The sons of DJ Jam Master Jay have launched a cannabis line in honor of the legendary RUN-DMC turntablist. Jesse and TJ Mizell launched Queens OG brand, four pre-rolled joints packaged in a cassette tape, in partnership with Strain Theory in Los Angeles.
Jesse Mizell told the New York Post‘s Page Six that the line is being sold in Colorado and California and his father — whose given name was Jason Mizell — was a huge cannabis connoisseur and would be involved in the marijuana industry today if he were still alive.
“Jam Master Jay was a pothead — he smoked a lot of marijuana,” said the DJ’s son. “Growing up, you’d go to the studio and — it was not until we were older that we understood —like, ‘Oh wow, this man was smoking weed.’ So he [would] definitely be here doing the same thing.”
Jesse Mizell also revealed to Page Six that RUN-DMC were all Mary Jane enthusiasts but advocating for weed in the ’80s would have derailed the group.
“They were the first rap group on MTV, so because of that, they were very aware that the issue of marijuana was going to put them down and shut them down. If they got to talking about weed, cussing and talking as freely as they would like to, there would have been major issues,” he added. “I think that later RUN-DMC started to get a little bit more edgy, and my dad’s endeavors were definitely tied to the rap culture, and part of it was cannabis.”
In related news, the 2002 murder of RUN-DMC’s DJ is being put under the microscope in the new documentary Set the Record Straight: The Jam Master Jay Case. The film debuted this month on Hulu and features exclusive new interviews with family, friends, hip-hop pioneers and investigators as well as never-before-seen videos and photos.
The pioneering DJ was killed in his recording studio in Jamaica, Queens, New York, on Oct. 30, 2002. In August 2020, federal prosecutors finally arrested Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington and charged them with the murder of Jam Master Jay. According to published media reports, the killing was allegedly over a drug deal gone bad.
Check out the trailer for Set the Record Straight: The Jam Master Jay Case on the next page.
