{"id":1441,"date":"2010-01-07T00:24:49","date_gmt":"2010-01-07T00:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oldschoolhiphop.com\/?p=1441"},"modified":"2015-05-20T19:54:50","modified_gmt":"2015-05-21T00:54:50","slug":"rundmc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.oldschoolhiphop.com\/artists\/emcees\/rundmc.htm","title":{"rendered":"Run DMC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Members<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\nRun (Joseph Simmons) b. 11\/15\/64
\nDMC (Darryl McDaniels) b. 5\/31\/64
\nJam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) b. 1\/21\/65 d. 10\/30\/02<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Two years ago a friend of mine asked me to say some emcee rhymes
\nSo I said this rhyme I’m about to say, the rhyme was def and it went this way:
\nTook a test to become an emcee, and Orange Krush became amazed at me
\nSo Larry put me inside his Cadillac, the chauffeur drove off and we never came back
\nDave cut the record down to the bone, and now they got me rockin on the microphone…”
\n“You’re a five dollar boy and I’m a million dollar man
\nYou’re a sucker emcee and you’re my fan<\/p>\n

You try to bite rhymes, all lines are mine, you’re a sucker emcee in a pair of Calvin Kleins
\nComing from the wackest part of town, trying to rap but you can’t get down
\nYou don’t even know your English, your verbs or noun
\nYou’re just a sucker emcee, you sad faced clown…”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And with that verse and that 12″ single- “It’s Like That b\/w Sucker M.C.’s”- the era of the old school rapper came to a close.<\/p>\n

Of course Run DMC are usually considered old school by today’s terms, but in 1983 when that single was released it was as far from the sound of rap at that time.\u00a0 Run DMC had sparse beats and sharp lyrics.\u00a0 They didn’t need a band backing them in the studio or on stage.\u00a0 They had the one man band- Jam Master Jay backing them all the way.<\/p>\n

In 1978, Kurtis Blow<\/a> was one of rap’s first superstars and he needed a DJ.\u00a0 Russell Simmons was managing Kurtis at the time and he knew his teenage brother, Joseph, would be a perfect\u00a0 fit for the job.\u00a0 “Kurtis Blow’s Disco Son- DJ Run” as he was known was born.\u00a0 He got his name because he could cut between two turntables so quickly.<\/p>\n

After touring with Kurtis for a while, Run began to make a name for himself as an emcee.\u00a0 He traded rhymes with Kurt and taped his performances.\u00a0 After getting a good night’s sleep he would call up his buddy Darryl McDaniels and play the tape.<\/p>\n

D was not into the night life like Run.\u00a0 He played a lot of basketball and football growing up.\u00a0 Along with his brother he collected loads of comic books.\u00a0 D liked to draw all the time as well.\u00a0 One day, D heard a tape of Grandmaster Flash<\/a> and decided he wanted to be like him.\u00a0 He bought 2 turntables, a mixer, and break beat records of the time.\u00a0 D taught Run to spin records and Run told D to start rapping.<\/p>\n

D’s mom wouldn’t let him near any real rap shows, so when Run got some better deejay equipment it was Run’s house for next few years.\u00a0 D began calling himself Easy D and busted out crazy rhymes that would never see the light of day- he would never rap in public.<\/p>\n

Around 1980, they began going to the parties at Two-Fifth Park in Hollis to hear the deejays do their thing.\u00a0 It was there that they met up with a deejay named Jazzy Jase.<\/p>\n

Jason Mizell had developed a reputation in the area.\u00a0 He wore the flyest b-boy clothes and did what he could to stand out.\u00a0 He hung out with the tough crowd, but was smart enough to also be down with the nerds.\u00a0 Everybody liked Jazzy Jase, as he was known.<\/p>\n

After getting into some trouble with the law, Jay began to focus on music.\u00a0 He played drums and bass but gave them up for the new instrument of the time- the wheels of steel.\u00a0 Eventually he developed quite a following in the park, including Run and DMC.\u00a0 Emcees would do whatever they could to get up and rap in front of Jazzy Jase.<\/p>\n

They struggled with schoolwork as rap began to take over their lives.<\/p>\n

Flash ahead now.\u00a0 Run is 17 and has been working with Kurtis Blow and, through Russell, he finally got a chance to record a song.\u00a0 It was called “Street Kid” but the attitude was not right and it went no where.\u00a0 Run was determined to make a song with his main man D.\u00a0 D and Russell didn’t see eye to eye.\u00a0 D didn’t like Kurtis Blow.\u00a0 But both Kurtis and Russell knew that D knew the music and knew what was going to hit big.\u00a0 Russell didn’t like D’s rhymes though.\u00a0 He thought they were too hard at the time.<\/p>\n

Finally it did come time to record.\u00a0 Run knew what he wanted.\u00a0 Straight b-boy type beats with nothing but a drum track and a scratch.\u00a0 That’s what he got.\u00a0 1983’s “It’s Like That b\/w Sucker MC’s” broke every rule in the book and, although it would continue a few more years, put a symbolic end to old school rap.<\/p>\n

I could go on with their career, but I suspect you know the rest by heart.\u00a0 They released “RUN DMC” in 1984 (a near perfect hip hop album, by the way) and followed that up with “King of Rock” in 1985.\u00a0 They starred in Krush Groov<\/a>e<\/em> in 1985.\u00a0 But it was their collaboration with Aerosmith on “Walk This Way” from 1986’s “Raising Hell” that made their legacy complete.<\/p>\n

They appeared in the documentary film The Show<\/a>, <\/em>performing “My Adidas” and “Together Forever.”<\/p>\n

For more information on the early years of Run DMC, pick up a copy of the group’s excellent biography, “Tougher Than Leather: The Authorized Biography of RUN DMC<\/a>” by B. Adler.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of the 1990’s Jam Master Jay set up JMJ Records with Davy DMX. They released a few albums most notably, Smooth Ice and The Afro’s.\u00a0 Jay also worked with Onyx.<\/p>\n

They recorded several more albums, but none achieved the same success.\u00a0 Regardless, Run DMC will forever be the ones who broke down the doors to main stream popularity of the music.<\/p>\n

They were featured in ads for The Gap and D.O.C. Eyecare.<\/p>\n

Their latest effort titled Crown Royal<\/em> was finally released in April of 2001 where it entered the BillBoard chart at #37.<\/p>\n

Jam Master Jay was killed during an altercation in October 2002.<\/p>\n

Rev. Run released “Distortion” in October 2005 and appeared on the MTV Reality Series “Run’s House” around the same time.<\/p>\n

DMC’s first solo LP “Checks Thugs and Rock n Roll was released in 2005. DMC later went on to win an Emmy and write a book about his adoption experience and finding his birth mother.<\/p>\n

Simple idea:\u00a0 If you love hip hop music, you’ve gotta love Run DMC.<\/p>\n

It’s like that, and that’s the way it is.<\/p>\n

Official Sites – Rev Run Official Site<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Check Out Run DMC Live<\/h3>\n