FEATURE:
Rock the House
Run-D.M.C.’s King of Rock at Forty
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FEW acts in music history…
IN THIS PHOTO: Run-D.M.C. performing at the Live Aid concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 13th July, 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect
possess as strong a trio of albums as Run-D.M.C. The group’s first three albums are remarkable. Formed by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizel, they hail from Hollis, Queens, New York City. Their 1984 debut, Run-D.M.C., is a critically acclaimed masterpiece. Their third studio album, Raising Hell, may well be their most acclaimed and popular. Three compelling, inspiring and timeless albums within three years, that is quite some feat! Not that King of Rock is the lesser of the trio, though it is not held quite in the same esteem as its predecessor and successor. However, as it turns forty on 21st January, I wanted to spend time with it. I will come to some reviews for this amazing album. King of Rock saw Run-D.M.C. adopting a more Rock-focused sound. A few of its tracks boasting impressive riffs. King of Rock was ranked at number forty-four on NME’s list of the 50 Albums Released In 1985 That Still Sound Great Today. Before getting to a couple of critical reviews for Run-D.M.C.’s second studio album, I want to come to a feature from Albumism. In 2020, they marked thirty-five years if a hugely influential and important album:
“After being initially dismissed by Larry “Bud” Melman (of Late Night With David Letterman fame) for not “belonging” there, Joseph “Run” Simmons and Daryl “DMC” McDaniels stalk through the fictional hallowed halls, kicking down doors, completely unimpressed. The two mock broadcast performances by Bud Holly, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis. They make a point to step on a replica Michael Jackson’s glove, break a replica of Elton John’s glasses, and crown a bust of one of the Beatles with one of the duo’s trademark hats. Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell strikes a mean B-Boy pose. Run wields an electric guitar like a blunt instrument and menaces the camera with it. They finish by sauntering out of the exhibit after spray-painting “Run-DMC, King of Rock” on the wall.
Even without the video, the song itself is as arresting as it is confrontational. Run-DMC were already no stranger to incorporating electric guitar into their music, with the success of “Rock Box” from their self-titled debut album Run D.M.C. (1984). However, “King of Rock,” well, rocked even harder, “with a sound so strong that it’s knocking down trees.” Session-player Eddie Martinez shreds a hard rock groove that dominates the track, backed by the simplest of drum tracks. On the mic, Run and DMC swagger like the baddest motherfuckers on the planet Earth, “rocking without a band.”
When I heard “King of Rock,” something about it spoke to me in a completely different way that artists like Michael Jackson, Prince, or Van Halen ever had. There was a power in Run-DMC’s raps that was undeniable and still reverberates three-and-half decades later.
There was no denying the brashness and confidence that the pair radiated. Rappers have been proclaiming that they are the best to ever pick up a mic since the first emcee ever picked up a mic. But rappers had always sought to express their domination over other rappers. On this single, and moreover, the album, Run-DMC were putting Rock & Roll icons on notice.
King of Rock is mostly thought of these days as the album sandwiched between Run-DMC’s groundbreaking debut and Raising Hell (1986), which turned them into unquestioned superstars. It was as financially successful as either album, going Gold in six months, but ultimately not certified Platinum until a couple of years later. But in re-listening to it in full for the first time in years, with this album, the trio was asserting that they were ready for prime time.
Run and DMC further honed their lyrical technique of rhyming in tandem, which they first displayed on Run-D.M.C., and fueling each other was their energy throughout King of Rock. Occasionally each emcee will kick a short verse, but often they go line for line, word for word, and even syllable for syllable.
The pair’s ability to rhyme as a unit is on full display on “You Talk Too Much,” where they decry dastardly liars who talk trash. Hip-Hop beat creation was still in its formative stages during the mid-1980s, so the song, like all the others on the album, relies on the understated genius production of Larry Smith. Here he works the drum machine and keyboards to perfection, with Run and DMC chiding the nameless sucker because “your mouth’s moving fast, and your brain’s moving slow.”
Run-DMC delves into socially conscious hip-hop with “You’re Blind,” a screed against greed and the valuation of money over humanity. The pair alternately berating slumlords for profiting off of the poor without giving back and rebuking hustlers, drug-dealers, pimps, and wannabe gangsters for living off the misery of the community.
Even the fairly goofy songs on the album are musically compelling. “It’s Not Funny” is held together by innovative drum programming and sharp scratches by Jay, who precisely cuts up slowed down vocals from an Eddie Murphy stand-up. “Roots, Rap, Reggae” pays homage to hip-hop’s Jamaican roots, with Run and DMC bouncing off of each other over a minimalistic, low-tech version of a reggae riddim. They’re assisted by dancehall legend Yellowman, fresh off the success of King Yellowman (1984). It’s ultimately a lightweight track, but one of the early cross-genre collaborations between respective stars of their musical kingdoms.
King of Rock is at its strongest when Run and DMC keep things focused on their own exploits. “Can You Rock It Like This,” the album’s third single features the pair describing the cost of their superstardom. The track, reportedly ghost-written by a young LL Cool J, begins with Run boasting about “signing autographs for three months straight” while DMC brags about how his “face is a thousand lipstick flavors.” But the two walk the line between basking in the attention their stardom has earned them and exasperation at their lack of privacy. Still, they ultimately commit to their continued super-stardom, proclaiming, “And if you mess with us, you’ll be a real short liver / You may be big but our bodyguard’s bigger!!!!!”
The album ends with “Daryl and Joe,” the third installment of Run-DMC’s “Krush Groove” series (preceded by “Sucker MCs” and “Hollis Crew” and followed by “Together Forever”). The track is a culmination of all of the styles, both musical and lyrical, the group utilizes throughout King of Rock. Larry Smith put together continuously changing drum tracks and keyboard progression that sounds inspired by Art of Noise’s “Close to the Edit.”
Run and DMC are at their fiercest on “Daryl and Joe,” delivering their lengthiest verses on the album, extolling their skills as emcees. “Travel round the world with my mind at ease,” Run boasts. “No Calvin Klein, just wearing Lee’s.” DMC, as always, is a commanding presence on the mic, booming, “When I perform, many hearts I warm / I’m better known, as the Quiet Storm / I don’t talk too much but I got beef / When I kill emcees, I cause grief.” Jay continues to showcase his prowess on the tables providing his scratches throughout the track, but really getting loose during the extended outro”.
It is fascinating looking at a run of three phenomenal albums. How the former compelled and built to the second which then affected the latter. From The Beatles to Madonna to Radiohead, we can look at their trios of classic albums and the relationship between them. I don’t think that it is fair to say King of Rock is a lesser cousin of Run-D.M.C. and Raising Hell. It is a stunning album from one of Hip-Hop’s true pioneers. I will move on to a review from AllMusic. They shared their thoughts on an album that warrants more discussion and investigation:
“Take the title of Run-D.M.C.'s King of Rock somewhat literally. True, the trailblazing rap crew hardly abandoned hip-hop on their second album, but they did follow through on the blueprint of their debut, emphasizing the rock leanings that formed the subtext of Run-D.M.C. Nearly every cut surges forward on thundering drum machines and simple power chords, with the tempos picked up a notch and the production hitting like a punch to the stomach. If the debut suggested hard rock, this feels like hard rock -- over-amplified, brutal, and intoxicating in its sheer sonic force. What really makes King of Rock work is that it sounds tougher and is smarter than almost all of the rock and metal records of its time. There is an urgency to the music unheard in the hard rock of the '80s -- a sense of inevitability to the riffs and rhythms, balanced by the justified boasting of Run and D.M.C. Most of their rhymes are devoted to party jams or bragging, but nobody was sharper, funnier, or as clever as this duo, nor was there a DJ better than Jam Master Jay, who not just forms the backbone of their music, but also has two great showcases in "Jam-Master Jammin'" and "Darryl and Joe" (the latter one of two exceptions to the rock rules of the album, the other being the genre-pushing "Roots, Rap, Reggae," one of the first rap tracks to make explicit the links between hip-hop and reggae). Even if there a pronounced rock influence throughout King of Rock, what makes it so remarkable is that it never sounds like a concession in order to win a larger audience. No matter how many metallic guitar riffs are on the record, this music is as raw and street-level as the debut. It manages to be just as dynamic, exciting, and timeless as that album, as it expands the definition of what both Run-D.M.C. and rap could do”.
Before finishing up, I will bring in a review from Rolling Stone. King of Rock and You Talk Too Much are among Run-D.M.C.’s most popular and recognisable tracks. Ahead of its fortieth anniversary on 21st January, I was keen to spend some time with an underrated and terrific classic. I hope others discuss King of Rock and ensure it is heard and seen by a new generation:
"I'm the king of rock, there is none higher," insists D.M.C. at the beginning of the title cut, adding, "Sucker emcees should call me Sire!" It's an outrageous boast, even given the usual braggadocio of rap artists, but for all its audacity, it's a rhyme that's damned hard to refute. There may be better rappers around than Run and D.M.C., but together with Jam Master Jay they make the freshest team you're likely to hear, and in hip-hop circles, fresh is the compliment that counts.
What makes Run-D.M.C. so different? Its sound, for one thing. Where most rappers try to bring home the beat by working out verbal variations on the band's groove, Run-D.M.C. attacks on all fronts. The drum tracks treat the beat like a basketball being slam-dunked; Jam Master Jay slips and slides through the rhythm with his scratching and cutting; even Run and D.M.C. get into the game, adding emphasis with lines or by dropping in and out of unison. And their delivery is so well integrated into a rap's pulse that you almost hear them twice, first as part of the dance beat, and then as part of the story.
Catching every word is important, though, because Joe Simmons and Darryl McDaniels – Run and D.M.C. – definitely have something to say. Even though King of Rock offers nothing on the level of their first single, "It's Like That," the LP does deliver some worthwhile commentary. "You're Blind" uses an ominous guitar riff to punch holes in some of the illusions about underclass life, while "Roots, Rap, Reggae," cut with Yellowman, pays belated tribute to the musical connections between Kingston and the Bronx. Jam Master Jay gets into the act on "It's Not Funny." backing the hard-time rap with a scratch-mixed groove built from an angry "ha, ha – very funny."
But the most resonant moments on King of Rock come from the way the trio employs electric guitar. This isn't entirely new – on Run-D.M.C., their debut LP, "Rock Box" dressed up the pulse of an electric drum with the whine of heavy-metal guitar – but "King of Rock" takes the idea to the limit, letting Run-D.M.C. crunch and pop like a sort of hip-hop Black Sabbath. It's a real breakthrough, because by demonstrating that both rap and heavy metal run on the same primal energy, Run-D.M.C. makes an important point: The difference between one fan's music and another's is not nearly as great as radio or MTV might suggest. Whether or not Run and D.M.C. will extend their reign outside of their current following remains to be seen, but King of Rock shows that these guys are no mere pretenders to the throne. (RS 444)”.
For those who are not aware of Run-D.M.C.’s second studio album, I would advise people to check it out. King of Rock is a the second of a golden run of albums from the Queens legends. Not as played and talked about as much as it should be, I think it still sounds fresh and relevant today. An album that has no doubt inspired other artists. If you have not played it in a while, then please do…
SPEND some time with it.