Today on Hip Hop Movie Club: Kings from Queens: The Run-DMC Story. A new 3-part documentary series on Peacock chronicling the rise and dominance of the Hip Hop powerhouse that we know and love as Run-DMC. We see the origin story, the apex, the struggles, and the undeniable legacy left by this dynamic trio.  

Topics discussed:

• This documentary shows why Run-DMC is most responsible for introducing hip-hop to the entire world. 
• The late Jam Master Jay is responsible for the image and the fashion of the group. 
• DMC battled and overcame personal demons along the journey of being a star. 
• Run-DMC revived the Adidas brand of footwear and apparel, as well as the career of the rock group Aerosmith. 
• Run-DMC inspired the likes of Ice Cube, Eminem, LL Cool J, Chuck D, and the Beastie Boys. 

Also check out:

Run-DMC's performance of "King of Rock" at Live Aid

"Whose house? Run's House! from Dogma

A Conversation with Chuck D, April 16 at Northampton Community College.

Credits

Hip Hop Movie Club is produced by your HHMCs JB, BooGie, and DynoWright. Theme music by BooGie. Follow @hiphopmovieclub on Instagram!

Keep up with all things Hip Hop Movie Club with our newsletter. Subscribe today!

And remember:

Don't hate...captivate!

Welcome to Hip Hop Movie Club, the show

that harmonizes the rhythm of hip hop with

2

the magic of movies.

3

Today, we're discussing Kings from Queens,

the newly released three -part documentary

4

series about the legendary hip hop trio

Run-DMC.

5

We're three old heads who put their old

heads together to vibe on these films for

6

you.

7

I'm Dyno Wright, podcaster, filmmaker,

longtime hip hop fan, and I saw Run-DMC

8

with Aerosmith in September of 2002, the

month before Jam Master Jay was killed.

9

I'm JB, 80s and 90s nostalgia junkie, long

time hip hop fan, and two years ago, a

10

friend of mine who goes by the name of

Dyno Wright asked me and BooGie to join

11

his crew.

12

HHMC was born just for you.

13

So we say the things we're about to say,

the words are def and they go this way.

14

Yes!

15

we go.

16

I'm BooGie, a DJ, long time hip hop fan

and the song that got me hooked on hip hop

17

is Sucker MC's by Run-DMC.

18

Yes.

19

When did I fall in love with hip hop?

20

When I heard this song.

21

In this episode, we'll answer the

question, how far reaching was Run-DMC's

22

impact on hip hop and pop culture?

23

And we'll give you five key takeaways to

make you a smarter hip hop movie fan.

24

Kings from Queens is a 2024 three -part

documentary series chronicling the rise

25

and dominance of the hip hop powerhouse

that we know and love as Run-DMC.

26

We see the origin story, the apex, the

struggles, and the undeniable legacy left

27

by this dynamic trio.

28

This documentary shows why Run-DMC is the

most responsible for introducing hip hop

29

to the entire world.

30

The late Jam Master Jay is responsible for

the image and the fashion of the group.

31

DMC battled and overcame personal demons

along the journey of being a star.

32

Run-DMC revived the Adidas brand of

footwear and apparel, as well as the

33

career of the rock group Aerosmith.

34

And Run-DMC inspired the likes of Ice

Cube, Eminem, LL Cool J, Chuck D, the

35

Beastie Boys, and many more.

36

All right, let's get right into it.

37

Mentioned the takeaways and let's start

with the first takeaway about the

38

documentary showing how Run-DMC was most

responsible for introducing hip hop to the

39

entire world.

40

These were the first rock stars of rap,

the first rap group on MTV, and they

41

changed the entire sound of music and hip

hop.

42

BooGie, what do you have about, you know,

the powerhouse?

43

that Run-DMC was and their international

influence.

44

Yeah, so Run-DMC, they grew to prominence

pretty quickly because they look just like

45

the guys in the neighborhood.

46

I mean, they dress like them, they walk

and spoke just like them.

47

Before them, hip hop groups, they wore

costumes.

48

You think of Afrika Bambataa and the Zulu

Nation, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious

49

Five, those artists, they wore costumes.

50

When Run-DMC came to perform, you see them

playing a tracksuit, hat.

51

you know, sneakers with the shoelaces out,

looking like everyone around the way.

52

So when they started gaining local speed,

you know, their songs were, it became such

53

a, so in demand that everybody wanted to

hear them, see who these guys were.

54

Like you mentioned, JB, you know, they

went on MTV, they started doing tours.

55

One of the big doors that are open for

them was performing at Live Aid.

56

And, you know, just that alone put them in

front of the world.

57

And then from there, you know, they just

became such an in -demand artists.

58

You know, people wanted them on film.

59

So we have Krush Groove coming around.

60

And then after that, they became

recognizable to the point where they

61

couldn't go anywhere without people

knowing who they were.

62

They just, you know, they had the

charisma, the style, the flash, the flair,

63

but they were just like everyday guys from

around the way, you know?

64

So that was probably the biggest thing

that hooked everyone was that, you know,

65

anybody can be Run-DMC.

66

Like you could look at them and you

would...

67

see some of the characteristics or the

movements or the mannerisms within them

68

that remind you of somebody that lives on

your block.

69

True, relatable.

70

DynoWright, what do you have?

Yeah, I'd forgotten that Run-DMC was the

only rap group at Live Aid.

71

40 years later, all we hear about really

is Phil Collins doing both shows in London

72

and Philly and Freddie Mercury.

73

But yeah, Run-DMC was there too.

74

Yeah, I had forgotten as well.

75

It wasn't really highlighted back then.

76

the one reason that I'll always remember

them performing at Live Aid is because

77

they mentioned it in My Adidas.

78

Yeah, yeah, you know, stepped on the stage

at Live Aid, all the people who gave and

79

the poor got paid.

80

I'm like, that always sat in the back of

my head.

81

So I'll always remember them performing

here.

82

But yeah, like you said, it's not really

talked about a lot.

83

Yeah.

84

you see in this interview, the interviews

really struck me because, and I think it

85

was a lot of these British interviews for

some reason, they showed where these guys

86

were saying, so what are you guys doing

after this?

87

Like this hip hop is a fad.

88

Like, what will you guys be doing in two

years?

89

Was literally what they said.

90

So these guys were like, well, we'll be

doing this, you know, they fought for the

91

legitimacy of hip hop.

92

They paved the way for so many and they

were loud and bold and courageous.

93

I think one of the quotes was like, loud,

courageous pioneers.

94

And that's exactly what they were.

95

They just stood in the face of any type of

criticism.

96

You had folks in R &B and you know,

because they don't really use instruments,

97

you know, traditional instruments.

98

And so people just pooh -poohed them.

99

They're like, you guys aren't real

artists.

100

like would you ask the singer if he's

gonna be singing in two years?

101

So why would you ask us that same, ask us

that question?

102

Yeah.

103

were calling it a fad.

104

It's crazy.

105

Yeah, like most marketing companies at

some point, they got to consider like

106

tapping into hip hop in some way, shape or

form to get their point across.

107

It's everywhere.

108

You know, it's so embedded in our global

existence that they don't even think about

109

it.

110

They think, oh yeah, you know, we're just

going to do this and that.

111

But we know that's hip hop.

112

They're just thinking that it's something

everyday life.

113

It's everyday life because hip hop is so

ingrained in everyday life now.

114

life.

115

I think that theme comes up so many in so

many of our episodes is the ubiquity of

116

hip hop.

117

It's everywhere.

118

I think I must have said this on other

episodes, but like you can't put on TV and

119

network TV for more than like a few

minutes without seeing some form of hip

120

hop, whether it's on a sitcom, on a

commercial, on a sporting event, inside a

121

sporting event as they go to commercial,

you know, it's just everywhere.

122

It's so beloved.

123

These guys were there in the early days,

fighting for legitmacy.

124

Yeah.

125

they toured, so they introduced it to the

entire world.

126

Other folks have toured but

127

didn't have the type of impact.

128

as much as Run-DMC did.

129

Right.

130

So BooGie, you hit a little bit on the

image and the fashion of the group because

131

they look like the everyday person in

urban centers where these guys are from

132

Hollis Queens.

133

So in what we learned in the documentary,

this is the second takeaway is that the

134

late Jam Master Jay was the one

responsible for that image and the fashion

135

of the group.

136

He brought that style.

137

Do you want to speak a little bit more

about that?

138

So yeah, as the group's songs got bigger,

there became a desire for them to be

139

performing these songs live.

140

So now they need a DJ.

141

So they're looking in the neighborhood for

DJs.

142

And there was another guy, Darnell Smith,

who's a local DJ.

143

He was actually a friend of Jay's, but

there's a story about he got a job at a

144

post office.

145

He said that he never got a job at a post

office.

146

He just got a job in another state, but he

wasn't available.

147

So, you know, they bring in Jam Master Jay

and Max.

148

Jay who was actually had street

credibility in the neighborhood to be the

149

DJ.

150

And I know they said they get to their

first show and you know, Jam Master Jay

151

pulls up.

152

He's got the black Adidas tracksuit on

with the, you know, with the white stripes

153

down the side, his Godfather hat, you

know, Adidas with no shoestrings in them.

154

And everybody just kind of looked at him

like, yeah, I think, yeah, yeah, that's

155

what we're going to do.

156

And then from that point on, they think...

157

that's what they dressed like.

158

They all imitated, you know, whatever Jay

was, you know, his image or whatever he

159

thought was cool.

160

That's what they wore.

161

And it was funny how in the documentary it

shows how they used to dress before and

162

had the plaid blazers on.

163

They had the plaid blazers.

164

I'm like, whoa.

165

Thank God for Jam Master Jay, man.

166

working at McDowell's.

167

-

168

They created the b-boy look.

169

If you look up b-boy, that's b -boy style.

170

This is what it is.

171

It's tracksuits.

172

It's Adidas with no laces.

173

It's funny because I remember as a

youngster, like I had cousins that were

174

much older than I was and they wore Adidas

tracksuits.

175

So the good thing about being the youngest

one is when they outgrew it.

176

So I had the black one with the red

stripes down the side.

177

I had another one that was like color

blocked with stripes down the side.

178

I was like, yes.

179

Couldn't tell me nothing.

180

And this was before sneaker culture hit

its peak.

181

These were affordable shoes, which was

good.

182

People could afford them and they could

dress like Run-DMC.

183

else to add about

184

the image, the fashion brought in by Jam

Master Jay.

185

Only to talk about, just so people know

186

A lot of stuff about his murder and the

resolution of the legal process came out

187

A lot of stuff about his murder and the

resolution of the legal process came out

188

after this was released.

189

So if you're looking for a deep dive into

motives and what happened with the murder

190

of Jam Master Jay, this isn't the place to

go.

191

But this still is good for seeing how

their style evolved and was really...

192

you know, taking on a rocket ship when Jay

joined the band or joined the group.

193

Yeah, there's mention of his passing and

the mourning and that's really the

194

dissolution of the group.

195

Like that was pretty much it.

196

They stopped touring, Run, went full time

into being a reverend.

197

He was already, you know, he had already

become a Reverend and a Rev Run, but it's

198

kind of like they didn't really produce

more music.

199

They have since kind of reunited for the 50 year hip hop

tours, which we'll talk about a little bit.

200

It was like, we're the three of us.

201

This is, you know, this is not the same.

202

Jam Master Jay was irreplaceable.

203

Literally.

204

They couldn’t bring in another DJ to replace

205

him.

206

So the next topic, you know, takeaway is

DMC, Darryl McDaniels.

207

It really showcased or highlighted how he

battled and overcame personal demons along

208

the journey of becoming a megastar.

209

BooGie, you want to talk a little about

that?

210

so DMC was known for having that powerful,

booming voice that commanded the stage

211

when he rhymed.

212

But originally, DMC didn't want to

perform.

213

He wanted to just write.

214

At first, he just had a book of rhymes

that he would just write because that was

215

his outlet.

216

He didn't have a therapist or a counselor

or anybody like that that he spoke.

217

So anytime he wanted to express himself,

he wrote it in his book.

218

Of course, you know, Run in his

charismatic ways, find out that D had this

219

gift of gab when it comes to rhyming and

convinced him to tag along down to the

220

studio.

221

And you know, subsequently convinced him

to start rhyming And once everybody heard

222

him, they were like, yo, this guy's

serious.

223

We need him.

224

Yes, this is what's gonna work.

225

So then they start touring and everything.

226

And you know, DMC, he almost has to put on

a persona.

227

every time he goes out on stage to

perform, you know, he'd rather, you know,

228

write rhymes and read comic books and

things like that, you know, typical quote

229

unquote nerd stuff, rather than be out on

stage performing.

230

And then when it got down to recording, he

said, you know what, I don't mind

231

recording, but I don't want to perform.

232

But as he goes through these motions, he

has to figure out ways to cope with what

233

he's feeling.

234

And it all starts to come to a head as

he's getting older and realizing that, you

235

know,

236

This is something that's not gonna last

forever, but I wanna figure out what to do

237

with my life.

238

And then unfortunately, Jam Master Jay is

murdered and it really takes him, he takes

239

it really hard.

240

He becomes alcoholic and suicidal, things

like that.

241

And not really sure how to cope with

himself.

242

But he starts to realize that, I know I

skipped the part too, is when he was going

243

on tour, he would take on a persona of

different comic book characters to get

244

through his performances.

245

So now at this point in his life, he's

trying to figure out how to deal with

246

himself.

247

And he's thinking about, there's several

instances where he thinks about taking his

248

own life.

249

And he comes out of an airport at one

point and he...

250

in a cab ride from the airport and the guy

driving the cab recognizes him and says,

251

hey, you know, you got me through this,

you got me through that, your rhymes were

252

brought me through when I was having a

really hard time in life.

253

And he said, can I just have an autograph?

254

And he said, yeah, sure.

255

He gives him an autograph.

256

He said, I could take a picture with you

too.

257

And the guy said, hey, do you mind if I

put on the radio?

258

And he puts on a radio

259

yeah, so he puts on a radio and the song

comes on that changes his life and makes

260

him reconsider, you know, those thoughts

that he's having and, you know, he decides

261

that he wants to fight.

262

And then he puts on the fight and he just

starts revitalizing himself and moving

263

forward.

264

nothing else, watch this documentary to

find out what song saved his life.

265

What unlikely song and artist saved his

life.

266

Now a great breakdown there BooGie.

267

DMC definitely was the most introspective

of the crew and he battled the bouts of

268

depression on and off.

269

You said Run had his family life early on,

he was always going back home to be with

270

his family and Jam Master Jay was always

out and about socializing, he was kind of

271

life of the party.

272

Whereas DMC, Darryl McDaniels was kind of

like a bit of a loner.

273

He was a rocker but he was very

introspective like I said.

274

So he kind of was like left to his own.

275

And it took a toll on him putting on that

face.

276

And again, I thought it was cool that he

was inspired by the Marvel superheroes.

277

And that was back before this whole MCU

and the mega films, Disney and everything

278

like that.

279

He was down with Marvel.

280

It was kind of cool.

281

saw a DMC at the airport once.

282

This was a few years ago and he was by

himself.

283

So like you said about being a loner, like

he was by himself in the airport.

284

No one was bothering him, which was kind

of cool.

285

Like if he had come to my terminal or my

gate, I would have had to talk to him.

286

But like, yeah, he's walking around like a

normal guy, dressed like a normal guy.

287

Yeah, it really is him.

288

They do show in the documentary that he does get married and I think he has a child.

289

So he kind of has that family bond to help

steer him a little bit more.

290

But, you know, in the throes of it, he

didn't, you know, he had difficulties, you

291

know, like you said, up to the level of

being suicidal, unfortunately.

292

at one point he says he wants to, you

know, he creates the comic book and that's

293

when his son realized that, oh, dad's a

nerd.

294

He's doing the Comic Cons and stuff.

295

Wait a minute, I didn't know that.

296

Yeah.

297

to the beginning documentary of the

childhood, like they grew up in Hollis,

298

Queens, and there was crime, you know,

throughout the neighborhood, and he would

299

just take refuge in his room and just read

those comic books.

300

And that was his outlet.

301

And then he said writing became his

outlet.

302

And then, you know, he was forced to front

the crew a lot and get out there.

303

I just think it's kind of cool though,

because I think when I was growing up, I

304

read a lot of comic books too.

305

And I used to draw characters and make up

my own characters and things like that.

306

So I kind of embraced a lot of what he was

talking about, you know, between, you

307

know, drawing the characters and then

subsequently, like I used to do a lot of

308

my graffiti and stuff like that.

309

But then I found my way to the turntables,

being at my friend's dad down the street.

310

And that became my other outlet.

311

So it's a clean line.

312

That's pretty much the outlet that I use

now.

313

Most of the time I rarely draw now.

314

But I don't get away from music.

315

I don't get too far away from the music.

316

But it was cool how he was talking about

the complex.

317

And now when you mention this whole MCU

thing, it's like...

318

Mind -blowing like, man.

319

I couldn't imagine having that as a kid

These kids are lucky You know, I gotta

320

jump up and down and like a big kid

jumping up and down.

321

They can jump up and down to be a kid

322

Yeah, we can relate to the, you know, if

you guys haven't noticed, if you're

323

listening, we're kind of nerds, you know,

it was like, we're doing deep dives on

324

these things.

325

We talked about MCU a little bit in the

past, you know, we did a Spider -Verse

326

episode, Transformers, and stuff like

that.

327

So yeah, DMC's our guy.

328

So another takeaway was

329

Run-DMC as a crew, they revived

330

the Adidas brand of footwear and apparel.

331

Which was really a kind of a low point

332

and like for them

333

putting them on the map by wearing

334

their stuff

335

And even doing the song

336

called “My Adidas”

337

They also revived the career of

338

the rock group Aerosmith.

339

I mean, Aerosmith was a classic rock

group, you know, popular like in the

340

seventies and had a couple of hits here and

there, but they were dormant for quite a

341

while.

342

And then with that collaboration, with “Walk This Way” - Boom!

343

You guys want to talk a little bit more about

344

how they did both things.

345

Yeah so, I mean, the Adidas, you know, takeaway

was kind of cool because like they weren't

346

even setting out to get any kind of

endorsement or deals or anything like

347

that.

348

that's just what they wore.

349

It's like, you know, hey, everybody in the

neighborhood wears their affordable

350

sneakers.

351

They look cool.

352

Everybody wears them.

353

So, you know, when they wanted to, you

know, when they embraced the style of

354

wearing the track jackets and the track

suits and things like that to go with

355

them, that's just what they did.

356

And, you know, it was funny because Lyor

Cohen, who now, like most people in hip

357

hop know that name, Lyor Cohen.

358

I didn't even realize that he started off

as their road manager.

359

I was like, wow, that's Lyor Cohen, the

Lyor Cohen.

360

It's like, wow.

361

But he was honest.

362

He said, you know, the Adidas deal would

have happened with or without him being

363

involved, which was actually, you know,

big of him to say that because you think

364

about it, yeah, somebody would have been

like, would have caught wind of it.

365

But it just happened.

366

He was in the right place at the right

time.

367

And he contacted some execs over at Adidas

and said, hey, you know,

368

come to this concert down in Madison

Square Garden, I want to show you guys

369

something.

370

I don't even think he hinted at what they

were going to see, but you know, Run is on

371

stage and he just holds up a pair, holds

up one sneaker and he's like, yo, you

372

know, everybody in the crowd, you know, do

the same thing.

373

And then all you see is a bunch of hands

go with a Adidas sneaker in their hand.

374

And before they got off the stage, you

know, it kind of solidified that they were

375

making an impact on the sales for Adidas.

376

And

377

Lyor negotiated the million dollar

contract deal with Adidas.

378

And I remember when that happened too,

because they had commercials, billboards,

379

posters everywhere.

380

I remember they had like the limited

edition Adidas with Run-DMC on one of the

381

sneakers.

382

The Adidas Forums was, you couldn't buy

those sneakers anywhere.

383

You couldn't find them anywhere.

384

They were selling out everywhere.

385

The Superstars were selling out.

386

The Classic Shell Toes were selling out.

387

Like...

388

they would come in and gone quick.

389

I mean, if you had a small foot, you could

probably find them with a guy like me with

390

a big foot, couldn't find them.

391

I don't even think, I think I had a couple

pairs of Forums but when I was younger, I

392

never had a pair of like, I had a pair of

some Stan Smiths, but I never had the

393

shell toes.

394

I couldn't find them.

395

You never get them.

396

I could get them now, but couldn't get

them back then.

397

Yeah.

398

DynoWright, anything to add about the

Adidas connection.

399

BooGie covered it quite excellently.

400

the challenge, I think.

401

Yeah.

402

I mean, there was one scene that we talked

about before, before we were recording.

403

There was that former executive from

Adidas who was tearful and like so, so

404

thankful and, and, uh, grateful for what

Run-DMC did for their brand.

405

I think he mentioned that they were kind

of struggling.

406

And then when, when they had the song and

everything, like their sales just rocketed

407

up and what a boon for the brand.

408

I believe what the deal was

409

that they gave them

410

a million dollars

411

and

412

anything that they wanted.

413

It's like, all right, $1 million and like

whatever shoes you want because they were

414

just raking in the dough with all the, it

was free endorsement up until that point.

415

And then they had the deal.

416

So that was incredible.

417

Just an incredible marriage of the brand.

418

And then, you know, maybe that's.

419

That's kind of responsible for maybe the

sneaker culture and hip hop being tied

420

together for.

421

Yeah.

422

to this day.

423

Jordans and Nike and whatever brands that

people want and then you got you know

424

hip hop stars having their own lines and

etc of shoes, sneakers.

425

Yeah.

426

Jay-Z had his S. Carters with Reebok.

427

Kanye recently up to fairly recently, you

know, just had his own line with Adidas,

428

you know?

429

Yeah.

430

all paved the way by Run-DMC.

431

Travis Scott has some Nike variants that

comes out every so often.

432

Those things sell out like hotcakes.

433

If you don't put your order in within like

they'll release them at 10 o 'clock by

434

like 10:01, if you haven't put your sale

through, you're not getting them.

435

You're in line, you're in a digital line

and you won't get them unless you buy, get

436

them on resale.

437

Right.

438

So I want to talk a little bit more about

Run-DMC's connection with Aerosmith, their

439

impact on Aerosmith's career.

440

So when they collaborated with Walk This

Way in the mid 80s, like that really put

441

Aerosmith back on the map.

442

A lot of, nobody in our generation had

known who Steven Tyler was probably.

443

Unless you're a rock guy, but, but like

Aerosmith could have easily gone the way

444

of like

445

Super Tramp or Grand Funk Railroad is

like, all right, there's a group there, or

446

Kansas or something like that.

447

They're a group, they had a couple hits

and then I'll go back and listen to them.

448

But after that, Aerosmith's like a hot

commodity.

449

And then they were soaring through the

charts through the 90s, mega hits.

450

I was just joking that without Run-DMC,

there's probably no rock and roller

451

coaster in Disney World.

452

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

453

You don’t see Steven Tyler and their crew on the

Polar Express and stuff like that.

454

Like these guys are like up there in the

upper echelon of rock groups.

455

And I really think that, and Ad Rock from

Beastie Boys in an interview mentioned

456

that, like they saved Aerosmith's career.

457

They put them back on the map.

458

And like they, yeah.

459

Put it in perspective, Walk This Way, the original came out in

460

And so 11 years later, Run-DMC uses it for

their version and just brings them back

461

and then Aerosmith's next

462

album goes like multi -platinum.

463

And so yeah, thanks to hip hop.

464

Rock gets a new life.

465

Yeah.

466

When they were talking about how they

wanted to do Walk This Way, Rick, the genius

467

Rick Rubin had, um, you know, I think they

were going to do a totally different

468

version, version of it and, and, and whole

different lyrics.

469

And then Rick Rubin is like, if you listen

to the way that Aerosmith did it back in

470

‘75, it has a hip hop adjacent flow.

471

Like it's fast, it rhymes and it can work.

472

Just put the beats in and, and dub it that

way and make it your own in a hip hop.

473

format and it was brilliant.

474

Yeah.

475

A direct cover of the song, not even a

remake or not even an interpretation.

476

It's like a direct cover.

477

That was genius.

478

I remember when I first heard the song, it

took me years before I realized that that

479

wasn't even their lyrics.

480

As a kid, I always thought that that was

their lyrics.

481

And then I got older, I was like, wait a

minute.

482

And I heard the original, I'm like, wait a

minute.

483

Run-DMC was just saying the same stuff

that they said the whole time.

484

It was like my mind just went.

485

And he filled the room and I was like

done.

486

I couldn't believe it.

487

I mean, think about it, Aerosmith was

ahead of their time because yeah, it's

488

kind of rap adjacent Like, hey, diddle

diddle, kitty in the middle, and like, it

489

just don't care.

490

You know, so it's like, all right.

491

That totally lends itself to hip hop.

492

Yeah, definitely.

493

Mega hit, mega hit.

494

And I liked the video too, where they're,

cause it's a meshing of the two genre.

495

It's kind of like, Run-DMC is working in

their little studio and then Steven Tyler

496

and crew are working theirs.

497

And it's like, they're pounding on the

wall, like, hey, and all of a sudden it

498

just breaks through and it's like, all

right, let's do this.

499

All right.

500

All right.

501

That Rock and Roller Coaster is a fun ride too.

502

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

503

That’s the one that goes like 0 to 60, whatever, in like no

time and you're upside down.

504

Yeah.

505

Oh, yeah.

506

That's...

507

I've rode that in the very front and in

very back.

508

my family loves that one too.

509

Um, awesome.

510

One other takeaway that we wanted to talk

about, you know, the way that Run-DMC

511

One other takeaway that we wanted to talk

about, you know, the way that Run-DMC

512

inspired so many other hip hop artists.

513

You see Ice Cube, Eminem, LL Cool J, Chuck

D, obviously the Beastie Boys.

514

You can see the admiration.

515

Um, you want to talk a little bit about

that BooGie?

516

How we see the influence.

517

I mean, like you look at guys like Ice

Cube and Eminem, just talking about the

518

I mean, like you look at guys like Ice

Cube and Eminem, just talking about the

519

very first record, the very first time

they listened to a Run-DMC record, LL Cool

520

J signing with Def Jam and being taken

under Russell's wing and almost having a

521

J signing with Def Jam and being taken

under Russell's wing and almost having a

522

bit of a sibling rivalry with Run-DMC.

523

Like they pushed one another, like, cause

they looked at LL, it was like, yo, he's

524

the...

525

You know, they said they would always

tease Run and say, yo, L's coming for your

526

crown.

527

He's coming for your crown.

528

He's coming for your crown.

529

And that will push Run harder.

530

But at the same time, LL Cool J is not

having the same obstacles to deal with as

531

Run-DMC did.

532

So he has more of a cleaner lane, but he's

trying to aspire to be like them because

533

he sees all of the success and the

accolades that they're achieving.

534

So he wants to be like them, you know?

535

And then you look at, I mean, same thing

with the Beastie Boys.

536

And there was a joke that said,

537

the Beastie Boys or what would happen to

Run-DMC if they were white.

538

And they had a great camaraderie as well.

539

They were going on tours together.

540

And I'm sure there's so many stories that

they can't even talk about of the antics

541

that went on tours with those guys.

542

And then Chuck D's retrospective on being

a...

543

up in Adelphi University working at the

radio station.

544

And the very first time he received that

white label Sucker MCs record and he

545

listened to it.

546

He said, oh man, we got to throw this on.

547

And at a time where, and he put it on at a

time where a lot of radio stations were

548

not playing hip hop at all, you know, and

they definitely weren't playing Sucker MCs

549

because Sucker MCs as Russell Simmons, you

know, relayed.

550

That song was for the streets.

551

That was for the locals.

552

That was for the hood.

553

That wasn't even supposed to be the hit.

554

You know, that was just something that was

raw that they wanted to put out for the

555

people in the neighborhood to listen to.

556

But when Chuck D heard it, you know, he

put it on his radio show and it just kept

557

playing.

558

And then, you know, everybody's playing

the song over and over again.

559

But you could definitely see in all of

these legends in the game, you know, Ice

560

Cube, Eminem, LL Cool J, Chuck D.

561

the Beastie Boys, et cetera.

562

They're all legends.

563

And again, even they had Salt from Salt

and Pepa talked a bit, you know, one of

564

the great, you know, lyrics, female

lyricists, lyricists period, but

565

definitely one of the biggest hip hop

female artists of all time.

566

And they all, you can see the deep

admiration that all of them had for

567

Run-DMC and how Run-DMC kicked down doors,

knocked down walls.

568

Run-DMC and how Run-DMC kicked down doors,

knocked down walls.

569

and made a way, paved a way for them to

become the artists that they were and how

570

they all would listen to the songs as they

were writing their own and have that

571

admiration, hey, listen, they're making it

big, I wanna make it like them.

572

So we're gonna write harder, we're gonna

work harder, we're gonna aspire harder to

573

be like them.

574

Definitely.

575

DynoWright, anything to add on that?

576

Yeah, you can tell just how influential

they are when you have all of these stars

577

appear in the documentary and just talk

about the profound impact they had.

578

It wasn't just these rappers, it's also

Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine

579

and not just other rappers, but other

musicians too.

580

Right.

581

They were bold.

582

I mean, that's one of the biggest

adjectives that I took away.

583

It's like they were just so bold,

courageous and the content too was fun.

584

And I think that we should touch on this a

little bit too is that they're, they were

585

not about any negativity whatsoever.

586

They were about having a good time and

partying and talking about the person–...

587

They revealed some of their personalities

and what happened though, like where they

588

kind of lost some steam, so to speak.

589

was like in the late eighties, whereas the

rise of the West Coast gangster rap and

590

was like in the late eighties, whereas the

rise of the West Coast gangster rap and

591

NWA becomes popular.

592

And these are more or less hip hop with a

message, a political message or social

593

message.

594

And the young urban youth were listening

to that and even suburban youth, you know,

595

listened to this and they fell in love

with it.

596

listened to this and they fell in love

with it.

597

And now they wanted something with a more

deeper meaning.

598

And so Run-DMC wasn't really about that.

599

So they kind of lost some popularity, lost

some steam.

600

And there was that one scene where,

remember when they went out to the West

601

coast and there was a guy, he was from the

Crips, I guess, right?

602

Riding up on the bike, because he was

wearing the blue.

603

And he yeah, yeah, it's going down

tonight, it's going down tonight.

604

And DMC was like, yeah, we're going to

rock the show.

605

He had no idea that there was going to be

some act of violence or some craziness,

606

right?

607

And...

608

threw them for loop and then there was

violence in the crowd.

609

Brawls. Yeah.

610

But it was still a bad smear.

611

And then Run-DMC had to deal with a lot of

negative press because of that and they

612

had nothing at all to do with it.

613

And that was, I think that kind of, you

know, left a sour taste in a lot of

614

people's mouth about hip hop in general.

615

And then Run-DMC was kind of...

616

had a stain on them in terms of like, are

they promoting violence or like, you know,

617

associated with it, you know, guilty by

association.

618

Yeah.

619

was an early clip from, I know there was a

clip in there from with Jam Master Jay

620

talking and he said, hey, listen, like we

realized that we have an influence on

621

people.

622

So while we have this platform and this

voice, we wanna be positive.

623

We wanna spread positivity.

624

We wanna be good role models for the kids.

625

And they always strive for that.

626

which was cool.

627

I always thought that was cool to them

that they weren't really talking about,

628

you know, shooting people and robbing

people and things like that.

629

They just kind of rhymed, hey, I'm the

best there is.

630

And if that's what it is, you know, so be

it, you know, their rhymes were always

631

focused on their rap lyricism and how

great they were as an MC, not, you know,

632

necessarily taking anyone out.

633

Yeah, I don't think there's any type of

diss tracks or anything in their history

634

that I can think of.

635

Oh yeah, there's the other, when they were

trying to do that whole new jack swing

636

thing too, but we don't talk about that.

637

So they experiment with that.

638

Was that before Pete Rock got engaged with

them, involved with them?

639

And yeah, so they do really thank Pete

Rock for reviving their career after they

640

hit that downturn when they came out with

Down with the King, which was...

641

Down with the King is just a great song.

642

It uses the Sucker MC refrain a little

bit, you know, and it evokes that and it

643

works so well.

644

Yeah.

645

that became a smash hit, put them back on

the map and everybody, if you loved that,

646

allowed them to tour the world again.

647

Like that was like a second life for them.

648

there was that Down with the King and then

Run's House.

649

Woof.

650

They're back.

651

Yeah.

652

for sure.

653

So I think, you know, we were

talking about this as a crew here.

654

It's so hard to narrow down to like our

favorite songs.

655

And we'll kick it to you, Dyno Wright,

first here.

656

What would you say are your five favorite

Run-DMC songs of all time?

657

Boy, this is so tough.

658

This is so tough.

659

But I've settled on Sucker MC's, My

Adidas, King of Rock, Me Myself on My

660

But I've settled on Sucker MC's, My

Adidas, King of Rock, Me Myself on My

661

Microphone, which they did with Living

Colour for the Judgement Night soundtrack,

662

and Walk This Way.

663

Man, it was hard to make that list.

664

You leave out such good ones, too.

665

I couldn't do it.

666

I tried, I tried.

667

Like it was funny because my initial list

was Sucker MCs, Rock Box, Beats to Rhymes,

668

King of Rock, Peter Piper.

669

They were like, wait a minute, My Adidas

isn't on there.

670

Mary Mary's not on there.

671

Here We Go's not on there.

672

Run's House not on there.

673

I was like oh my God, I can't do it.

674

it's tough.

675

It's like...

676

I couldn't do it.

677

favorite children.

678

We love them all, so.

679

If I had to go top five, I go with Peter

Piper, King of Rock, Rock Box, Down with

680

the King, and You Be Illin'.

681

And just because it's so hilarious, like I

used to sing that all the time.

682

I had to be like fifth, sixth grade or

something like that.

683

Me and my friends, we would just sing it

because it was so goofy.

684

It was so funny.

685

But again, I'm leaving off Sucker MCs.

686

Like how can I leave off sucker MCs?

687

How can I leave off, you know, I left off

Walk This Way and I just think it was

688

because it was played so much that it's,

you know, I become a little bit

689

desensitized to the greatness of it.

690

This documentary really reminded me just

how good Sucker MCs was and you know when

691

they play it and you hear how DMC's flow

goes with the beat it's like wow it's so

692

good it's so powerful.

693

This is the song that got me hooked, man.

694

I remember it.

695

Like, man.

696

Because I got to tell people all the time,

like, the songs before it, like, you know,

697

Newcleus, Jam On It and, you know,

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,

698

and, you know, and Afrika Bambaataa and the

Zulu Nation.

699

And even, you know, Sugarhill Gang, you

know, all of those songs had that disco

700

type flow to it.

701

It was like a sample of a song or a sample

of a disco song or was disco adjacent.

702

And here comes this boom, cat, cat, cat,

cat, cat, cat, cat, cat, cat, cat, cat,

703

cat, cat, cat, cat,

704

What is that song? What is that?

705

Everybody went nuts.

706

The whole ‘hood went nuts around here.

707

Unbelievable, like we were

708

on the bus, trying to figure out what they were saying, and

709

see who could come up with the rest of the

rhyme until we could finally get the first

710

verse.

711

And it was like a big success story when

everybody finally was able to say the

712

first verse in unison.

713

Like the whole bus was rocking.

714

Yeah, man.

715

And Run and DMC, like they still have it.

716

Like I was fortunate to see them perform

at the Rock the Bells Festival last summer

717

in August.

718

Man, oh man, they put on a show and they

are still like in perfect harmony with

719

each other, picking up where each other

left off.

720

And they have the energy.

721

And I'm like, man, they did a great set.

722

All as many of the classics as they could

fit.

723

And...

724

Man, it was great to see them live.

725

I think Jam Master Jay's son may have been

out there as well, like helping.

726

I don't know if he was actually DJing, but

he was part of the crew.

727

Yeah, it's just legendary stuff.

728

Mm -hmm.

729

I can't say enough great things about the

group and the documentary is amazing.

730

Like I said, you have to see this for all

the reasons we mentioned here.

731

Absolutely.

732

Any other parting words on kings from

queens?

733

Just be careful how you Google it.

734

You might end up with Kevin James coming

up and Leah Remini.

735

Kings from Queens, not Kings of Queens.

736

Yeah.

737

It's like, what's that documentary again?

738

Kings of Queens?

739

No, no, no.

740

That was taken.

741

Yep.

742

was one thing that the very, it was almost

at the very end where Rev.

743

Run is going, you know, he’s sitting in the car,

he's talking about how he'd go out to the

744

beach every day.

745

And he said there was one quote regarding

Jam Master Jay.

746

He said like, all fairy tales end, you'll

see Jay again, my friend.

747

And I was like, huh, yeah.

That was deep.

748

It was, yeah.

749

Yeah.

750

You can see how Run, Joseph Simmons was

leaning more towards a pious life when

751

he...

752

and in Down with the King when he has a

line of the G-O-D be in me then the king I

753

be.

754

And he's kind of ...

755

that kind of like stuck with him.

756

He's like, yeah, you know, I want to have

that type of impact on people and that

757

connection with the higher authority.

758

Yeah, he's been, he was, he's always been

hinting at it his whole life.

759

Even if you look at, you know, we were

gonna talk about, you know, Krush Groove

760

is, and Krush Groove's father was in the

church and the minister in the church.

761

And, you know, I don't think it was his

father.

762

I didn't realize the actual minister.

763

I'm not sure, but that was actually his

dad that played him in the movie.

764

Funny.

765

But yeah, he's always kind of walked that

line of like, I, you know, am I gonna do

766

it?

767

Am I not gonna?

768

So when he did it, it wasn't.

769

Like nobody was really surprised, you

know?

770

Did you guys watch any of his reality

show?

771

I didn't really catch much of it.

772

Mm-hmm.

773

I didn’t.

774

Yeah.

775

Or was it called Run's House?

776

Or...

777

Run's House, yeah.

778

House.

779

There's a great reference to Run's House

in Dogma with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

780

It sticks with me still.

781

Definitely a good one.

782

Definitely a good one.

783

Yeah, it's one you can rewatch too.

784

This is on the Peacock network or Peacock

streaming service.

785

Do we want to bring this funky flick back?

786

We don't even need to.

787

Yeah.

788

-brainer.

789

Yeah.

790

that's a no-brainer right here.

791

If you can't figure out that we're

bringing this funky flick back then.

792

Hahaha!

793

Yeah, you weren't listening.

794

yeah, exactly.

795

Yeah.

796

Sharpen your comprehension skills a little

bit.

797

you had any doubt, you'd be illin'.

798

You'd be illin', man.

799

Hip Hop Movie Club is produced by your

HHMC's JB, BooGie and DynoWright.

800

Theme music by BooGie.

801

Come on out to A Conversation with Chuck D

802

of the Bethlehem campus of Northampton

Community College.

803

Our man DJ ARM 18, Andrew McIntosh will be

in conversation with the legend himself.

804

We'll be there.

805

Come out and hang with us.

806

Get your free tickets for A Conversation

with Chuck D.

807

at Northampton .edu.

808

And whether you're listening to the

podcast or watching us on YouTube, we

809

appreciate you.

810

Thanks for tuning in.

811

And remember, don't hate, captivate.

812

Ooooo

813

Just like Run DMC did.

814

Captivate the world.

815

Absolutely.