Hip-Hop • Members of Run-DMC are honored in the recent rereleased of their first four albums. RCA/Legacy

Run-DMC: rereleased

By Jon Matsumoto
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer

They are to rap what Elvis Presley is to rock—kings and trailblazers. Run-DMC may not have been the first rappers, but they were undoubtedly the first major stars to emerge out of the hip-hop scene. With their white Adidas sneakers, snappy black fedoras and massive gold chains, Run-DMC arrived on the national music scene in 1984 like Halley’s Comet.

The influence of the Hollis, N.Y. trio was so great that the impact is still being felt 20-plus years later in the hip-hop community. Everyone from Public Enemy’s Chuck D to Eminem and 50 Cent have sung the group’s praises.

Recently, RCA/Legacy released Run-DMC’s first four albums with plenty of bonus tracks and new liner notes and photographs. Of rap’s early artists, none is more deserving of this type of deluxe treatment. Not the original pioneers such as Grandmaster Flash and the Sugarhill Gang; not Run-DMC’s ’80s contemporaries like LL Cool J, Whodini and Eric B. & Rakim.

Run-DMC’s debut album is a revelation as its unforgettable rap is stripped down to its core values. Turntable and programming ace Jam Master Jay cranks out a propulsive and insistent rhythm and groove on the landmark tracks “It’s Like That” and “Rock Box.”

Run and DMC’s rhyming is street wise and raw. The production values are almost primitive compared to the elaborately produced hip-hop records of today. But if this album lacks the studio wizardry of a Kanye West album, it more than makes up for it in unfiltered passion.

The second album by Run-DMC is a step back. 1984’s “King of Rock” sounds more distant and in some cases repetitive—the title track, for example, sounds like a clone of “Rock Box”—but there’s enough vim and verve here to make this album a keeper.

The third try proved to be the ultimate charm for the fast raising trio. “Raising Hell” stands as one of the most important hip-hop albums ever made. Run-DMC has always been adept at merging rock’s energy with rap’s urban groove and style.

With tracks like “My Adidas” and especially “Walk This Way” this cooler-than-thou crew perfected this fusion. The latter track become a massive crossover hit because it featured members of th hard rock band Aerosmith, who originally wrote and recorded the funky tune in the ’70s.

The group’s golden era came to a close with 1988’s worthy “Tougher Than Leather,” but the legacy lives on. One cannot claim to be a hip-hop aficionado without a deep appreciation for the early work of the late-great Run-DMC.

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