Run-D.M.C.乐队三名成员都出生自纽约中产阶级家庭Run (本名约瑟夫·西蒙斯)哥哥卢塞尔·西蒙斯（Russell Simmons）80年代初建立了Hip-hop经纪人公司Rush Productions到了80年代中期卢塞尔事业已经发展壮大成立了自己唱片公司Def Jam卢塞尔鼓励自己兄弟乔伊（Joey）和朋友丹伊尔·麦克丹尼（Darryl McDaniels）成立一个Rap二人组合们采用了Run 和D.M.C.艺名1982年们高中毕业又吸收了一位朋友杰森·米塞尔（Jason Mizell）进入乐队米塞尔给自己取了一个艺名——杰姆·“大师”·杰（Jam Master Jay）1983年Run –D.M.C.发行了第一支单曲《It’s Like That》这支单曲技巧十足节奏感很强歌词大胆当时和其Rap歌曲并无二样它进入了R&B歌曲排行榜前二十名乐队第二支单曲《Hard Times》反响也一样热烈同样打入排行榜前二十1984年初期们又有两支单曲成为R&B热门金曲：《Rock Box》和《30 Days》1985年乐队专辑《King of Rock》面世Run-D.M.C.乐队一夜间成了全美最受欢迎和最有影响力说唱乐队也乐坛上拥有了一批模仿者就像专辑《King of Rock（摇滚之王）》标题所暗示乐队打破了摇滚和说唱类音乐之间藩篱把本来只属于摇滚重金属节奏和紧密鼓点介绍进了说唱音乐《King of Rock》中单曲《King of Rock》、《You Talk Too Much》、《Can You Rock It Like This》1985年大大走红Run-D.M.C.音乐正式为主流乐坛所承认们第三张专辑《Raising Hell》发行之后该专辑中单曲《My Adidas》进入了R&B单曲榜前十名接着乐队最受欢迎单曲《Walk This Way》面世流行音乐金曲榜上排到了第四名这支单曲第一支为摇滚歌迷和说唱歌迷广泛接受Hip-hop歌曲《Raising Hell》成为第一张成为R&B金曲排行榜冠军Rap专辑流行音乐榜上它进入了前十名达到了白金唱片销量Run-D.M.C.也成为第一支登上MTV电视台Rap乐队乐队把1987年大部分时间都用录制专辑《Tougher Than Leather》和拍摄同名电影上但电影拍摄完毕之后乐坛流行趋势却发生了重大变化Rap歌迷更愿意听一些尖锐讽刺政治说唱类音乐Run-D.M.C.这种温和风格显得落伍了因此虽然录制专辑《Tougher Than Leather》时该乐队正如日中天但该专辑只达到了白金唱片销量其中单曲也没有排行榜上取得格外突出成绩两年之后Run-D.M.C.带着专辑《Back From Hell》卷土重来然而它该乐队第一张没有达到白金销量唱片之后乐队成员分别遭遇了各种麻烦麦克丹尼酗酒成瘾而西蒙斯被控强暴不过对西蒙斯控诉后来撤销了1993年乐队专辑《Down With the King》面世达到黄金唱片销量专辑榜上排名第21名虽然此刻乐坛已经不再把们看作Hip-hop前锋不过《Down With the King》成功向乐坛证明们音乐元素创新方面功力仍不可小觑2000年乐队发行专辑《Crown Royal》2002年杰姆·“大师”·杰被谋杀去世代表了一个时代结束 More than any other hip-hop group, Run-D.M.C. are responsible for the sound and style of the music. As the first hardcore rap outfit, the trio set the sound and style for the next decade of rap. With their spare beats and excursions into heavy metal samples, the trio were tougher and more menacing than their predecessors Grandmaster Flash and Whodini. In the process, they opened the door for both the politicized rap of Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions, as well as the hedonistic gangsta fantasies of N.W.A. At the same time, Run-D.M.C. helped move rap from a singles-oriented genre to an album-oriented one — they were the first hip-hop artist to construct full-fledged albums, not just collections with two singles and a bunch of filler. By the end of the 80s, Run-D.M.C. had been overtaken by the groups they had spawned, but they continued to perform to a dedicated following well into the 90s.All three members of Run-D.M.C. were natives of the middle-class New York borough Hollis, Queens. Run (born Joseph Simmons, November 14, 1964) was the brother of Russell Simmons, who formed the hip-hop management company Rush Productions in the early 80s; by the mid-80s, Russell had formed the pioneering record label Def Jam with Rick Rubin. Russell encouraged his brother Joey and his friend Darryl McDaniels (born May 31, 1964) to form a rap duo. The pair of friends did just that, adopting the names Run and D.M.C., respectively. After they graduated from high school in 1982, the pair enlisted their friend Jason Mizell (born January 21, 1965) to scratch turntables; Mizell adopted the stage name Jam Master Jay.In 1983, Run-D.M.C. released their first single, Its Like That/Sucker M.C.s, on Profile Records. The single sounded like no other rap at the time — it was spare, blunt, and skillful, with hard beats and powerful, literate, daring vocals, where Run and D.M.C.s vocals overlapped, as they finished each others lines. It was the first new school hip-hop recording. Its Like That became a Top 20 R&B hit, as did the groups second single, Hard Times/Jam Master Jay. Two other hit R&B singles followed in early 1984 — Rock Box and 30 Days — before the groups eponymous debut appeared.By the time of their second album, 1985s King of Rock, Run-D.M.C. had become the most popular and influential rappers in America, already spawning a number of imitators. As the King of Rock title suggests, the group were breaking down the barriers between rock & roll and rap, rapping over heavy metal records and thick, dense drum loops. Besides releasing the King of Rock album and scoring the R&B hits King of Rock, You Talk Too Much, and Can You Rock It Like This in 1985, the group also appeared in the rap movie Krush Groove, which also featured Kurtis Blow, the Beastie Boys, and the Fat Boys.Run-D.M.C.s fusion of rock and rap broke into the mainstream with their third album, 1986s Raising Hell. The album was preceded by the Top Ten R&B single My Adidas, which set the stage for the groups biggest hit single, a cover of Aerosmiths Walk This Way. Recorded with Aerosmiths Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Walk This Way was the first hip-hop record to appeal to both rockers and rappers, as evidenced by its peak position of number four on the pop charts. In the wake of the success of Walk This Way, Raising Hell became the first rap album to reach number one on the R&B charts, to chart in the pop Top Ten, and to go platinum, and Run-D.M.C. were the first rap act to received airplay on MTV — they were the first rappers to cross over into the pop mainstream. Raising Hell also spawned the hit singles You Be Illin and Its Tricky.Run-D.M.C. spent most of 1987 recording Tougher Than Leather, their follow-up to Raising Hell. Tougher Than Leather was accompanied by a movie of the same name. Starring Run-D.M.C., the film was an affectionate parody of 70s blaxploitation films. Although Run-D.M.C. had been at the height of their popularity when they were recording and filming Tougher Than Leather, by the time the project was released, the rap world had changed. Most of the hip-hop audience wanted to hear hardcore political rappers like Public Enemy, not crossover artists like Run-D.M.C. Consequently, the film bombed and the album only went platinum, failing to spawn any significant hit singles.Two years after Tougher Than Leather, Run-D.M.C. returned with Back From Hell, which became their first album not to go platinum. Following its release, both Run and D.M.C. suffered personal problems as McDaniels suffered a bout of alcoholism and Simmons was accused of rape. After McDaniels sobered up and the charges against Simmons were dismissed, both of the rappers became born-again Christians, touting their religious conversion on the 1993 album Down With the King. Featuring guest appearances and production assistance from artists as diverse as Public Enemy, EPMD, Naughty by Nature, A Tribe Called Quest, Neneh Cherry, Pete Rock, and KRS-One, Down With the King became the comeback Run-D.M.C. needed. The title track became a Top Ten R&B hit and the album went gold, peaking at number 21. Although they were no longer hip-hop innovators, the success of Down With the King proved that Run-D.M.C. were still respected pioneers. After a long studio hiatus, the trio returned in early 2000 with Crown Royal. The album did little to add to their ailing record sales, but the following promotional efforts saw them join Aerosmith and Kid Rock for a blockbuster performance on MTV. By 2002, the release of two greatest-hits albums prompted a tour with Aerosmith that saw them travel the U.S., always performing Walk This Way to transition between their sets. Sadly, only weeks after the end of the tour, Jam Master Jay was senselessly murdered in a studio session in Queens. Only 37 years old, the news of his passing spread quick and hip-hop luminaries like Big Daddy Kane and Funkmaster Flex took the time to pay tribute to him on New York radio stations. Possibly the most visible DJ in the history of hip-hop, his death was truly the end of an era and unfortunately perpetuated the cycle of violence that has haunted the genre since the late 80s.