The heart of Atlanta’s indie rap scene beats on, Christopher “Jax” Thurston 1976-2008
Jax Forever King mix
Look out for a Jax double-disc tribute mixtape, by DJs Mafioso and Rasta Root in early 2009. All proceeds to benefit Jax's memorial fund.
To make donations to Jax's wife, Lisa Thurston, visit PayPal.com and enter her e-mail address: ejwatts77@yahoo.com.
LINKS
- Jax Tribute Show with guest CyMarshall Law
- The Beatz & Lyrics Show "JAX" Tribute Show (Part 1)
- Binkis' MySpace
AUDIO
CL presents DJ Mafioso's exclusive Jax Forever King MP3 mix
Christopher Charles Thurston died the same way he lived.
For hip-hop.
"I grew up in Queens, been saggin' my jeans/
People always wanna know just what Binkis means/
Before Ignorant Niggas Killed Intelligent Songs/
But hold on, it won't be that for long ... "
Slightly past midnight on Tuesday morning, Nov. 4, Thurston, the 32-year-old MC known as "Jax" of Atlanta's legendary underground hip-hop crew Binkis Recs, spit those fateful rhymes into a live mic.
Then, after a final plea – "hold up, hold up, hold up" – he collapsed onstage in the middle of his performance at Lenny's Bar. He was pronounced dead soon after being rushed to nearby Grady Hospital.
The autopsy conducted by the Fulton County Medical Examiners Office concluded that Jax died of natural causes related to hypertension. In the world of hip-hop, such an untimely exit assures entry into its pantheon of fallen angels.
Dying young is still as tragically hip as it was more than 50 years ago when Hollywood actor James Dean succumbed from a head-on car collision at age 24. But Jax was no "rebel without a cause." Nor was he a Tupac Shakur or a Notorious B.I.G., a Jam Master Jay or an Eazy-E. Neither a Big Pun nor an Ol Dirty Bastard. He is, however, an unsung hero of the underground, where passion seldom pays the bills but serves as its own reward. Or, so they say.
Besides his newlywed wife Lisa, and hundreds of unreleased songs that earned him the title Jax the Catalog, Thurston leaves behind some necessary soul searching for those within the culture. Certainly, his passing could signal its very end. Or Jax's death just might rouse the snoozing spirit of a bygone era in Atlanta's indie rap scene.
REMEMBERING JAX: INTERVIEW EXCERPTS
Christopher "Jax" Thurston, 1976-2008
Christopher Charles Thurston died the same way he lived. For hip-hop. "I grew up in Queens, b...
Jax's wife, Lisa Thurston, remembers her 'best friend'
CL talked to Jax's wife, Lisa Thurston, by phone on Nov. 22. It was the day they'd planned t...
Craig "Flux" Singleton remembers his friend and Binkis Recs co-founder, Christopher "Jax" Thurston
We met when we were 14 – 1990 – fresh out of junior high school, and we met at the High...
Jayforce of WRFG-FM (89.3)'s "Beatz & Lyrics" show waxes nostalgic about Jax
The biggest thing that drew me to Jax, more than anybody in Atlanta, is his genuineness. In Atlanta,...
DJ Drama, Binkis Recs' first DJ, remembers Jax
Before DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz mixtape series made him a hip-hop celeb, he entered the game vi...
Señor Kaos remembers his big brother/mentor
Before Señor Kaos became a hip-hop marketer/promoter in Atlanta, he was Jax's proté...
Jax's parents take a trip down memory lane
Jax inherited his creative spirit from his mother and his work ethic from his father, according to h...
Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest, and DJ Rasta Roots remember touring Japan with Jax
Around 2000, DJ Rasta Roots met Jax at WRFG-FM (89.3) while he was doing an interview for the "...
The heart of Atlanta’s indie rap scene beats on, Christopher “Jax” Thurston 1976-2008
Christopher Charles Thurston died the same way he lived. For hip-hop. "I grew up in Queens, b...
Cognito of Massinfluence remembers hiring Jax at Fat Beats
Cognito of Massinfluence – another mainstay in Atlanta's late-'90s indie-rap scene &nd...
COMMENTS
RE: The heart of Atlanta’s indie rap scene beats on, Christopher “Jax” Thurston 1976-2008
Posted by drastik of City of Ink on 12.04.08 @ 11:54 AM
Demayne of City of Ink and BGP/N.E.B.
L.O.S remembers Jax..
Dude was a light in our crew, he had that live wire personality and he was genuinely a great dude to be around, Jax, Flux and Killa Kalm were some of the first people me and Miya (renowned Tattoo Artist)met at the Art Institue..he will forever be missed..he was family.