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.

A personal note from Shane:

This one hurts. I know a lot of you guys don't get off on the rap thing, and that's fine, but this is just shocking.

Jay brought the art of spinning records and scratching to the mainstream. If it wasn't for Jay, there'd be no DJ Shadow... no Jurassic 5... hell, maybe not even a Fatboy Slim.

The real irony here is that Jay - regardless of what you thought of his skills - was a genuine guy who always seemed to lend a hand. Whether it was letting new hip-hop artists use his studio or judging the DMC finals or giving keynote lectures on hip-hop, Jay was always trying to help out the hip-hop community.

Run-DMC's anti-violence stance was well-known, and that's why I'm so gutted by this.

Do me a favor. Go listen to hip-hop. Right now. ANYTHING in your collection. And then thank Jay for helping bring it to your stereos. I'm sure the guy would want to be remembered for the music and little else.