The two remaining members of pioneering rap group Run-DMC have quit following the death of their DJ Jason 'Jam Master Jay' Mizell.

Joe 'Reverend Run' Simmons told a news conference that he and fellow band member Darryl 'DMC' McDaniels felt they were "no longer able to perform" as Run-DMC.

"He was one third of the group," said Simmons.

"We split the money three ways... and without him, our sound just wouldn't be the same."

The group's future has been in doubt since the execution-style shooting of Mizell in a Queens recording studio in New York last week.

'Can't perform'

Simmons was speaking at a conference in Manhattan where rap-industry figures and Mizell's widow Terri Corley-Simmons launched a campaign to use his death to help improve the image of rap music.

He said: "The thing that I recognise is that we were just on tour with Aerosmith and Kid Rock and we can't perform anymore.

Mizell did nothing to promote violence

"Nobody wants to see Run and DMC without Jay."

He added that Mizell was "definitely one third of the group".

"People might see us on television and be wondering if Jay was a significant part of the group. Yes, he was."

"Run-DMC is officially retired," he added. "I can't get on stage with a new DJ.

"Some rock bands can replace the drummer, but I don't know any other way but with the three original members. Does anybody have a job out there?"

Mizell's funeral took place on Wednesday at the Allen AME Cathedral in Queens.

Run-DMC are widely credited with bringing hip-hop music to a mass audience in the 1980s.

Their smash-hit collaboration with Aerosmith, Walk This Way, helped them become the first rap act to enter the US top 10, and the first to have a video screened on the music channel, MTV.