Trial in the 2002 murder of Jam Master Jay begins in Brooklyn

“That's the guy who made it possible for this new musical archetype to emerge,” he said. “A guy who was friendly to pretty much everyone, who represented a more innocent time when there weren't these kinds of beefs that turned violent like Tupac and Big's.”

A mural of Mr. Mizell is painted on a wall near the corner of 205th Street and Hollis Avenue in Queens, where many residents said they still felt the effects of his music and legacy. The musician Akil Wright, who performs under the name Take Wright DOLOwalked by on Wednesday wearing the Adidas sneakers that Run-DMC inspired him to wear.

“Artists like him created artists like me,” said Mr. Wright, 31, a lifelong resident of Hollis.

Debra McKnight, 64, recalled all three members of Run-DMC hanging out in her kitchen in the 1970s; they were friends with her son. She said she appreciated Mr. Mizell remaining in Hollis.

“He didn't forget where he came from,” she said.

Jam Master Jay and his Run-DMC friends were the first celebrities Jubar Jones, 50, ever met, he said. It was the early 1980s, and Mr. Jones accompanied his older brother to a basement party near the Baisley Park Houses in Queens, where he was introduced to the group. Mr. Jones, who works in a UPS warehouse, said the connection between Run-DMC and Hollis made him and his colleagues feel special.

“It feels like part of history,” he says.

Mr. Jones cataloged the way Run-DMC changed music, fashion and culture. As for Jam Master Jay, Mr. Jones called him a “trendsetter,” a “forefather of hip-hop” and a “pioneer of beats.”

“He's a legend around here,” Mr. Jones said. “He is like a father figure, a guardian.”