Run DMC

Release date

01 January 1970

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More than any other hip-hop group, Run DMC are responsible for the sound and style of the music. As the first
hardcore rap outfit, the trio set the sound and style for the next decade of rap. With their spare beats and
excursions into heavy metal samples, the trio were tougher and more menacing than their predecessors
Grandmaster Flash and Whodini. In the process, they opened the door for both the politicized rap of Public Enemy
and Boogie Down Productions, as well as the hedonistic gangsta fantasies of N.W.A. At the same time, Run DMC
helped move rap from a singles-oriented genre to an album-oriented one, they were the first hip-hop artist to
construct full-fledged albums, not just collections with two singles and a bunch of filler. By the end of the ’80s, Run
DMC had been overtaken by the groups they had spawned, but they continued to perform to a dedicated following well into the ’90s.

All three members of Run DMC. were natives of the middle-class New York borough Hollis, Queens. Run (born
Joseph Simmons, November 14, 1964) was the brother of Russell Simmons, who formed the hip-hop management
company Rush Productions in the early ’80s; by the mid-’80s, Russell had formed the pioneering record label Def
Jam with Rick Rubin. Russell encouraged his brother Joey and his friend Darryl McDaniels (born May 31, 1964) to
form a rap duo. The pair of friends did just that, adopting the names Run and DMC, respectively. After they
graduated from high school in 1982, the pair enlisted their friend Jason Mizell (born January 21, 1965) to scratch
turntables; Mizell adopted the stage name Jam Master Jay.

In 1983, Run DMC released their first single, “It’s Like That“/”Sucker M.C.’s,” on Profile Records. The single sounded
like no other rap at the time — it was spare, blunt, and skillful, with hard beats and powerful, literate, daring vocals,
where Run and DMC’s vocals overlapped, as they finished each other’s lines. It was the first “new school” hip-hop
recording. “It’s Like That” became a Top 20 R&B hit, as did the group’s second single, “Hard Times”/”Jam Master
Jay.” Two other hit R&B singles followed in early 1984 — “Rock Box” and “30 Days” — before the group’s
eponymous debut appeared.

By the time of their second album, 1985’s King of Rock, Run DMC had become the most popular and influential
rappers in America, already spawning a number of imitators. As the King of Rock title suggests, the group were
breaking down the barriers between rock & roll and rap, rapping over heavy metal records and thick, dense drum
loops. Besides releasing the King of Rock album and scoring the R&B hits “King of Rock,” “You Talk Too Much,” and
“Can You Rock It Like This” in 1985, the group also appeared in the rap movie Krush Groove, which also featured
Kurtis Blow, the Beastie Boys, and the Fat Boys.

Run DMC’s fusion of rock and rap broke into the mainstream with their third album, 1986’s Raising Hell. The album
was preceded by the Top Ten R&B single “My Adidas,” which set the stage for the group’s biggest hit single, a cover
of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.” Recorded with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, “Walk This Way” was the
first hip-hop record to appeal to both rockers and rappers, as evidenced by its peak position of number four on the
pop charts. In the wake of the success of “Walk This Way,” Raising Hell became the first rap album to reach number
one on the R&B charts, to chart in the pop Top Ten, and to go platinum, and Run DMC were the first rap act to
received airplay on MTV — they were the first rappers to cross over into the pop mainstream. Raising Hell also
spawned the hit singles “You Be Illin'” and “It’s Tricky.”

Run DMC spent most of 1987 recording Tougher Than Leather, their follow-up to Raising Hell. Tougher Than
Leather was accompanied by a movie of the same name. Starring Run DMC, the film was an affectionate parody of
’70s blaxploitation films. Although Run DMC had been at the height of their popularity when they were recording
and filming Tougher Than Leather, by the time the project was released, the rap world had changed. Most of the
hip-hop audience wanted to hear hardcore political rappers like Public Enemy, not crossover artists like Run DMC
Consequently, the film bombed and the album only went platinum, failing to spawn any significant hit singles.

Two years after Tougher Than Leather, Run DMC returned with Back from Hell, which became their first album not
to go platinum. Following its release, both Run and D.M.C. suffered personal problems as McDaniels suffered a
bout of alcoholism and Simmons was accused of rape. After McDaniels sobered up and the charges against
Simmons were dismissed, both of the rappers became born-again Christians, touting their religious conversion on
the 1993 album Down with the King. Featuring guest appearances and production assistance from artists as
diverse as Public Enemy, EPMD, Naughty by Nature, A Tribe Called Quest, Neneh Cherry, Pete Rock, and KRS-One,
Down with the King became the comeback Run DMC needed. The title track became a Top Ten R&B hit and the
album went gold, peaking at number 21. Although they were no longer hip-hop innovators, the success of Down
with the King proved that Run DMC were still respected pioneers.

After a long studio hiatus, the trio returned in early 2000 with Crown Royal. The album did little to add to their
ailing record sales, but the following promotional efforts saw them join Aerosmith and Kid Rock for a blockbuster
performance on MTV. By 2002, the release of two greatest-hits albums prompted a tour with Aerosmith that saw
them travel the U.S., always performing “Walk This Way” to transition between their sets. Sadly, only weeks after
the end of the tour, Jam Master Jay was senselessly murdered in a studio session in Queens. Only 37 years old, the
news of his passing spread quick and hip-hop luminaries like Big Daddy Kane and Funkmaster Flex took the time to
pay tribute to him on New York radio stations. Possibly the most visible DJ in the history of hip-hop, his death was
truly the end of an era and unfortunately perpetuated the cycle of violence that has haunted the genre since the
late ’80s.