In the 1980’s and 1990’s, Run DMC,
to this day, plays as the face and roots of early hip hop and highly
contributed to rock music. The group was formerly know as just “Run DMC”(taking
the names from the two group originators – Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniel & Joseph ‘RUN’
Simmons) until the third member Jam Master Jay became their Dj shortly after,
renaming their group “Run DMC & Jam Master Jay”. As said before, Run DMC was
the first African American rappers to go Major
and create a new sound that evolved into multiple genres such as Hip hop, rock,
and assisted in the evolution of the electronic genre.
Combining
their newly defined sound, Run DMC was exempt from the regular old sound of hip
hop, taking it to another level with hits like “Sucker M.C.’s”, their highly anticipated album “Run D.M.C.” (Which didn’t do as
expected), and of course “Kings of Rock”,
as they proclaimed to be. Run DMC
Impacted the electronic music genre without a doubt when they “often included
in their tracks powerful rock drum beats and biting heavy metal guitar riffs”(The
Old and The New: 1980-1989.Human Kinetics). In addition, their first major Rock collaboration was their hit
song “Walk this Way (1986), which was a
remake of a song originally released by the rock group Aerosmith in 1977” (The
Old and The New: 1980-1989.Human Kinetics).
Electronics within the group’s music
was highly exposed once they began to utilize massive drum loops from a musical
drum beat pad, while adding in some synthesizer also.
I have
chosen Run DMC as an influential group that inspired those that come after them
to utilize some of the same tools that were used to create the distinct sound
they created in their era. After Run DMC
kicked down the door as they did, they left it open for the next rap group in
line, Public Enemy – releasing “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us
Back” in 1988; “The rap style of
Public Enemy borrows heavily from that of Run-DMC” (The Old and The New: 1980-1989.Human
Kinetics).
As this
band goes down in history as the forefathers of hip hop, they will forever more
be remembered for their production tactics with the use of electronics, which
is what gave them that final push into that position as well. I have been a
huge fan of Run-DMC since I first watched their hip hop/Rock video starring
Aerosmith in Walk this way. Funny to say, but I was a fan of Aerosmith prior
to being exposed to Run-DMC, but after that experience, Run-DMC takes the cake!
