RUN D.M.C.

King Of Rock (Single)

"King of Rock" was the first single released by RUN-D.M.C. from their second album, King of Rock. As the title suggests, it followed in the direction set by "Rock Box" and solidly based its production on a hard rock backing track. Eddie Martinez again supplied the guitar for the backing track and also appeared in the video that accompanied the release of the single. Like "Rock Box," the music video for "King of Rock" was aired on MTV and RUN-D.M.C. performed "King of Rock" at the 1985 Live Aid concert. "King of Rock" rose to Number 14 on the Hot R&B/Hop-Hop Singles chart, peaked at Number 40 on the Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart, and almost broke into the Hot 100 singles chart at Number 108.

Rock Box

"Rock Box" was RUN-D.M.C.'s third single and was clearly indebted to Rick Rubin's rock heavy hip-hop production at Def Jam Recordings. The production on "Rock Box" was handled by Jam Master Jay, Larry Smith, and Russell Simmons as on "Hard Times," but added the all important contribution of Eddie Martinez, who provided the basic guitar riff and the extended guitar solos. "Rock Box" was an intentional attempt to not only fuse rock and roll with hip-hop, but also capitalize on that fusion to appeal to both the uptown fans of hip-hop and the downtown fans of rock. To underscore that point, a music video was made to accompany the release of "Rock Box" that featured Eddie Martinez performing at Danceteria, a popular nightclub in New York City. "Rock Box" became the first hip-hop video to air on MTV. "Rock Box" captured the Number 26 spot on the Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart.

It's Like That/Sucker MCs

After Joey Simmons and Darryl McDaniels had finished high school and started college, they approached Simmons' older brother to see if he would help them record a single and get a record deal. Russell didn't think they were ready and didn't like McDaniels' style, but, eventually, he relented and agreed...provided that McDaniels change his name from "Easy D" to "D.M.C." In 1983, RUN-D.M.C with Jason Mizell, now called "Jam Master Jay," released their first single on Profile Records, "It's Like That" backed with "Sucker MCs."

Run DMC Album

After the success of "It's Like That" and "Hard Times," Profile Records decided to release a RUN-D.M.C album. The self-titled album, again produced by Larry Smith, was released in March 1984. Each of its nine songs made the new approach to hip-hop evident both in the sparse musical backing and in the aggressive approach of MCs RUN and D.M.C. As Debbie Miller noted in her Rolling Stone review: "Trading off lines or even the words within a line, they get into a vocal tug of war that's completely different from the straightforward delivery of the Furious Five's Melle Mel or the every-body-takes-a-verse approach of groups like Sequence. And the music, by Orange Krush, that backs these tracks is surprisingly varied, for all its bare bones. In their adventurous 'Rock Box,' RUN and D.M.C. set their clipped, back-and-forth exchanges to a crying hard-rock guitar solo, melting rap into rock like it's never been done before."

Members

All three members of RUN-D.M.C - Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell - grew up in Hollis, Queens.

Run DMC Fashion

Beyond the change in music and MC style, RUN-D.M.C set a new direction for the fashion aesthetic of hip-hop. Rather than the glam style of old school, RUN-D.M.C adopted the BBOY style of the streets: fedoras, leather jackets, and, most noticeably, unlaced Adidas. According to MC RUN: "There were guys that wore hats like those and sneakers with no shoestrings. It was a very street thing to wear, extremely rough. They couldn't wear shoelaces in jail and we took it as a fashion statement. The reason they couldn't have shoelaces in jail was because they might hang themselves. That's why DMC says 'My Adidas only bring good news and they are not used as felon shoes.'" "Street style" would dominate hip-hop fashion for the next thirty years.

Daryl McDaniels

Darryl McDaniels began to DJ while still in high school as "Easy D" and was convinced by Joey Simmons to team with him as an MC. The two began to write rhymes with one another and became regulars at Two-Fifths Park in Hollis where local MCs and DJs met to compete and share ideas. In 1980, they met Jason Mizell, who at the time was known as "DJ Jazzy Jase." The three became friends and began to write songs together.

DMC Later Years

Darryl McDaniels has released two solo albums as D.M.C., wrote an autobiography, King of Rock: Respect, Responsibility, and My Life with RUN-D.M.C, and appeared in a VH-1 documentary, DMC: My Adoption, about his search for his birth mother.

Run DMC Time Away From Hip-Hop

During their time away from hip-hop, Simmons and McDaniels became increasingly religious and Simmons would eventually become an ordained minister, adopting the moniker "Rev. Run." McDaniels was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a vocal disorder of the larynx, which deepened his depression and use of alcohol and prescription drugs. One of the few bright spots during RUN-D.M.C.'s three-year hiatus was that Jam Master Jay founded his own record company, JMJ Records, and scored a hit with the band Onyx's "Slam."

Down With The King

In 1993, RUN-D.M.C returned to the studio and released Down with the King. The first single released from the album, "Down with the King," pushed the album to Number One on the R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart and Number 7 on the Billboard Top 200. Unfortunately, Down with the King would be RUN-D.M.C's last major chart hit.

Run Later Years

In recent years, Joseph Simmons has released solo albums as Rev. Run, worked on a number of public service projects with his brother Russell, and was the focus of MTV's Run's House, a reality show that ran from 2005 to 2009. In 2014, Simmons created two cable series, Rev. Run's Renovation, a reality show on the DIY Network, and Rev Run's Sunday Suppers for the Cooking Channel.

Back From Hell

It would take two years before RUN-D.M.C would release an album after Tougher Than Leather and Back From Hell received the weakest reviews of their career. More important, it didn't sell.

Joseph Simmons

Joey Simmons professional career began in 1978 when his older brother, Russell, hired him to DJ for Kurtis Blow on Blow's first tour. On tour, Simmons was billed as "DJ Run, Son of Kurtis Blow." Although Simmons' career as a DJ proved to be short - he broke his arm during that tour - it gave him valuable professional experience at a young age and the name "Run" stuck as his professional moniker.

Krush Groove

King of Rock was released in January 1985 and received a tremendous boost in sales with the release of the film Krush Groove in October. Krush Groove was loosely based on the founding of Def Jam Recordings by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin and starred RUN-D.M.C along with Prince protégé Sheila E., Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys, and featured The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and New Edition. However, both RUN-D.M.C. and King of Rock failed to become a major mainstream hits, although they managed to perform well for hip-hop albums.

DMC Personal Problems

Personal problems also began to plague RUN-D.M.C. Jam Master Jay almost died in a car crash in 1989 and a year later was shot in what was reported as a drive-by shooting. In 1991, Joseph "RUN" Simmons was charged with raping a college student in Ohio, although the charges were later dropped. Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels was battling alcoholism and would later become addicted to prescription drugs for depression. As a result, RUN-D.M.C took a three-year hiatus from recording and performing.

Crown Royal

RUN-D.M.C produced only one studio album after Down with the King, Crown Royal, and it took until 2001 for it to be released. Creative differences between Simmons and McDaniels made it nearly impossible to finish Crown Royal and Simmons actually completed much of the album without McDaniels by enlisting "guest stars" including Kid Rock, Fred Durst, and Jermaine Dupri. D.M.C. actually appeared on only three of the album's twelve tracks. Although RUN-D.M.C appeared together on a triumphant world tour with Aerosmith following the release of Crown Royal, the animosity that existed between Simmons and McDaniels made it unlikely that RUN-D.M.C would ever record or perform together again.

Run DMC Firsts

RUN-D.M.C was the first and, arguably, the most influential new school hip-hop group of the 1980s. They were the first to have an album certified Gold by the RIAA (RUN-D.M.C. in 1984), the first to earn a Platinum certification from the RIAA (King of Rock in 1985), the first to have an album break into the Top Ten of the Billboard Top 200 albums chart (Raising Hell in 1986), the first to have a Top Ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 ("Walk This Way" in 1986), the first to secure a major corporate endorsement (Adidas in 1986), the first hip-hop group nominated for a Grammy Award (Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Duo or Group in 1987), the first to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone (December 4, 1986), and the first new school hip-hop group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2009).

Run DMC First Tracks' Sound

RUN-D.M.C's first record was an innovative and important new sound in hip-hop. Producer Larry Smith and Jam Master Jay created a minimal, stark backing track with only drum machine beats, scratches, stings, and no samples. All emphasis was placed on the MCs. RUN and D.M.C. shared the verses alternating rhymes in percussive back-and-forth exchanges that emphasized the hard beats of the backing mix. Unlike the old school norm, "It's Like That" was aggressive, abrasive, and not designed as a dance track. The approach was new, catchy, and - aided by Russell Simmons aggressive marketing - ushered in the sound of new school hip-hop. "It's Like That/Sucker MCs" sold well for a debut single and they followed it with a cover of Kurtis Blow's "Hard Times" that, again, sold well and established RUN-D.M.C in the vanguard of the emerging new direction in hip-hop.

Hard Times

RUN-D.M.C.'s "Hard Times" in 1983 was a cover of Kurtis Blow's original that had been released on his 1980 eponymous debut album, although RUN-D.M.C.'s rhymes were dramatically different from the Kurtis Blow original. The production by Jam Master Jay, Larry Smith, and Russell Simmons was also a major departure from the original. It emphasized the back-and-forth exchanges by RUN and D.M.C. against the percussive the hard beats of the stark backing track, rather than the smooth syncopated flow of the Kurtis Blow original. Where the original version plays as a "happy go lucky" rap, the RUN-D.M.C. cover is, as Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote in his AllMusic review, "... brutal urban music, and RUN and D.M.C.'s forceful muscular rhymes match the music. Where other MCs sounded cheerful, RUN and D.M.C. prowl and taunt the listener, sounding as if they were a street gang." RUN-D.M.C.'s "Hard Times" peaked at Number 11 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.

Walk This Way

Raising Hell - and especially "Walk This Way" - managed to cross over into the popular mainstream with such authority that any remaining questions about the commercial viability of hip-hop or its place in the popular mainstream were now answered and finally put to rest. The single "Walk This Way" peaked at Number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first hip-hop single to break into the Top 10, and Raising Hell went to Number Three on the Billboard Top 200, the first hip-hop album to break into the Top Ten of the mainstream albums chart. "Walk This Way" by RUN-D.M.C. was a cover of the 1976 original by Aerosmith from their third studio album, Toys In The Attic. The RUN-D.M.C. version was released as the first single from their third album, Raising Hell, in 1986. Unlike RUN-D.M.C.'s first two albums, Raising Hell was produced by Rick Rubin, who had already established his reputation as a producer of rock-based hip-hop with LL Cool J's Radio. Where Larry Smith had used a spare rhythm-heavy rock backing on RUN-D.M.C.'s King of Rock, Rubin created a dense and extremely diverse production that used an extensive array of samples, programmed drum machines, and, in the case of "Walk This Way," Steven Tyler and Joe Perry playing live while RUN and D.M.C. rapped. In early 1986, RUN-D.M.C. brought a tape of the instrumental break and guitar riff from Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" that had been given to Jam Master Jay by another DJ. RUN-D.M.C. didn't know where the break was from or who recorded it, but Rick Rubin immediately knew that it was from Aerosmith's "Walk This Way." Rather than simply sample it, Rubin suggested that they contact Tyler and Perry and have them play live with RUN-D.M.C. Although RUN and D.M.C. were initially opposed to the idea, Jam Master Jay convinced his partners to give the idea a try. Tyler and Perry agreed and they laid down Perry's guitar and Tyler's vocals over a basic drum track, while RUN and D.M.C. rapped. Although the final mix added drum machine beats and some turntable work by Jam Master Jay, the RUN-D.M.C. cover is nearly identical to the Aerosmith original. Several weeks later, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and RUN-D.M.C. shot a video directed by Jon Small for "Walk This Way." The idea for the video was that Aerosmith and RUN-D.M.C. are recording in two adjacent studios and become involved in a back-and-forth musical duel. Finally, Tyler breaks down the wall between them and the video segues to a joint performance by Aerosmith and RUN-D.M.C. before a live audience. The symbolism of the video was not lost on MTV who placed the video into heavy rotation. "Walk This Way" was the first hip-hop song to break into the Top Ten of the Hot 100, peaking at Number Four and actually charting higher than the Aerosmith original. The single also helped to take Raising Hell to Number Four on the Top 200, making it the first hip-hop album to break into the Top Ten of the mainstream albums chart.

King Of Rock No Samples

Remarkably, there were no samples used on King of Rock. RUN-D.M.C turned as they had on "Rock Box" to Larry Smith's "Krush Groove" sound, which was derived from his band, Orange Krush, that consisted of Smith on bass, Davey DMX on lead guitar and programmed drum machines, and Trevor Gale on acoustic drums. The "Krush Groove" sound transferred Trevor Gale's original drum beats to an Oberheim DMX drum machine, and, as on "Rock Box," Larry Smith brought in Eddie Martinez to play the guitar parts.

Rock Box Marketing

Russell Simmons aggressive marketing for RUN-D.M.C included the creation of a music video for "Rock Box," the third single released from the album and the first hip-hop video to air on MTV. The idea that hip-hop could - or should - take its musical lead from rock rather than R&B or soul was a relatively new and untested direction for hip-hop in 1984. However, "Rock Box" drew sales from the mainstream MTV audience in addition to the already established audience for hip-hop.

New Run DMC Album

Russell Simmons wanted to quickly follow the release of Krush Groove with a new RUN-D.M.C album in order to build upon the momentum created by the film. Further momentum was built by the release of LL Cool J's debut album, Radio, released in November 1985. Radio was the first album released by Def Jam Recordings and sold more than 500,000 copies in the first five months of its release. Simmons hoped that a new RUN-D.M.C. album might actually cross over into the mainstream.

Tougher Than Leather (Album)

The album was initially to be produced by Rick Rubin, but the demands of finishing The Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill and his duties as writer and director for the Tougher Than Leather film made it impossible for him to produce the album. Larry Smith, the producer of the first two RUN-D.M.C albums was also unavailable, so Tougher Than Leather was produced by RUN-D.M.C with the help of Larry Smith's Orange Krush partner, Davy D. On the other hand, the Tougher Than Leather album was a success both critically and commercially ... but only a qualified success. Reviewers found the album to be a step down from Raising Hell. Robert Christgau wrote in The Village Voice, "Technically, the kings are nonpareils - not a duff beat or a forced rhyme. But for the moment, they lack desire." Cary Darling in Rolling Stone wrote, "No matter how good some of the new material is, there's an underlying timidity on Tougher Than Leather that is troubling. Perhaps the group has been shackled by success, because there's nothing on the album as uncompromising as earlier tracks like 'Hard Times,' 'It's Like That' and 'Proud to Be Black.'" Financially, Tougher Than Leather sold more than a million copies, but when compared to Raising Hell's three million, the album was a disappointment. Whatever momentum RUN-D.M.C had following Raising Hell, it had long ago dissipated by the time Tougher Than Leather was released, and the Tougher Than Leather film's poor reception likely had an effect on the album's lower than expected sales. However, the most important factor in the weak reception for Tougher than Leather was the simple fact that in the two years following the release of Raising Hell, the record market had changed dramatically and the RUN-D.M.C. album seemed terribly old fashioned. Public Enemy had released It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back in June and N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton was released in August. In comparison to Public Enemy and N.W.A., RUN-D.M.C. seemed tired and no longer the radical voice they been only two years earlier.

Tougher Than Leather (Film)

The film Tougher Than Leather took almost two years to complete. Rick Rubin proved to be a less than adequate writer and director and much of the delay in the release of the film was the result of Rubin simply losing interest in the project. Although shooting was completed before the end of 1987, it would take until the following September for Rubin and Steven Brown to finish the edit for release, which delayed the release of the Tougher Than Leather album, which had been completed in May, by almost five months in order to coincide with the release of the film. The Tougher Than Leather film was finally released on September 16, 1988 and, unfortunately, was a disaster in every way. It was panned by critics, a commercial failure at the box office, and was withdrawn from release after only three weeks. Tougher Than Leather was produced by Def Pictures in Association with New Line Cinema in 1988. It was written by Ric Menello and Rick Rubin and directed by Rubin who also played the villain, Vic Ferrante, in the film. It starred RUN-D.M.C. and featured Russell Simmons, The Beastie Boys, and Slick Rick in supporting roles. Tougher Than Leather was planned to coincide with the release of RUN-D.M.C.'s fourth studio album, also titled Tougher Than Leather, in hopes that it would help promote sales of the album. The film was critically panned and withdrawn from distribution after only three weeks. It was briefly available on VHS, but, again, withdrawn from distribution after only two years.

Walk This Way An Accident

The landmark collaboration between RUN-D.M.C and Aerosmith on "Walk This Way" initially came about by accident rather than design. Rick Rubin told The Washington Post, "I was looking for a way to bridge that gap in the story of finding a piece of music that was familiar and already hip-hop-friendly so that on the hip-hop side it would make sense and on the non-hip-hop side you'd see it wasn't so far away." Initially, Rubin considered using AC/DC's "Back in Black," but RUN-D.M.C had stumbled across the instrumental break and guitar riff from Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" and brought it to Rubin's attention as a possible backing sample. Remarkably, RUN-D.M.C. had no idea where the break came from. Jam Master Jay had been given the break on a tape from another DJ and all that was written on the tape was "Toys in the Attic." RUN-D.M.C thought "Toys in the Attic" was the name of the band. Rick Rubin, of course, knew that it was from Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" on their 1980 album Toys in the Attic. Rubin suggested that, rather than merely work from a sample, they actually remake the song with Aerosmith. Although both RUN and D.M.C. were opposed to the idea, Jam Master Jay showed interest and Rubin contacted Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. According to Perry, "It took me a minute to say yes. I didn't know what was gonna happen when I walked into the studio. I thought they'd show us some ideas on how to rearrange it, but all they had was a drum track. Rubin said, 'All you gotta do is play the song the way you play it.' So, I sat down and played it." "Walk This Way" was recorded in only a few takes. Tyler and Perry had to catch a flight to an Aerosmith show and RUN-D.M.C had taken a rental car to the studio and had to return it before the rental shop closed. Tyler and Perry had no idea that their collaboration would revive the stalled career of Aerosmith and RUN-D.M.C were not convinced the track should even be included on the album. However, Rick Rubin clearly understood the importance of the collaboration: "It opened the door to RUN-D.M.C's full suburban crossover, and it reminded people how great Aerosmith was."

Official End Of Run DMC

The official end of RUN-D.M.C came in 2002 when Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell was shot and killed at a recording studio in Queens. It was suspected that Mizell's murder was tied to a revenge plot against rapper 50 Cent, who began his career on Mizell's JMJ Records in 1996. Although federal prosecutors named Ronald "Tenad" Washington as an accomplice in the crime in 2007, he was never brought to trial and no other suspects were ever named.

Tougher Than Leather

The success of Krush Groove as a promotional tool in 1985 led Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin to the idea of simultaneously releasing RUN-D.M.C's fourth album, Tougher Than Leather, with a film of the same title featuring RUN-D.M.C and songs from the album. In order to avoid what they felt was "the gross misrepresentation of hip-hop" in Krush Groove, they decided to make the film themselves. Rick Rubin was to co-write and direct the film - and play a major role in it - while RUN-D.M.C would be the film's stars.

King Of Rock

The success of their first album and the crossover success of "Rock Box" led RUN-D.M.C to adopt an even greater emphasis on rock for their second album, appropriately titled King of Rock. As Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote in his review for AllMusic, "If the debut suggested hard rock, this feels like hard rock -- over-amplified, brutal, and intoxicating in its sheer sonic force. What really makes King of Rock work is that it sounds tougher and is smarter than almost all of the rock and metal records of its time." Only two of the nine songs on the album - "Darryl and Joe" and "Rap, Roots, and Reggae" - were not driven by a solid rock beat.

Raising Hell

Where the first two RUN-D.M.C albums had been produced by Larry Smith, the third album, Raising Hell, was produced by Rick Rubin, Simmons' partner in Def Jam Recordings and the producer of LL Cool J's Radio. Although the album followed the same format as King of Rock - shared raps over hard rock beats - Rick Rubin had a better feel for rock than Larry Smith and he wanted to create a more complex mix than the extremely spare Krush Groove sound of King of Rock. He also had a playful sense of mischief that borrowed from sources as diverse as AC/DC, The Knack's "My Sharona," and, of greatest importance, Aerosmith. Stephen Thomas Erlwine's review of Raising Hell on AllMusic noted, "Sonically, there is simply more going on in this album than any previous rap record -- more hooks, more drum loops (courtesy of ace drum programmer Sam Sever), more scratching, more riffs, more of everything. Where other rap records, including RUN-D.M.C's, were all about the rhythm, this is layered with sounds and ideas, giving the music a tangible flow. But the brilliance of this record is that even with this increased musical depth, it still rocks as hard as hell, and in a manner that brought in a new audience." Although "Walk This Way" was the catalyst for Raising Hell's success, the album produced two additional Billboard Hot 100 singles, "You Be Illin'" and "It's Tricky," and three Top 20 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop singles.