Run-D.M.C. exploded out of Hollis, Queens, in 1983, changing the sound of rap music, street fashion and popular culture in general. Their approach was stripped-down and spare, and they innovated by rapping over rock beats, even incorporating hard-rock guitar samples on occasion. Most important they stayed true to the realities of the street. Their first release, the 12-inch single “It’s Like That”/”Sucker MCs” inaugurated a revolution in rap. Released on Profile Records and produced by Kurtis Blow, it was the first rap single with a hard beat and stripped-down, no-nonsense delivery.
Run-D.M.C. gave rap both its first gold album (Run-D.M.C., 1984) and its first platinum album (King of Rock, 1985). They also took rap into the Top Ten when they collaborated with Aerosmith on a rap remake of that group’s “Walk This Way.” After that single and video conquered radio and MTV, the racial and stylistic barriers between rock and rap were never again quite so pronounced. Read more about Run-D.M.C. here.
