Run-DMC

Run-DMC was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip-hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip-hop acts of the 1980s.

The adidas sneakers, the Kangol hats, the Godfather chain—Run-DMC didn't just make records, they made a uniform that allowed millions of kids to see themselves in hip-hop. Formed in Hollis, Queens in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jam Master Jay, the trio cracked the mainstream with a bluntness that felt inevitable in hindsight: "It's Like That" proved rap could be both authentic and commercially unstoppable, while "Walk This Way"—produced by Rick Rubin and featuring Aerosmith—collapsed the wall between rock and rap that record labels had painstakingly constructed. Their bond with Russell Simmons (Run's own brother managing the group) and their Def Jam orbit alongside LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys created the intellectual and commercial foundation for everything that followed.