1. Jazzy Jay was born into a Gullah family in coastal South Carolina.
11 Facts About Jazzy Jay
1. 2.
Jazzy Jay moved with his family to New York City at a young age and took up the drums, his first instrument.
3.
Jazzy Jay's first drum was a Roland drum machine 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.
4.
Jazzy Jay hosted a hip hop radio program on WRKS 98.7 Kiss FM and in 1984 he played himself as The Roxy's DJ in the influential hip hop film Beat Street.
5.
Around 1984, Jay met Rick Rubin and assisted him in laying the foundation for what would become Def Jam Recordings.
6.
Jazzy Jay later introduced Rubin to Russell Simmons, creating one of the most important partnerships in hip hop production.
7.
Jazzy Jay began his own label, Strong City Records, through a partnership with Rocky Bucano.
8.
Jazzy Jay is interviewed extensively in the 2003 hip hop documentary 5 Sides of a Coin.
9.
Jazzy Jay was featured in the 2004 song "Rock And Roll Part 2" by Handsome Boy Modeling School giving a background on himself and on rap as an art form.
10.
Jazzy Jay narrated a walking tour of The Bronx, "Hip Hop," by Soundwalk, that won the 2004 Audie award for Best Original Work.
11.
In 2012, Jazzy Jay confirmed he was working on a collaborative album with DJ Phix.