Run-DMC won't perform at Hall of Fame show

NEW YORK, April 3 (UPI) -- U.S. hip-hop pioneers Run-DMC said they will not perform at this weekend's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show since the late Jam Master Jay won't be with them.

Jay was shot to death in 2002 at the age of 37.

MTV News said the Rock Hall plans to show a video tribute since the group won't be performing live at Saturday's ceremony in Cleveland, marking their induction into the Hall of Fame. The musicians said they were declining to perform out of respect for Jay.

"For me, I tell people, 'Do you want to see me and Run running around without Jay?'" DMC told MTV News. "They tell me I could get Grandmaster Flash (to fill in.) But I can get any DJ in the world if I want. It wouldn't be right. I can't replace my drummer."

DMC joked that the representatives for the Hall of Fame ceremony "scared" him when they talked to him about his acceptance speech.

"They said, 'You have all the time in the world. We don't want you to be too long, but we don't want you to be too short,'" he said. "Then they said, 'You should write something.' I said I wasn't gonna write something; I was gonna freestyle it. But then they scared me again with (clears voice,) 'Make sure you get it right, because you only get to do this once.'"