Guest Blogger: Salume J.

Run DMC is the earliest rap American group that brought hip-hop into the musical and cultural mainstream, introducing what became known as “new-school” rap. The members were Run D.M.C. and Jam Master Jay. Run DMC was managed by his brother Russell Simmons. The Music they composed give you a up lift of energy, the kind of music that makes you want to get up and dance. More than any other hip-hop group, Run-D.M.C. is 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 was tougher then there competitors. 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 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 generated, but they continued to perform to a dedicated following well into the '90s.