Run Dmc History
Derek Meade
Mills
History of Rock
December 4, 2011
Final Term Paper
RUN-DMC RUN-DMC
I was in the first semester of my senior year in high school. It was 1986 and “Walk This Way” was on the airways. I found myself really enjoying this “Rap” song by this group Run-D.M.C.. I would later find out that it was an Aerosmith song re-made. At the time I didn’t and couldn’t believe it because I had never heard of Aerosmith before or any of their songs. I actually had heard of “Sweet Emotions”, but I, at that time, had never known who sang that song. I had already been listening to rap music for a few years. I only knew of the groups my friends knew and later would fing out that Run-D.M.C. had mad two albums before the Raising Hell album which “Walk this Way” was on. Over the next couple years I learned more about this group from hearing previous albums like King of Rock which I ended up buying later on down the road. I also saw the movie Krush Groove which featured many rap artists like Kurtis Blow, L L Cool J, and the Fat Boys. This movie came out a few years earlier but I was none the wiser back then. …show more content…
Run-D.M.C., from Hollis, Queen, NY, featuring Joseph “Run” Simmons, Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels, and Jason “Jam-Master Jay” Mizell, hit the scene as a group in 1984 with their first albulm Run-D.M.C.
under the label of Profile Records which featured such songs as “Jam Master Jay” and “Hard times”. Another song on that album was “Rock Box” which was a fusion hard rock and hip hop. This would become the groups signature sound and carry a new sound of rap into the 90’s. They were also the first group to drop the glam style that the rap artists before them were wearing. Those early artists wore extravagant clothes which mirrored the disco style. Run-D.M.C. only wore jeans and Adidas without shoe laces. This was Mizell’s own style that the group adopted. Run later
said: “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 why DMC says ‘My adidas only bring good news and they are not used as felon shoes.’”
This style would define hip hop fashion over the next 25 years. The next album was King of Rock which had such songs as the title track “King of Rock”, “Can You Rock It Like This” and the first hip hop/dancehall hybrids “Roots, Rap, Reggae”. “King of Rock” was the first rap video to air on MTV. Their third album, Raising Hell, which I started out with, featured songs “Walk This Way”, “It’s Tricky”, and “My Adidas” was the biggest selling rap album of all time. It was also their most successful album of all their albums.
Mills
History of Rock
December 4, 2011
Final Term Paper
RUN-DMC RUN-DMC
I was in the first semester of my senior year in high school. It was 1986 and “Walk This Way” was on the airways. I found myself really enjoying this “Rap” song by this group Run-D.M.C.. I would later find out that it was an Aerosmith song re-made. At the time I didn’t and couldn’t believe it because I had never heard of Aerosmith before or any of their songs. I actually had heard of “Sweet Emotions”, but I, at that time, had never known who sang that song. I had already been listening to rap music for a few years. I only knew of the groups my friends knew and later would fing out that Run-D.M.C. had mad two albums before the Raising Hell album which “Walk this Way” was on. Over the next couple years I learned more about this group from hearing previous albums like King of Rock which I ended up buying later on down the road. I also saw the movie Krush Groove which featured many rap artists like Kurtis Blow, L L Cool J, and the Fat Boys. This movie came out a few years earlier but I was none the wiser back then. …show more content…
Run-D.M.C., from Hollis, Queen, NY, featuring Joseph “Run” Simmons, Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels, and Jason “Jam-Master Jay” Mizell, hit the scene as a group in 1984 with their first albulm Run-D.M.C.
under the label of Profile Records which featured such songs as “Jam Master Jay” and “Hard times”. Another song on that album was “Rock Box” which was a fusion hard rock and hip hop. This would become the groups signature sound and carry a new sound of rap into the 90’s. They were also the first group to drop the glam style that the rap artists before them were wearing. Those early artists wore extravagant clothes which mirrored the disco style. Run-D.M.C. only wore jeans and Adidas without shoe laces. This was Mizell’s own style that the group adopted. Run later
said: “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 why DMC says ‘My adidas only bring good news and they are not used as felon shoes.’”
This style would define hip hop fashion over the next 25 years. The next album was King of Rock which had such songs as the title track “King of Rock”, “Can You Rock It Like This” and the first hip hop/dancehall hybrids “Roots, Rap, Reggae”. “King of Rock” was the first rap video to air on MTV. Their third album, Raising Hell, which I started out with, featured songs “Walk This Way”, “It’s Tricky”, and “My Adidas” was the biggest selling rap album of all time. It was also their most successful album of all their albums.