TJ mIZELL

Following in the footsteps of his legendary father, the late Jam Master Jay of Run DMC, 25-year-old TJ Mizell isn’t just another psuedo-DJ dismissing the authenticity of the craft. Instead, he’s tributing the time-honored techniques his father pioneered and passed down to him, while still modernizing his approach with the trap and EDM influences of 2017.

In 2014, after his turntable routine remixing two A$AP Mob songs caught the attention of the Mob members themselves, A$AP Ferg was convinced he needed the budding New York DJ on his team. It was just a few months after meeting in a green room when Mizell picked up a call from Ferg, who told him to pack his bags and jet set with him on a global tour.

Since then, Mizell has collaborated with a spread of other recognized artists, from M.I.A. and Paper Diamond to DJ Scratch and Run DMC. He’s also modeled in Gap’s recent ‘90s Archive Re-Issue Collection, as well as for A$AP Ferg’s Trap Lord clothing line. 

A year after his father's passing in 2002, TJ's mother Terri Mizell began the JMJ Foundation for Music, raising money for increasingly forgotten music programs in inner-city schools in the tri-state area. TJ and the JMJ Foundation for Music give children the opportunity to experience turntables for the first time, opening their eyes and ears to the joys of creative expression. It’s these notions of creativity and community support that backbone Mizell’s artistic philosophy.