The Jam Master
Jay Foundation for Music and adidas will celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the
renowned adidas Superstar sneaker, dubbed the "shell top" and made
famous by hip-hop icons Run DMC, while commemorating the life of slain Run DMC
DJ Jam Master Jay.
The gala benefit takes place February 25 in New York City and
represents the official kickoff of Jam Master Jay Foundation, a non-profit organization
that provides funding and resources for public school music education programs.
is going to be a real, life changing organization. We’re gonna impact lives
and we’re gonna really make a difference," DMC told AllHipHop.com. "We’re
gonna do everything that hip-hop is supposed to be doing right now."
All proceeds from the benefit go to the Jam Master Jay Foundation
for Music, a new organization founded by Jay’s wife Terri Mizell, separate from
the organization founded by Jay’s mother Connie Mizell-Perry and brother Marvin
Thompson.
DMC says he hopes to keep Jam Master Jay’s legacy alive by serving
as the spokesman for the foundation.
"Even though he’s not physically with us, I’m gonna do
everything in my power to make sure people remember his name," said DMC.
"At the same time, I’m gonna be the vehicle ¬ and do everything that
Jay would have been doing if he was still here on earth with us today."
The JMJ: Superstar featured event at the gala includes appearances
by Missy Elliott, Kid Rock, DMC, Chuck D and other top names in music, fashion
and entertainment.
"This is what what Jay represented, this is what Run-DMC
represented, this is what Hip-Hop represented," DMC said of the organization
and what it stands for.
Jam Master Jay
was gunned down in his Queens, New York recording studio on October 30, 2002.
Despite several
leads and several witnesses to the murder, no one has ever been arrested for
the murder of the legendary DJ, who helped spread Hip-Hop music across the globe.