The hip-hop and turntablist world is shocked tonight by the murder of Run-DMC's JAM MASTER JAY. Jay was shot fatally in the head at around 7:30 tonight during an altercation at his recording studio in Queens.

The hip-hop world is already reeling, with the founding fathers of the New York rap scene (including Public Enemy's Chuck D) converging on the scene of the crime.

Run-DMC's place at the front of rap history is indisputable. It was Run-DMC that first introduced most of the world to rap music, and Jam Master Jay was most of America's first glimpse at a turntablist DJ.

Beyond Run-DMC, Jay was also very instrumental in the DMC turntablist championships, the annual event that crowns the best turntablist DJ's in the world.

Click more for thoughts from EO Admin Shane Brown.