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FEBRUARY 2024 EDITION: The Historical Importance of RUN-DMC on Hip-Hop Music

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In August 2023 Hip-Hop celebrated its 50th anniversary, and there have been a lot of articles written about artists who helped shape the culture and make Hip-Hop music commercially viable. In this regard, there is no more important group to highlight than RUN-DMC, the Kings of Rock who hail from Hollis, Queens, New York.

In the 2023 year-end wrap up for this newsletter, I stated that in my opinion the Wu-Tang Clan was the greatest Hip-Hop group ever. However, prior to the emergence of the Wu-Tang Clan in 1993, my view was that RUN-DMC was the greatest group in Hip-Hop history. This is because RUN-DMC are responsible for elevating Hip-Hop from the era of the park jams and rec room parties to selling out major arenas across the globe. Further, they were the first Hip-Hop group with an endorsement deal with a major sneaker company, Adidas, which helped lay the foundation of the current Hip-Hop fashion industry.

RUN-DMC is comprised of DJ Run, D.M.C., and the late Jam Master Jay, the group’s DJ. ?When the group released the single “Sucker M.C.’s” in 1983, which was the B side to their lead single “It’s Like That”, this song shifted the conversation regarding what was considered dope Hip-Hop music at that time. The production for “Sucker M.C.’s” was very stripped down and was the epitome of what Boom Bap era Hip-Hop was – hardcore beats that MCs would rhyme over. Nevertheless, aside from the rawness of the beats on the first RUN-DMC album, the stage look of the group was game changing. They were guided by the principle of keeping it real long before that ever became a Hip-Hop slogan.

Prior to RUN-DMC, when the old school era of Hip-Hop groups began to enter the recording industry they tended to dress like disco stars, funk bands, and even R&B stars. RUN-DMC’s stage look was the regular look that was popular amongst Queens hustlers: ?black fedoras, black leather blazers, Lee Jeans, and Adidas sneakers. Jam Master Jay dressed that way and that became the official wardrobe for the group. RUN-DMC dressed the way old school artists dressed when they performed at the park jams and rec room parties, but RUN-DMC dressed like that as recording stars. They looked like regular guys from the neighborhood as they broke barriers by having their videos on MTV, touring the world, and expanding the footprint of Hip-Hop.

While the foundation for Hip-Hop music was already set by the time of the emergence of RUN-DMC, they took Hip-Hop to another level by proving that the genre was not some fad and was indeed here to stay.? RUN-DMC accomplished a lot of firsts when it comes to Hip-Hop:

1.????? They were the first Hip-Hop group with gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums

2.????? They were the first Hip-Hop artists on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine

3.????? They were the first Hip-Hop group to be nominated for a Grammy Award

4.????? They were the only Hip-Hop group to perform at Live Aid

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However, one of the keys to the rise of RUN-DMC was their creation of rap songs with heavy rock influence.? This is why they became known as the Kings of Rock, in addition to the fact that they could rock the house whenever they performed. Furthermore, the rap-rock trilogy of “Rock Box”, “King of Rock”, and “Walk this Way” helped introduce RUN-DMC to white suburban listeners and this allowed Hip-Hop music to really establish itself in the suburbs of America in addition to the urban centers. Ironically, some people felt that the more RUN-DMC began to bridge the rap-rock divide, the more it appeared that their core audience was no longer interested in them. Except that is not the whole story.

As the generation of Hip-Hop groups that came up after RUN-DMC began to gain in notoriety and popularity, for instance N.W.A. and Public Enemy, to name a few, these artists spoke to the influence the Hollis trio had on their careers. As the 1980’s came to an end, RUN-DMC was no longer on the cutting edge of Hip-Hop.? However, the next generation of artists who had been influenced by them were now on the cutting edge of the genre and learned how to rock arena crowds from RUN-DMC. Some of the new generation of artists would be instrumental in the revival of the legendary group as the 1990’s began.

The 1993 single “Down with the King” (featuring Pete Rock & CL Smooth) was the perfect anthem for the comeback of RUN-DMC. For Pete Rock & CL Smooth appearing on that song with RUN-DMC was paying homage to the Kings of Rock, and they spoke to how RUN-DMC influenced them as artists. For RUN-DMC that song was their come back to musical and cultural relevance.? What was also different this time was the attire of the group was updated to correspond to what people were wearing in the early 1990’s. Gone were the black fedoras, Adidas, black leather blazers, and Lee jeans that they popularized in the 1980’s. Their new look featured bald heads, black boots, black pants, and black jackets. The new look personified the griminess of the 1990’s NYC Hip-Hop scene that was beginning to take shape.

Earlier this month the Peacock streaming service aired a three-part series on RUN-DMC that was very informative.? Watching that series reminded me not only how important RUN-DMC was to Hip-Hop but also how important they were to me personally. I had an Adidas poster in my college dorm room when I was an undergraduate at the University of Rochester. I never had any poster of any Hip-Hop group ever since then.? Moreover, I had the black leather blazer, Adidas sneakers (and Converse too), and Lee jeans. However, instead of the black fedora I rocked the leather baseball cap with the black leather blazer. RUN-DMC were those dudes, and their emergence signaled that Hip-Hop was officially stamped in American society. ?Today Hip-Hop music is considered popular culture and that is a direct result of the historical impact of RUN-DMC. ?

Even though the murder of RUN-DMC DJ Jam Master Jay in October 2002 effectively ended the group, it was great to see the surviving members - RUN (Rev. Run) and DMC - performing in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop. To all my younger Hip-Hop heads, please do yourself a favor and learn more about the group that has had the most influence upon contemporary Hip-Hop.

All hail the Kings of Rock from the borough of Queens, New York: RUN-DMC, and Jam Master Jay!

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Hashim Shomari, Government/Political Affairs Consultant

(Hashim Shomari is the Author/Publisher of From the Underground: Hip-Hop Culture as an Agent of Social Change.? He provides government affairs/political strategy consulting services in New Jersey and New York on behalf of his clients in the cannabis, affordable housing, healthcare, financial service, and economic development sectors.)

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