#378 Run-DMC, 'Run-D.M.C.' (1984)

Previously #242

Arguably the first great Hip Hop album and indisputably a groundbreaking record. It was tougher, grittier and more hardcore than Hip Hop records that has come before it and was the first Rap record to be certified gold (just 9 months after it was released). The video for ‘Rock Box’ was the first rap video to be played on MTV. Imagine that – there was a time that MTV didn’t play rap music. These three broke down barriers that would ultimately change the course of music.

It’s impossible to write a review about this record without mentioning ‘It’s Like That.’ The song that started it all; their debut single. It was remixed in by Jason Nevins in 1997 and became a massive hit in 1998, 14 years after its original release. It went on to selling over 5 million copies. A sociopolitical discussing unemplotment, poverty, war and so much more. The hook is so huge, that most people have probably not even listened to the lyrics in the verse. “Unemployment at a record high/People coming, people going, people born to die/Don't ask me, because I don't know why/But it's like that, and that's the way it is.”

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