October 30, 2002 shattered the lives of more than just the man the world knew as Jam Master Jay. On the day the news broke, families, friends and loved ones of Jam Master Jay’s seemed to have cracked as well.
It’s now apparent that Jason Mizell was more than just a Hip-Hop DJ. He was a man whom many friends depended on and counted on for their livelihoods. Like the countless of other mothers across the world that know the horror of losing a child before their own life expires, Connie Mizell-Perry is trying to cope with the loss of her son and the break up of her family
There’s a saying. “Show me your friends and I will show you your future.”
If only someone would have shown Jay his future, maybe the present wouldn’t be so painful for those who loved Jam Master Jay.
AllHipHop: What did you initially think the reason was for you son being shot and killed?
Connie Mizell Perry: I had no thoughts about a reason. I never dreamed that he had an enemy that would want to kill him.
AllHipHop: Shortly after Jay was killed, there were a number of theories about the motives behind his murder. Did you know any of the characters Jay associated with?
CMP: I never met the ones that you might consider shady, but Jason saw people as people. He didn’t look at them for what they did or how they thought. That’s the way I taught him. I tried to show him that
we look at people for who they are.
AllHipHop: The theories were that Jay was killed over an old debt. First it was cocaine, then it went to watches, then it went back to a drug deal gone wrong, then it shifted to the people in the recording studio. Did you know the individuals in the studio?
CMP: I didn’t know Randy Allen’s sister Lydia High. She wasn’t here when I was living here. I knew Randy from childhood. I don’t know what to think about that. I do believe it was someone that Jason knew. Definitely.
AllHipHop: There was a lot of press around Randy Allen’s name and the police said they were investigating him pertaining to the events that transpired that evening. Have you heard from him?
CMP: I haven’t seen Randy at all. I saw him at the wake. I haven’t seen or spoke to him since then.
AllHipHop: Jay’s nephew Boe, who is your Grandson, and Randy are still very close. What do you think about Jay’s nephew being so close to someone that is being investigated for the murder of his uncle?
CMP: My grandson is caught up in a situation. Jason signed an agreement with Virgin Records, I guess. Boe tried to get out, but they said he had to stay due to whatever contract they had signed. I don’t see him as being very happy with the situation. There are some things he may know that we don’t know, but he is still trying to work with Randy to finish the contract. I don’t see him staying with Randy.
AllHipHop: The day after Jay was shot and killed didn’t Boe go with Randy for three days somewhere? From what I heard, they threatened Randy with police action to get Boe back. Is that true?
CMP: That was me. Boe didn’t disappear. Randy came and told Boe the same night Jay was killed, that they had to finish their Rusty Waters record. It was a must that they finish it. He came and took him to New Jersey or somewhere. He called his mom and told her that he wanted to be with the family after Jason had died and he couldn’t get there because he didn’t know where he was and didn’t have a way to get back. They asked Randy and he said they were working, but they were really just in a room. When he left, he thought he was going to the studio. I got tired of waiting and I’m the one who told the guys to call Randy and if Boe wasn’t back in two hours, I was going to call the cops for kidnapping.
AllHipHop: Was he being held against his will?
CMP: Yes, he was being held against his will. Look, what friend is more concerned with that when their friend has died? He thought more of making money, than having Boe be with his uncle, when his uncle was always there for him. Boe called me to let me know he was OK and that he would be home.
AllHipHop: Is it possible that Boe had anything to do with Jay’s death?
CMP: No way. He is still not right. Just the mere thought that Jason is gone is hurting him and he’s still suffering from it. Jason was like the father he didn’t have. He always took care of Boe. That’s the worst thing that anyone could have said.
AllHipHop: So from the inside there’s one person that’s the puppetmaster pulling the strings?
CMP: That’s the way I see it. That’s Randy. Boe has to go through Randy for everything, even to get his pay. It’s fixed up so Boe can’t get his direct pay from the record label, he always has to go though Randy or his sister Lydia. I knew it shouldn’t be that way. I know Russell (Simmons) and them didn’t hold Jason’s money when he first got started. Boe had relied on Jason, who believed in Randy. Boe asked me “why would Uncle Jason put me with Randy if Randy is so bad?” I said “I can’t answer that.” So he was really confused.
AllHipHop: How do you feel the police are handling the investigation?
CMP: I don’t know anything about that. I’m the mother but they wouldn’t explain to me, even when I came up from North Carolina for the funeral, they didn’t ask or tell me anything. They haven’t even told me the status of the investigation.
AllHipHop: They have never told you the status of your son’s murder?
CMP: No.