Two men have been convicted of murdering Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay.

His godson Carl Jordan Jr. and childhood friend Ronald Washington were charged with murdering the rapper in 2020 and have been found guilty by a New York jury.

The musician, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was shot in the head on October 30, 2002, in his recording studio.

The DJ was a member of one of the most famous rap groups of the 1980s, known for songs such as “this is tricky“And working with Aerosmith”go this way“.

The musician’s murder is one of the most notorious in hip-hop, joining the murders of rap icon Tupac Shakur and the Notorious BIG in the late ’90s.

Before the two men were arrested, investigators had struggled to track down a suspect in the murder, despite a deluge of tips, rumors and theories.

In closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Artie McConnell urged jurors to convict the two men, who both deny murder.

“Twenty years is a long time to wait for justice, don’t let this go on another minute,” he said.

Prosecutors say the pair betrayed the rap star over a cocaine deal.

Mizell is part of Run-DMC’s anti-drug message, delivered through public service announcements and lyrics like “We’re not thugs/We’re not doing drugs.”

But according to prosecutors and trial testimony, he racked up debt during the organization’s heyday and moonlighted as a cocaine middleman to pay bills and his habitual generosity.

“He got into the drug game to take care of the people who relied on him,” McConnell said in his summary.

Prosecution witnesses testified that in the final months of his life, Mizell planned to buy 10 kilograms of cocaine and sell it through a dealer in Jordan, Washington and Baltimore. But contacts in Baltimore refused to cooperate with Washington, according to testimony.

According to prosecutors, Washington and Jordan pursued Mizer out of revenge, greed and jealousy.

Two witnesses, former studio assistant Uriel Rincon and former Mizer business manager Lydia Hay, testified that Washington blocked the door and ordered Hay to lie on the floor. She said he brandished a gun.

Rincon recognized Jordan as the man who approached Mizell and exchanged a friendly greeting with Mizell before shots rang out, one of which wounded Rincon himself.

Three others, including a teenage singer who had just arrived at the studio to promote her demo tape, testified that they were in the next room and heard but did not see what happened.

Other witnesses testified that Washington and Jordan made incriminating statements after Mizer’s killing.

Neither Washington nor Jordan testified. Their lawyers have questioned the credibility of key prosecution witnesses and their memories of the shootings years ago, noting that some initially denied they could identify the attackers or heard who they were.

“Almost every witness’ testimony has taken a 180-degree turn,” Susan Kellman, a Washington attorney, told the judge during legal arguments.

Witnesses said they were overwhelmed, unwilling to pass on second-hand information or feared for their lives.

Washington’s defense also hired a retired psychology professor who demonstrated that people’s recollections of any event can be a mixture of what they actually experienced and what they subsequently learned.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.