Biography
Years Active: 1983 – 2002
Genre: Hip-Hop, Rap rock
More than any other hip-hop group, Run-D.M.C. are responsible for the sound and style of the music. As the first hardcore rap outfit, the trio set the sound and style for the next decade of rap. With their spare beats and excursions into heavy metal samples, the trio were tougher and more menacing than their predecessors Grandmaster Flash and Whodini. In the process, they opened the door for both the politicized rap of Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions, as well as the hedonistic gangsta fantasies of N.W.A. At the same time, Run-D.M.C. helped move rap from a singles-oriented genre to an album-oriented one — they were the first hip-hop artist to construct full-fledged albums, not just collections with two singles and a bunch of filler. By the end of the ’80s, Run-D.M.C. had been overtaken by the groups they had spawned, but they continued to perform to a dedicated following well into the ’90s.
All three members of Run-D.M.C. were natives of the middle-class New York borough Hollis, Queens. Run (born Joseph Simmons, November 14, 1964) was the brother of Russell Simmons, who formed the hip-hop management company Rush Productions in the early ’80s; by the mid-’80s, Russell had formed the pioneering record label Def Jam with Rick Rubin. Russell encouraged his brother Joey and his friend Darryl McDaniels (born May 31, 1964) to form a rap duo. The pair of friends did just that, adopting the names Run and D.M.C. respectively. After they graduated from high school in 1982, the pair enlisted their friend Jason Mizell (born January 21, 1965) to scratch turntables; Mizell adopted the stage name Jam Master Jay.
Discography
1985, Run-D.M.C., Arista Records, ASIN: B000ANVP88, Amazon | iTunes
1985, King of Rock, Profile Records, ASIN: B000ANVP8I, Amazon | iTunes
1986, Raising Hell, Profile Records, ASIN: B000ANVP92, Amazon | iTunes
1988, Tougher Than Leather, Profile Records, ASIN: B000ANVP9M, Amazon | iTunes
1990, Back From Hell, Arista Records, ASIN: B00000J7IY, Amazon | iTunes
1993, Down with the King, Profile Records, ASIN: B00000J7IZ, Amazon | iTunes
1999, Crown Royal, Arista Records, ASIN: B00001T3FX, Amazon | iTunes
Links
Official Run-D.M.C. Site | Official Sony Run-D.M.C. Site | Profile Records Store | Wikipedia
