Run–D.M.C. (sometimes written Run D.M.C. , Run–DMC , or Run DMC ) was a hip hop group from Hollis, in the Queens borough of New York City. Founded by Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell, the group is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop. They were the biggest act in hip-hop throughout the 1980s and are credited with breaking hip hop into mainstream music. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them number 48 in their list of the greatest musical artists of all time. In 2007, the trio was named Greatest Hip Hop Group of All Time by MTV.com They were also named Greatest Hip Hop Artist of All Time by VH1. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009, the second hip-hop group to be inducted, after Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.
Career
Early
The three members of Run–D.M.C. grew up in the neighborhood of Hollis in the Queens borough of New York City, USA. As a teen, Joey Simmons was recruited by his older brother, an up and coming hip-hop promoter named Russell Simmons, to be the onstage DJ for rapper Kurtis Blow—who was managed by Russell. Performing as "DJ Run, Son of Kurtis Blow," the younger Simmons soon began trading rhymes with Kurtis Blow and beat-boxing for the audience. He would often come back to Hollis and play his taped performances for his friend Darryl McDaniels. Previously, McDaniels had been more focused on athletics than music, but soon began to DJ after purchasing a set of turntables. Simmons convinced McDaniels to start rapping, and though McDaniels wouldn't perform in public, he soon began writing rhymes and calling himself "Easy D." Simmons and McDaniels (who, over time, had overcome his early stage fright) started hanging around Two-Fifths Park in Hollis in late 1980, hoping to rap for the local DJs that performed and competed there. The most popular local DJ at the park was a youngster named Jason "Jazzy Jase" Mizell. Mizell was known for his flashy wardrobe and b-boy attitude; but had had troubles with the law as a teen. He had decided to pursue music full-time and began entertaining in the park soon after. Eventually, Simmons and McDaniels rapped in front of Mizell at the park, and the three became friends immediately. Following Russell's success managing Kurtis Blow, he helped Run record his first single, a song called "Street Kid." The song went unnoticed, but despite the single's failure, Run's enthusiasm for music was growing. He wanted to record again—this time with his cohort Easy D; but Russell refused, citing a dislike for D's rhyming style. After they completed high school and started college in 1982, Simmons and McDaniels finally convinced Russell to let them record as a duo, and they recruited Mizell (who now called himself Jam-Master Jay) to be their official DJ. A year later, in 1983, Russell agreed to help them record a new single and land a record deal; but only after he changed D's name to 'DMC' and christened the group 'Run–D.M.C.'—a name, incidentally, that the group hated. DMC said later, “We wanted to be the Dynamic Two, the Treacherous Two — when we heard that , we was like, ‘We’re gonna be ruined!’”
After signing with Profile Records, Run–D.M.C. released their first single "It's Like That/Sucker MCs", in late 1983. The sound was a revolution in hip hop: aggressive, cocky rhymes over spare, minimal, hard-hitting beats. Previously, rap music had been chiefly funk and disco-influenced, but Run–D.M.C.'s sound, like their name, was unlike anything that had been heard in rap before. The single was well received, peaking at #15 on the R&B charts. The trio performed the single on the New York Hot Tracks video show in 1983. Emboldened by their success, Run–D.M.C. recorded their eponymous debut and, released in 1984, Run–D.M.C. was an instant hit and, arguably, rap's first classic album. Hit singles such as "Jam-Master Jay" and "Hard Times" proved that the group were more than a one-hit wonder, and the landmark single "Rock Box" was a groundbreaking fusion of raw hip-hop and hard rock that would become a cornerstone of the group's sound and paved the way for the rap rock movement of the late 1990s.
Run–D.M.C.'s swift ascension to the forefront of rap with a new sound and style meant that old school hip hop artists had become outdated—in more ways than one. Along with pushing rap into a new direction musically, Run–D.M.C. changed the entire aesthetic of hip hop music and culture. Old school rappers like Afrika Bambaataa and Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five tended to dress in the flashy attire that was commonly attributed to rock and disco acts of the era: tight leather, chest-baring shirts, gloves and hats with rhinestones and spikes, leather boots, etc. Run–D.M.C. discarded the more glam aspects of early hip hop's look (as later readopted by MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice) and incorporated a more 'street' sense of style. Their look had been influenced by the way Jay dressed. When Russell Simmons saw Jay's flashy-yet-street b-boy style, he insisted the entire group follow suit. Run said later:
That embrace of the look and style of the street would define the next 25 years of hip hop fashion.
King of Rock , Raising Hell and mainstream success
After the success of their first album, Run–D.M.C. looked to branch out on their follow-up. 1985's King of Rock saw the group furthering their rap-rock fusion on songs like "Can You Rock It Like This" and the classic title track; while "Roots, Rap, Reggae" was one of the first rap/dancehall hybrids. The music video for the single "King of Rock" received heavy rotation on MTV and featured Run and DMC wreaking havoc in a museum that resembles the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, (though the Hall of Fame museum would not officially open for another nine years.) The video was interpreted as a reaction to the rock establishment's dismissal of rap music—a dismissal that echoed pop and jazz performers' early distaste for rock a generation before. The song was the group's biggest hit at that point and the album was certified platinum. Building on their ever-growing crossover appeal, Run-D.M.C. performed at the legendary Live Aid benefit shortly after King of Rock was released. They were the only rap act invited to perform.
In late 1985, Run–D.M.C. appeared in the classic hip hop film Krush Groove , a fictionalized re-telling of Russell Simmons' rise as a hip hop mogul and his struggles to get his own label, Def Jam Recordings, off the ground. The film featured a young Blair Underwood as Russell, along with appearances by old-school legend Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys, teen pop act New Edition, LL Cool J, Prince protegee Sheila E., and hip hop's first successful white rap group the Beastie Boys, who were signed to Simmons' Def Jam label. The movie was a hit and further proof of hip hop's continued mainstream visibility.
Returning to the studio in 1986, the group teamed with producer Rick Rubin for their third album. Rubin had just produced teenage phenom LL Cool J's acclaimed debut album Radio . Titled Raising Hell , Run D.M.C.'s third album became the group's most successful album and one of the best-selling rap albums of all-time, spurred by the lead single "Walk This Way" a cover of the classic hard rock song by Aerosmith. The original intention was to just rap over a sample of the song, but after Rubin and Jay insisted on doing a complete cover version, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry joined Run–D.M.C. in the studio to add vocals and lead guitar, respectively. The song and video became one of the biggest hits of the '80s, cemented Run–D.M.C.'s crossover status and resurrected Aerosmith's career. Raising Hell boasted four tracks that reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, with the single "My Adidas" leading to the group signing a $1.6 million endorsement deal with athletic apparel brand Adidas. Adidas formed a long-term relationship with Run–D.M.C. and hip hop.
The success of Raising Hell is often credited with kick-starting hip hop's golden age, (the period from roughly 1986 to 1994, when rap music's visibility, variety, and commercial viability exploded onto the national stage and became a global phenomenon) officially ending the 'old school' era, (though it can be argued that Run–D.M.C.'s debut was the 'beginning of the end' of the old school.) Their success directly paved the way for acts like LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys (who released their own multi-platinum debut, the Rubin-produced Licensed to Ill , later in 1986) to have similar commercial success, confirming hip hop as a marketable, thriving musical genre. The group toured in the wake of the album's success, but the Raising Hell Tour was marred by violence, particularly fights between rival street gangs in places like Los Angeles. Though Run–D.M.C.'s lyrics had been confrontational and aggressive, they typically denounced crime and ignorance; but the media began to blame the group for the incidents. Run–D.M.C. would call for a day of peace between the gangs in L.A.
Tougher Than Leather , changing times
After spending 1987 on tour supporting Raising Hell , Run-D.M.C. released 1988's Tougher Than Leather . The album saw the group discarding much of its rap rock leanings for a grittier, more sample-heavy sound. In the two years since Raising Hell , rap music had begun sampling classic funk and soul records and lyrics had become even more confrontational, complex and gritty.
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