Jazzy Jay, born John Byas in 1961 in Beaufort, South Carolina, is a legendary hip-hop DJ, producer, and music executive who played a major role in the early development of hip-hop music in New York City during the 1970s and 1980s.
Jay grew up in the South Bronx and became interested in music at an early age. He started playing records as a teenager and quickly developed a reputation as a skilled DJ. In the late 1970s, he became a member of Afrika Bambaataa’s Zulu Nation, a collective of DJs, MCs, and artists who were instrumental in the early development of hip-hop culture.
Jay gained widespread recognition as a DJ in the early 1980s when he became a resident DJ at the Roxy, a legendary nightclub in New York City that was one of the epicenters of hip-hop culture at the time. He also started producing music in the early 1980s and released a number of singles under his own name as well as under the name Jazzy Jay & The Soul Sonic Force.
In addition to his work as a DJ and producer, Jay also became involved in the music business side of hip-hop. In the mid-1980s, he co-founded Strong City Records, an independent hip-hop label that released records by a number of notable artists, including Ultimate Force, Fearless Four, and the Cold Crush Brothers.
Jay’s influence on hip-hop continued throughout the 1990s and 2000s. He worked as a producer and remixer for a number of artists, including Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy, and Beastie Boys, and he continued to tour and perform as a DJ around the world.
Today, Jazzy Jay is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of hip-hop music and culture. He played a major role in shaping the early sound of hip-hop, and he helped to popularize the DJ as an important figure in hip-hop music. His contributions to the genre have been recognized with numerous awards and accolades, including induction into the Hip Hop Hall of Fame and the Technics DJ Hall of Fame.
