Run DMC

From the first beats of 1983's "It's Like That," their debut single, Run-DMC ignited a revolution that brought hip-hop into the front-line, across television barriers, into the RIAA platinum realm, and straight ahead to the mash-ups that are today's new frontiers of rap and rock. Despite the Run's House locale of affluent Saddle River, New Jersey, the roots of Run-DMC remain firmly planted in the working class New York neighborhood of Hollis, Queens. Russell Simmons was managing pioneering rapper Kurtis Blow when younger brother Run began to hone his "rhyming apparatus." Stuck for inspiration while writing "It's Like That", Run turned to his childhood pal Darryl McDaniels (DMC), for help. The "It's Like That" 12-inch hit the streets on the indie Profile label in the spring of 1983, and ruled beat boxes for the rest of the year. After 250,000 copies were sold (Profile's biggest seller), the road beckoned with real money offers, so Run recruited his old basketball teammate and DJ pal Jason Mizell, who performed as Jazzy Jase. Audiences got their first taste – and look – at the Run-DMC trio and were hooked.