80's rap is rap music I can get behind. It's actually quality music, that isn't usually riddled down with profanities and nonsense.
In 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell, formed Run D.M.C., pioneering new-school hip hop music and helped usher in the golden age of hip hop. The group would go on to be recognized as one of the most influential to rap music, and to this day remain one of the most prominent and well known in the industry.
Their self titled freshman album would become the first in the genre to reach gold status, and in the words of Ice-T, "It's the first rap album that broke big, which paved the way for everybody into being able to make rap albums, not just singles." Influential, iconic, and important may very well be understatements when referring to the album.
Starting with a single themselves, Run D.M.C. released, It's Like That / Sucker MCs, shortly after being signed to Profile Records. The single would go all the way to number fifteen on the R&B charts, serving to invigorate the group to cut a full album. Hits Jam-Master Jay and "Hard Times helped to solidify them as a solid act, and not just one hit wonders. This was cemented even further with the ground breaking Rock Box, which fused hip hop and hard rock together, breaking boundaries across genres.
This fusion of styles would become a staple for them, and pave the way for future singles on later albums, such as, their second album titled, King of Rock, and perhaps their most popular, Walk This Way (with Aerosmith), and It's Tricky, from their third album, Raising Hell. Rock Box would also be prolific for being the first rap music video played on MTV.
So today, I dive headlong into Run D.M.C.'s self titled debut to get my own personal taste of just how great it was. What all the hubbub was, so to speak. Well, after hearing it, I can clearly say, "I see."
Everything kicks off with the punchy, Hard Life, which sets the stage for Rock Box to follow. Admittedly, the lead single is what I picked the album up for. But, so far, I was really glad to see that it was going to be by no means a one and done serving of ear candy.
After hearing everything, I grabbed a total of five tracks, obviously, the above two, plus, Jam-Master Jay, Sucker M.C.'s, and It's Like That, for my shuffle list. I even went back and played some of them again as I continued working on this post. That right there is a rarity for me to immediately go back for a second helping.
Run D.M.C. continued to release albums through 2001, with their second, Rock Box (1985), and third, Raising Hell (1986), only seeming to build more and more on their popularity. In between those two releases, they would also star in the feature film, Krush Groove, alongside The Fat Boys, Curtis Blow, The Beastie Boys, L.L. Cool J, and Sheila E.
However, by their fourth release, 19888's Tougher Than Leather, the group started to decline in popularity. Despite the album going platinum, it was received poorly by critics. This criticism would echo into their 1990 release, Back From Hell. They redeemed themselves among the reviewers with their 1993 follow up, Down With The King, but then would disappear for eight long years before releasing their final album, Crown Royal (2001).
By the time they began recording their final album, the group were at crossroads with each other, having their own creative ideas. Tensions would ultimately lead to DMC's contributions to the record being minimal, with guest appearances from other artists who fleshed the recordings out. Despite this, the group embarked on a highly successful, but ultimately, final tour with Aerosmith. While this gave them an opportunity to end on a high note, they would disband shortly thereafter when Simmons announced he was quitting after the initial leg of the tour.
Sadly, a reunion can't occur because Mizell was shot and killed at his recording studio in 2002. The murder went unsolved until 2020, when arrests were finally made. While we can all rest knowing that justice will be served if Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr., are found guilty (writing August 2023, with trial scheduled for 2024), it comes with the price that Run D.M.C. will never be able to perform again together on this Earth. Tragic.
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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
March 6, 1982
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