The godfather and childhood friend of Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay was convicted of murder in New York City more than 20 years ago.
Carl Jordan Jr., 40, and Ronald Washington, 59, targeted musicians at recording studios after they were cut off from drug deals, a court heard.
The hip-hop pioneer, real name Jason Mizell, was 37 years old when he was shot in the head in Queens on October 30, 2002.
Jordan and Washington now face 20 years in prison.
Mizell formed Run-DMC with friends Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels. They all grew up in the Hollis neighborhood of Queens, New York.
The group became one of the most influential hip-hop acts of all time, with a string of hits in the 1980s including songs like “It's Tricky,” “It's Like That,” and the Aerosmith collaboration “Walk This Way.” I sent the song.
The group publicly opposed drug use and made anti-drug public service announcements, but as its popularity began to wane in the 1990s, Mizell turned to cocaine trafficking.
Prosecutors said Mizell's godson, Jordan, and his childhood friend, Washington, who was staying at Mizell's sister's house, set up the transaction thinking they would be participating in a nearly $200,000 drug deal. He was reportedly furious at being cut out.
During the four-week trial, defense attorney Ezra Spilke called the prosecution's version of events “one of many.”
But prosecutors said the defendant carried out the “execution” “motivated by greed and revenge.”
The murder remained unsolved for years until the two men were indicted in 2020.
Two key witnesses denied for years that they could identify the perpetrator until changing their stories after the case was reopened in 2016.
Uriel “Tony” Rincon testified that he was playing video games with Mizell when Jordan came into the room, shook the hip-hop star's hand, and then started shooting.
“And I saw Jay go down,” he said.
A woman who worked at Mizell's JMJ Records label, Lydia High, also witnessed the shooting and said Washington ordered her to sit on the floor as the killers fled.
Both witnesses said they were too scared to identify the perpetrator early.
“That's how I felt [Mizell’s] “My wife and children needed closure and I felt I should let them know what happened,” Rincon testified during the trial.
Other witnesses testified that Jordan bragged about carrying out the murder.
The other, Jay Bryant, will be arrested in 2023 and face another trial in 2026.
He is accused of entering Mizell's studio through the front door and letting Jordan and Washington in through the back door.