Thousands of rap music fans lined the streets of New York to pay their last respects at the funeral of Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay.

Pallbearers clad in the DJ's signature garb of black leather and white Adidas trainers carried the casket into the Allen AME Cathedral in the Queens borough of the city.

Fans joined family, friends and other music stars including Public Enemy's Chuck D and The Beastie Boys.

The 37-year-old DJ was shot by a masked gunman as he played video games in his recording studio on Wednesday.

No arrests have yet been made in connection with the killing, but police are said to be following several leads as part of their investigation.

Chuck D was one of the mourners

Officers from the New York Police Department's gang intelligence unit have been interviewing people at rap concerts and events in relation to the killing.

But police have discounted an earlier hypothesis that a music industry feud prompted the shooting.

With his group, Jam Master Jay - real name Jason Mizell - was credited with bringing rap and hip-hop music into the mainstream in the 1980s.

Mizell is credited with helping mould the hip-hop sound

Thousands had gathered on Monday for the DJ's wake.

One fan, Rick Corbett, from Queens, said Mizell was "one of the icons of this business".

Another fan, Craig Gaffney, said his death was "a real tragedy".

"But something good is gonna come out of this. Something always happens for a reason," he said.

Fans have been creating makeshift memorials

"I feel this will show everybody, we've got to stop this nonsense because we can't live like this."

The funeral came as police launched a separate investigation into the fatal shooting of rap promoter Keneth Walker, who was killed on Saturday.

He was shot several times in his car in the Bronx area of New York.

Police are not linking the two killings, although they have noted that Walker promoted Jay's prot�g�, rapper 50 Cent.

Mizell's family have set up the Mizell Children's Fund and invited the public to send donations.