a Grammy Award winning rapper best known for his work with the musical group Lost Boyz, and his career as a solo artist.-Biography:...
of The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys is a 1987 American teen comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes....
.
External links
- http://www.myspace.com/grandmaster.jay
- http://www.starpolish.com/artists/details.asp?id=4704