Alright y`all grab ya`self some popcorn & drinks, roll a few blunts/ joints & get ready to take in this Jam Master Jam documentary titled "2 Turntables & A Microphone: The Life & Death Of Jam Master Jay". It clocks in at 1 hour & 35 minutes, I believe that this joint was packaged up as a bonus DVD with 50 Cent`s "Before I Self Destruct" album (please correct me if I`m wrong) which dropped in 2009. The documentary takes a look at the Life & Death of Jason Mizell a.k.a. DJ Jam Master Jay, the driving force behind Run DMC`s style & sound. You get to see some great vintage photos mixed in with some short interview clips from a few of Jay`s Hollis, Queens comrades; Run (Joseph Simmons) & Russell Simmons, but strangely no DMC -- the doc` loses some major points for that! Some of Jam Master`s musical protégés like Onyx, 50 Cent & Jayo Felony speak on him. While surprisingly (since 50 Cent helped fund this project) even Ja Rule & Black Child along with other various Queens artists & industry insiders weigh in on how Jam Master Jay impacted both HiP HoP & their lives...
Overall this documentary is decent, they do a good job shedding some light on Jam Master Jay`s legacy. The only things that I didn`t like were the fact that there wasn`t any interviews with fellow group member DMC, producer Rick Rubin or any of Jason`s immediate family. There could have been more stage show/ live performance footage & maybe just a lot more Run DMC music played thru~out the documentary would`ve been nice (maybe they couldn`t clear the samples...LoL). Regardless of what may have been missed this documentary should be seen at least once if you`re a fan of JMJ or Run DMC, so check it out. It`s in mp4 format, so I`m sure you`ll be able to watch it on ya` i-Pods...
Released: 2009
R.i.P. JaM MaSTeR JaY...