Revenge drove two men accused of killing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay – prosecutors

Rap group Run DMC poses at the 31st annual Grammy Awards in New York in 1998 (Mark Lennihan/AP)

Two men accused of killing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay were both close to the trailblazing DJ, but were driven by greed and revenge over a failed drug deal when they ambushed him at his recording studio more than 20 years ago, prosecutors argued as the men’s trial began on Monday.

In opening statements in Brooklyn federal court, assistant US attorney Miranda Gonzalez laid out the prosecution’s case that Karl Jordan Jr, the hip-hop star’s godson, and Ronald Washington, a childhood friend, killed the 37-year-old in 2002 after they were cut out of a lucrative cocaine deal.