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November 5, 2002
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing in response to a column by Lloyd Williams
regarding the death of Run-DMC DJ Jason "Jam Master
Jay" Mizell from the November 5, 2002 edition of
the Philadelphia Metro.
I assume that it was the hope of your editors to elicit
a huge number of irate replies to Mr. Williams' column
by the way the paper advertised it with the quote on
the bottom of the front page suggesting Jason Mizell
should have sought a "less risky line of work."
I am sure that you have been successful in that regard.
I am hoping to express a more thought out reply to
what I read.
I must admit that I agree with Mr. Williams' assertion
that those in rap music that live a violent lifestyle,
are more than likely consumed by it. After all, "he
who lives by the sword...." Where I heartily disagree
with Mr. Williams is the way that he makes it appear
that Jason Mizell was involved in any violence that
can be attributed to recent events in hip hop.
In his own words, Mr. Williams states that he was not
a fan of Jam Master Jay. That is evident in the fact
that he calls him a "good rapper," when, in
fact he was the DJ for Run-DMC. Even going so far as
to suggest Jason Mizell "expected to go out in
a blaze of glory," inferring that he wanted to
die a violent death.
When Mr. Williams, having little or no apparent knowledge
or interest in rap music, refers to all who are involved
in rap music as violent, antisocial deviants, he casts
an erroneous shadow on those in hip hop who do not live
a lifestyle of violence or antisocial behavior.
My question to Mr. Williams is simple: Where has Jason
Mizell ever been implicated in any illegal acts, wrong
doing or violence?
One thing that is clear is that the hip hop culture,
swims in the same social pool as every other culture
in America. Mr. Williams' labeling of all rappers as
violent, is almost akin to saying that all Rabbi's hire
hit men to murder their wives, all Catholic priests
molest little children, all white women in South Carolina
drown their kids in a car and say they were car jacked
by a black man, all barbers believe that Rosa Parks
was just tired, all baseball players (who deserve to
be in the baseball Hall of Fame) bet on baseball, all
white female teachers have sexual affairs with their
preteen Latino male students or any man with a computer
and an opinion can be a columnist.
I too have been turned off by the way that rap music
has evolved. What was once a vibrant art form that spoke
to me and gave me knowledge about my history through
songs of great leaders that fought for equal treatment
and opportunities for African-Americans, to songs of
anti-violence and protest of governments that had no
regard for human rights, has become a genre of music
that believes that the one dying with the most toys
wins. The rap music I grew up on was not what it is
today. The rap music I listened to never spoke of killing
each other, glorified drugs or violence. That is the
rap music I love.
The assertion by your columnist, Lloyd Williams, that
Mr. Mizell was a violent man, one who deserved to die
a violent death, is reprehensible. No one, in my opinion,
is deserving of that type of death. As a person, a child
of hip hop and rap music, I take great offense to Mr.
Williams' column.
Andre Bright
Philadelphia, PA
Congratulations ! After reading Mr Lloyd Williams article
on the life of Jam Master Jay, I must tell you that, I
have never in my life read a more irresponsible piece
of so-called journalism. How is it that Mr. Williams,
who obviously is not a fan of rap music, has become such
an authority on the subject ? Better still, he's an authority
on the life of Jam Master Jay ? When did Jam Master Jay
lead a violent life ? Mr Mizzell died a violent death,
as do our young people, each day, all across the country,
yet to indicate that it is somehow related to the teachings
of the Tao is utterly ridiculous. Would not the same be
true for John Gotti. Mr Williams is, quite frankly an
idiot. I would strongly suggest that he try a little thing
called "research" before writing his next piece.
With respect to that, I would like to pass along two websites,
<www.oldheadmusic.com>, and <www.phillyhiphop.com>
. These sites will offer an insight to rap music, that
Mr. Williams has obviously not seen.
Old Head
www.oldheadmusic.com
Good Morning..
I'm contacting you to get an update on the (planned?)
boycott of the Philadelphia edition of the Metro. I'd
like to know if the editor/paper ever issued an apology
for the blatantly racist article they ran covering the
death of hip-hop legend/pioneer Jam Master Jay. I do
not live the Philadelphia area (I'm located in Cambridge,
MA) but have been entertaining the idea of trying to
organize a boycott of the local edition of the Metro(Boston
Metro) in order to put added pressure on the folks down
in the Philadelphia office. Any information you could
send me would be highly appreciated. Thanks for your
time.
Peace,
Jason Boyd
You have my support completely. And if there is anything
the heads in New Orleans can do, let me know and I'll
put the word out. The comments he made don't even carry
enough weight for me to justify with a retort. What an
idiot. I hope too many people don't believe what this
stuck up miserable little man said.
Peace and HipHop,
- D
Snow I first would like to thank you and the entire staff
at PhillyHipHop.com for your immediate coverage. I was
appalled to say the least when I read his article yesterday
after noon. Usually I just skim though Mr. Banks' section
anyway because rarely his anything revealing to say, once
I realized that the story was regarding JMJ I took time
to read it and I am glad I did. His rapper/rapist metaphor
had taken the cake for me though, after that I was convinced
that this is something that must not go by unchecked.
The last thing I would like to see is another man out
of work not being able to provide for him self and possibly
a family, regardless of what race or nationality he is.
But we all must be held accountable for what we say out
of our mouths, rappers as well as journalist, I am more
than willing to help out anyway I can. I just ask that
we do not follow Mr. Banks bad example deal with this
situation half cocked. On behalf of me and the entire
staff of Whole Unit Artistic Development, Inc. you have
our support.
Abu Tilghman
I can't believe that was actually written!
Please inform me of what's being done to boycott The
Philadelphia Metro.
Thanks,
Hilary Sopczak
Designer
The Source Magazine
one of the best things you could also do is make available
the email address to write letters to the editor of
that magazine.. that article is probably the biggest
pile of bullshit i've ever seen in my life. I'd love
to write a letter to the editor myself also.
peace
Deacon The Villain
yo--
hit me up with info on the boycott...i just read that
metro article, that shit is the most upsetting worthless
poorly investigated and negatively biased piece of fucking
trash, its a shame that the image of such a prominent
anti-violent pioneer of the hip hop community such as
jam master jay has to have his image smeered--not to
mention our culture bashed--by a no good fuck like this
writer. ...look what writers such as this metro asshole
have people thinking about our culture...its very usetting.
Yo,
First off, thanks for posting this up so people can
see how some people generalize rap music. It is so sad
that a man with no clue to the life, music and contributions
of Jam Master Jay could even try to write an opinionated
piece about him. Even sadder is that this article will
be consumed by even more uniformed readers and stereotypes
will be entrenched even further. I live in the Bay Area,
CA...if there is anything I can do to help you out,
let me know.
peace and best regards,
Omar
Please add ThaBlaze.com to the Boycott of the Metro. Simply
ridiculous. Appalled by the statements made in a mainstream
unconstructive fashion.
TimSavage
ThaBlaze.com
TimSavage@ThaBlaze.com
I was wondering how I could get involved in the Boycott?
If there is anything you feel that i might be able to
do, please do not hesitate to contact me.
K. Laynes
Montreal, Quebecc
Are there any plans to expand the boycott beyond Philly?
I'm not too sure about the ownership of the Metro paper
but it would seem to
me that it's a chain in several cities. We have a transit
newspaper here in
Toronto called Metro, same logo, etc.
If you do plan on extending the boycott I can hook
you up with some local
organizations here in the T-Dot.
Yours,
Jonah Bettio (Toronto)
As the former editor of the editorial section of a
newspaper with a circulation of 12,000, I understand
that a diverse readership requires diverse opinion,
however, as a member of the print media community, The
Metro shirked it's duties by not holding it's editorialist,
Lloyd Williams, to standards of journalistic integrity.
While Williams generalizations of Taoist philosophy
and even commercial hip-hop may be arguable, his characterization
of the late Jason Mizell (Jam Master Jay) is pitifully
unresearched. In some cases it is difficult for an outsider
to get information about particular aspects of hip-hop
music, but in the case of the group Run D.M.C., this
is not an issue. Even before his death, there were numerous
websites and magazine articles with as much information
as anyone could want. Even before writing this letter,
I reviewed the lyrics from several Run D.M.C. albums
and neither the lyrics, nor the lifestyle of this particular
group supports Williams editorial.
Williams use of Mizell's death as an opportunity to
jump on this tried-and-true rage-against-hip hop bandwagaon
is as pitiful and tacky as politicians use of the Washington
D.C. sniper hysteria to push pork barrel gun control
legislation. But more to the point, his obvious lack
of research is an insult to anyone who takes journalism
seriously and the editors of The Metro should be more
critical of his submissions in the future.
Tonya Matthews
Washington, D.C
Thank You,
For imforming me, a person who lives in Worcester MA while
at college and calls Amherst Ma his hometown about this
disgraceful article. This guy should loose his job. I
have never been more hurt or disrespected by an article
in my life. Please let me know what steps I can take to
help you guys in your protest Llyod Williams, freelance
piece of shit. Many Thanks For Doing Something About This
Guy, Gino Sorcinelli DJ SORCE
yo.. my name is ken bray....
please forward me any information so i can join in this
boycott of this idiot....
thank you... peace
ken bray
aka dj brayks
I just received the email concerning Lloyd Williams
and I am wondering could you pass on the email of his
editor. While I do not live in the Philadelphia area,
I am just as upset about this guys comments as the next
man. I know columnist are supposed to spark debate and
interesting dialogue but what this guy has done is irresponsible
journalism. At the same time he showed no respect to
the dead. If you do not have the email address of the
editor where can I go to get it from.
thanx
good luck with the boycott. someone posted a link to your
story on globalcypher.com and i still can't believe what
i read. that dude should be fired can't help much with
the boycott as i'm in pittsburgh, but i wanted to take
a minute to show support
peace
matt porter
www.beyourselfrecords.com
I am from California, but I was outraged by this article
regarding Jam Masta Jay, and was wondering if there is
anything I can do.
I just got this link from a friend. Tell me what is going
to happen to
this ignorant, disgraceful journalist.
I live in the UK, so it is not as easy for me to phone
in with a complaint,
but I would definitely like to voice my thoughts on
the publication of such
adulterated trash....is there an email address from
someone at the metro
that I can write to?
What can I do?
Pissed off,
Kelly
I have just read the article and I find it IMPOSSIBLE
not to say that this is without a doubt the most IGNORANT
piece of writing I have come across in my 20 years of
life. This is complete DISRESPECT for Jam Master Jay.
I fail to see how someone who doesn't even know the late
JMJ can make foolish and unwarranted assumptions and judgements
on his lifestyle. Furthermore, I am OUTRAGED that this
article was actually published. JMJ isn't even a rapper!!
He's a deejay. Is this the extent you people will go to
just for some publicity? I never knew about you guys and
I can say VERY confidently that I have no space in my
reading time for newpapers that choose to publish IGNORANT
articles. Moreover, this is SAD that a black man (who
happens to be involved in hip hop) should die and someone
takes the opportunity to use his death to bash Hip Hop.
He [Lloyd} is tarnishing the image of JMJ and this is
completely unacceptable. I EXPECT this man and your publication
to make a VERY public apology as soon as possible or I
can promise you that I will call ALL the radio deejays
I know and we will together MAKE SURE that your "newspaper"
(or whatever it is) get something to prompt you to do
so. This is SLANDER and IGNORANCE like I have NEVER seen
it before. THIS IS DISGUSTING that you people are actually
in the position to publish articles of this kind.
You also might want to check the folowing website where
we're organizing a boycott of your paper.
http://www.phillyhiphop.com/_features/snowstorm/110602-metro.html
Arhin Taylor-Hayford
WHRW Radio
New York
My husband brought a copy of the e-mail you sent with
Mr. Williams' idiotic piece of "journalism".
I could not believe what I was reading. I kept saying
to my husband, "this goofball cannot be black - please
tell me he's not a brother." In addition to the points
you made, I would like to add a few.
First, his comment of "...that brash brand of music
has always been to boast about being a gansta and to holler
about how tough you are and how high a body count you've
compiled." is completely false! Hiphop music was
about who had the best the rapping skills, who could pull
the most women, whose neighborhood/town was best and who
had the best clothes, cars, etc. Gansta rap did not gain
popularity until the mid to late 90's and by that time
Run-DMC were already considered "old school".
Secondly, if Mr. Williams is from Queens, he has to know
that Jam Master Jay did not "pretend" to be
from the projects. (in fact if I remember correctly the
group constantly talked about being from Queens) His FANS
already know that so they cannot be misled.
Thirdly, JMJ's owed debts was to the IRS. Tupac and Biggie????
That was between two record labels that had NOTHING to
do with Run-DMC or JMJ. I think Mr. Williams is lying.
He is not from Queens. Nobody - BLACK - from Queens can
be this ignorant about rap/hiphop music - fan or no fan.
Are you sure he is black? Does he know he is black? Comparing
rapping to raping?? Come on, does he really hate himself
and his brothers in this industry that much??
Lastly, if Queens is good enough for his parents to remain
there, why should JMJ have moved his family? He wanted
to stay in his community. What the @##$ is wrong with
that? It would be different if JMJ's name had constantly
been in the news for legal troubles, but this horrible
and untimely death WAS a shock. I think Lloyd Williams
changed his name - it was Tom. Your damn right he should
apologize, and I too hope JMJ's family sue his ignorant
behind. NOT IGNORANT MEANING RUDE, BUT IGNORANT MEANING
DUMB.....THAT IS....
...after reading that snow storm i am so pissed off that
i cant even speak
right with out speaking hatefull words. Like dirty fucking
cock sucker. I
wanna go to school for journalism. I havent even been
to a class yet but I
know the first thing you do befor even picking up a pen
is research the
subject that you are writing about. This fucking faggot
shouldnt recive a pay
check cuz he obvisly aint doing his job corect. All he
hears about is the
more comercilised artist who claim to be living that gang
life and assumes
that the whole comunity is about. Snow, I'm far from old
school, im only 21.
I dont know how dmc came up but I've herd quite a few
dmc albums and I know
thats not what they are about. Let me cut to the chase,
give me the names of
the advertisers and i will start writing each one and
let them know that the
boycot is on. I would boycot his article but i can not
boycot a product i
dont use (or in this case an article i dont read) I'm
tired of shit like the
whole pac and biggie situation giving us a bad rap. Dont
get me wrong i loved
pac and biggie but thats 2 cats out of a large comunity.
That would be like
saying this whole country likes going to baseball games
and eating hot dogs.
My fault man you would think im bitching at you with the
shit im typing. Im
gonna go a head and e mail that cock sucker an e mail.
Dont worry ill keep it
clean. I dont want to give us a bad rap.
Peace,
Big Z
That Chester, D ware And back up to p.a in harrisburg
Hot shit Sadistik !
hey man i totally feel you something needs to be done
about this careless journalism. This was teh same case
in 2001 when Aaliyah died, an irresponsible journalist
basically bashed her just as this man did jam master jay.
i am a temple university student and a member of main
campus program board which has many ties with many of
teh activities on campus if your serious about a boycott
then im sure we can help. its about time we stand up for
ourselves and stop allowing teh media to depict us as
animals. please contact me this should not go unnoticed..
I was both deeply hurt and appalled after reading Lloyd
Williams blatantly racist and stereotypical article
about Jam Master Jay.
It was irresponsible and libelous of the Philadelphia
Metro to print such a vile and malicious diatribe void
of common sense and lacking in general decency.
Unlike Mr. Williams I was a big fan of Jam Master Jay
and Run-DMC , I also had the pleasure of their friendship
for about 18 years, during which time I never saw Jason
Mizell be arrogant, insulting, violent nor demeaning
toward anyone.
What qualified this un-informed person to write about
the great man that was Jason Mizell?
I used to trust the press as a child, if I read something
in the paper or saw it on TV "it must have been
true" or the man on TV wouldn't have said it. Surely
the reporters research every subject before they write
each story, don't they?
Of course they don't I would learn as I grew older.
Today's press will print anything that they think will
generate sales, regardless of the truth.
A simple search of Goggle would have been sufficiant
in giving this poor excuse for a journalist enought
facts to refute his own ignorance, what motivated your
rag to print it is another sad story entirely.
There were many twisted facts and outright lies spewed
at the expense of my dear friend Jam Jaster Jay and
at the expense of my culture and music, Hip-hop.
Mr. Willaims said:
1. Quoting Lao Tzu, "The violent man shall die
a violent death." So I wasn't exactly surprised
when I heard that yet another rapper had gone out in
a blaze of glory"
(two problems with the quote and statement. Jason Mizell
was not a violent man. Jason Mizell was also not a rapper
he was a "DJ". Did Mr. Williams
do even 1 second of research?)
2. "the "essence "of that brash brand
of music has always been to boast about being a gangsta
and to holler about how tough you are and how high a
body count you've compiled".
(Where on Earth did you get that idea? As a Hip-hop
historian, archivist, activist and pioneer in my own
right I have never heard such a ludicrously false statement).
3. "Hence, all the rappers with the long rap sheets,
inking so much space on crime blotters across the country.
The tragedy is that a lot of kids actually look up to
these rebels without a clue as role models. The truth
be told, any of this lost generation of boys caught
up in the cultural vacuum of emulating outlaw antics
aren't going to get very far in life"
(Is that a fact? I have been involved in the rap game
since I was a skinny 11 year old growing up in the South
Bronx, I have been a DJ, MC, promoter, producer, photographer,
writer and more. In fact Hip-hop has supplied over 99%
of the finances that I have earned in my life and i
have never been arrested nor had trouble with the law
in any form.)
4. "the much ballyhooed East Coast-West Coast
rivalry"
(There is no East Coast - West Coast rivalry, It was
much ballyhooed by the press and it continues to be).
I will refrain from picking Llyod Williams's utter
nonsense apart line by line from this point on because
I am finding it quite difficult to continue without
responding with a long string of the worst profanity
that you have ever heard or read in your life. As he
would dare call Hip-hop the genre of Peace, Love and
Unity "cacaphonic"
(which he mispelled and will probably say that the rag
of a paper Philly Metro made a simple typo).
And the nerve to say:
"To most law-abiding citizens, talking about a
good or bad rapper is like talking about good and bad
rapists"
The rep on rap is so bad because of unaware, uninformed,
fools writing facetiously about subjects that they have
no knowledge of who beguile readers into beliveing that
are receiving valid information.
Lloyd Williams article "Rappers often killed by
their own lifestyle" is loaded with vicious insults
and reinforces racist stereotypes.
You owe the family and friends of Jason Mizell an appology
Lloyd Williams, you have attempted to drag the name
of a very good brother indeed through the gutter.
I hope that Mr. Williams was paid well by the Philadelphia
Metro for the foul deed of writing these insults aimed
at black youth and the memory of Jason Mizell in particular
with your insidious poison pen, however, it would take
more than a thousand sellouts like Lloyd Williams to
even scratch the surface of "Jam Master Jay"
and our glorious Hip-hop Culture.
Claude Paradise Gray
Manager Label Relations and Acquisitions
EMusic / MP3.com / Rollingstone / MP4.com
Vivendi Universal Net USA (VUNet USA)
Music And Media Group
4790 Eastgate Mall Road
San Diego, CA 92121
Paradise@vunetusa.com
(858)623-7043
This is in response to outrageous and slanderous generalizations
made in the Metro. As a human being I take great offense
at Lloyd Williams lumping of Jam Master Jay in with others
and his ignorant generalizations. He expresses more ignorance
in his article than the worst rappers do on their albums.
He articulates little sense. His column is devoid of the
desire to communicate with an open heart that one might
find if they listened to records by Public Enemy, Beastie
Boys, Run-DMC, A Tribe Called Quest, Blackalicious, Jurassic
5, and many other groups that work in the hip-hop/rap
field that are all trying (or were tying, in Run-DMC's
case) to raise the bar and elevate their art and humanity
to a higher level of consciousness.
I am a 31 year old, white pacifist. I follow the philosophy
of those like King, Ghandi, Chavez, etc. I have attended
hip-hop concerts and as a journalist have met up and
coming hip-hop artists who are full of love and the
desire to improve the human landscape. Lloyd Williams
owes all humane artists who work in the hip-hop idiom
an apology. They are not rapist, they are peaceful artists.
Not all rappers are peaceful, but many are. Some rappers
have tarnished the image of hip-hop which creates a
landscape of negativity that causes these types of generalizations,
but since Lloyd Williams is a journalist he has an even
greater responsibility not to perpetuate ignorance.
My favorite musician of all time is John Coltrane, the
jazz sax player. I believe he set the standard for what
a person can be as an artist and a human being. I believe
that there are many artists working in hip-hop today
that carry on Coltrane's legacy through putting words
to music. Coltrane was misunderstood by many in his
lifetime, so the artists that Lloyd Williams slanders
are in good company.
I have found music to be an invaluable solace throughout
my life, especially in recent time. Hip-hop is among
the many forms of music that have been an inspiration.
I know through my research and collaborations that I
am not alone.
Shame on Lloyd Williams. The trash he talks is as insulting
to the mind as he thinks rap is to ears.
C. J. Higgs
PUB Magazine
Tempe, AZ
I know I'm all the way in Oklahoma but what can I do...
that mess was retarded what he was saying.... My boyfriend
is a DJ at a local radio station here I'll have him announce
it over the air is there anything else I should do or
anything you would like for me to have him say over the
air........
I'm wit y'all on this....
Please inform me about what I can do to boycott what
has been said by this senseless and heartless animal
named Lloyd Williams. For people like himself are the
plague that is deteriorating our world today. I want
my voice to be heard so please inform me on what I can
do to let this come to light.....I am in utter frustration
right now through this mans arrogance and lack of knowledge
in HIP HOP.
YOurs in Hip Hop,
Brian Sass
sass15666@yahoo.com
Now I don't reply often. Cause I often don't have much
to say, but I took the time to read this article and was
ready to hurt somebody.
I've called the Editor Mark Moore at (215)717-2600
and asked that the man never be allowed to write again,
certainly not on issues he knows nothing about. I also
yelled at him for his lack luster fact checking and
for allowing a plain LAZY journalist to print such drivel.
I think we should bombard his office with phone calls
and mail. Let's let him know not only how big the community
is but how outraged we are.
Mailing address:Mark Moore 100 S Broad St. Phila Pa
19110
Thanks for your onslaught of the insult by Lloyd Williams
to Jay. We all know that he is not only ignorant but stupid.
So please let me know if there is a Petition to sign,
what we can do, how we can help to make this man understand
what a mistake he has made.
Please send me a link to the article if available along
with an email address for the writer, editor, and or
newspaper. This guy is going to get a few letters from
some educated, angry individuals. We need to do this
guy like Bill O'Rielly has been doing other hip-hop
artist.
Philip Armstrong
Structural Engineer
AMSEC LLC, M. Rosenblatt & Son Group
Voice: (757) 896-8054
Email: parmstrong@mrosenblatt.amsec.com
Let me know if there is anything we can do on this end
to help with this community unity. We will mention it
on the air on Saturday and make sure that there is information
on our site as well.
Paz,
Carmelita
Carmelita Sanchez
Wake Up Show
www.wakeupshow.com
******************************************
"At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that
the true revolutionary is guided by
a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of
a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality..."
-ERNESTO "CHE" GUEVARA
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