John Byas (born November 18, 1961), also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay or Jazzy J, is an American hip hop DJ and producer.
Jazzy Jay was born into a Gullah family in coastal South Carolina. He moved with his family to New York City at a young age and took up the drums, his first instrument. His first drum was a Roland drum machine He began his career in hip hop in the 1970s in The Bronx, New York, the epicenter of hip hop culture during the first decade of its development, at the age of 13. An early member of Afrika Bambaataa's Universal Zulu Nation, he was a protégé of Bambaataa as well as his older cousin, Kool DJ Red Alert. Beginning as a Zulu King dancer in the early 1970s, Jay later became a Universal Zulu Nation DJ and was a member of the Zulu group Jazzy Five, with which he recorded the single "Jazzy Sensation."
Although Jazzy Jay began performing primarily at street parties, in the 1980s he began DJing in New York clubs such as Negril, the Roxy, the Ritz, and Danceteria. He also hosted a hip hop radio program on WRKS 98.7 Kiss FM and in 1984 he played himself as The Roxy's DJ in the influential hip hop film Beat Street.
Jazzy Jay and Afrika Islam performed some of the first DJ team routines and teamed up to battle both Grandmaster Flash (solo) and Grand Wizard Theodore (solo).
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Links to Peel[]
Peel played some tracks from Jazzy J's collaboration with other artists on his shows between 1986 and 1988.
Shows Played[]
- 1986
- 15 September 1986 (& Robbie B): Rock The Go-Go (12") RBA
- 17 September 1986 (VPRO) (& Robbie B): Rock The Go-Go (12") RBA
- 23 September 1986 (& Robbie B): Rock The Go-Go (12") RBA
- 01 October 1986 (& Robbie B): Rock The Go-Go (12") RBA
- 15 September 1987 (& Seville): Take A Walk (12") Cutting
- 21 September 1987 (& Seville): Take A Walk (Dub) (12") Cutting
- 02 November 1987 (& Robbie B): Jazzy J on the Scratch! (single) Schoolly-D
- 09 November 1987 (& Robbie B): Jazzy-J On The Scratch (12" - Jazzy J On The Scratch! / Rock The Go-Go!) Schoolly-D
- 1988
- 08 August 1988 (& Seville & Shameek): Make It Funky (12") Cutting
- 16 August 1988 (& Seville & Shameek): Make It Funky (12") Cutting
- 22 August 1988 (& Seville & Shameek): Back For The Payback (12" - Make It Funky) Cutting
- 05 September 1988 (& Seville & Shameek): Back For The Payback (Dub) (12" - Make It Funky) Cutting