Birthday: Jam Master Jay

Run-D.M.C. DJ Jam Master Jay would have turned 44 years old today.

Jay was born Jason Mizell on Jan. 21, 1965 in Brooklyn, New York. He later moved to Queens with his family, and began playing bass and drums in garage bands as a teenager. He later became a DJ and acquired a following because of the flashy clothes he wore on stage.

Jay later met Run (real name Joseph Simmons) and D.M.C. (real name Darryl McDaniels) in 1982, and he joined their group a year later. Jay DJed on every Run-D.M.C. album from their 1984 self-titled debut to 2001's Crown Royal, and also contributed keyboards, bass and drums to the albums.

Jay established his own record label, Jam Master Jay Records, in 1989, and signed New York hip-hop group Onyx in 1993.

On Oct. 30, 2002, Jay was shot to death in a Queens recording studio.

He will be posthumously inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with the other two members of Run-D.M.C. on April 4.