The hip-hop world went into mourning when Jay died. His funeral was statesman-like. A glass-covered carriage pulled by four white horses carried his body to the Greater Allen Cathedral in Queens, which was packed with fans, family and friends including LL Cool J, A Tribe Called Quest, 50 Cent and Ja Rule.
The 37-year-old father of three was known and loved for his generosity. He helped friends and family but he was also broke and dealing in cocaine. Jay owed the IRS close to $500,000, according to Tracey Miller, Run-DMC’s longtime publicist. There’s a view that the murder investigation was hampered because people didn’t want to talk about those aspects of Jay’s life.
Jay carried a gun and wore a bulletproof vest. None of these helped him in the end.
“Everybody wants to whitewash Jay’s life,” said Curtis Scoon, who was once close to Jay and was at one-time a suspect in his death. “But Jay, like all men, had his flaws,” Scoon said during a Playboy interview published in December 2003.
“He was no saint. What man is? But he can still be people’s hero without being perfect,” Scoon said. “This isn’t about tarnishing Jay’s legacy. The attempt to cover up his business dealings and protect his image is why it’s taking so long to catch his killer.”
That was 17 years ago. No one could have predicted how much longer it would take to get justice for Jay.
