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They were the first group to set the sound and style for the next decade of rap. No doubt there were trends already in place as opposed to dj-ing, breakdancing and tagging with graffiti. But even with the Sugarhill Gang, it was all about party records. Rap with and R&B feel. Run DMC introduced hip hop as something that was about to stand on it's own.

Their sound was different because it had spare beats and they were the first hip hop group to include heavy metal samples within a rap record. Although Run DMC wasn't what we now consider 'gangster rappers', they were tougher and more menacing than their predecessors Grandmaster Flash or Whodini.

As it stands, Run DMC opened the door for both the politicized rap of groups such as Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions, as well as the riotous gangsta fantasies that gave birth to 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 a collection with two singles and a bunch of fillers.

By the end of the '80s, Run-D.M.C. had basically gotten pushed off the scene by the groups they had spawned, yet they continue 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 (Joseph Simmons, November 14, 1964) is 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, and had encouraged his brother Joey and his friend, Darryl McDaniel (born May 31, 1964) to form a rap duo.

After graduating from high school, the fellas hooked up with Jason Mizell (Jam Master Jay- born Jan. 21, 1965) and adoped the street names, Run and D.M.C. (and Jam Master Jay). In 1983, Run-D.M.C. released its first single, "It's Like That" and "Sucker M.C.'s," on Profile Records. T he single sounded like no other rap joint out at that time. It had rhyme skills, hard beats and powerful, literate, daring vocals- where Run and D.M.C.'s vocals overlapped, as they finished each other's lines was considered cutting edge.

It was the first "new school" hip-hop recording. "It's Like That" became a Top 20 cross-over R&B hit, as did the group's second single, "Hard Times" / "Jam Master Jay." Two other hit R&B singles followed in early 1984 -- "Rock Box" and "30 Days".

By the time their second album dropped, 1985's "King of Rock", Run-D.M.C. had become the most popular and influential rappers in America, and had already generated a number of imitators. As the "King of Rock" title suggests, the group was breaking down the barriers between rock & roll and rap. They had become known for 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's popularity soared when they went on tour with several other artists from Def Jam Records. The tour included: Whodini, Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys and Newcleus. The acts went on a thirty city venue called "The New York City Fresh Fest" tour in 1985.

Run-DMC went on to test their skills when they appeared in the rap movie Krush Groove. Krush GrooveM also featured Kurtis Blow, LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, and the Fat Boys.

Run-D.M.C.'s catchy mixture of rock and rap broke into the mainstream after their third album, Raising Hell was released in '86. The came in the wake of their Top Ten single "My Adidas" . That cut had officially set the stage for the group's biggest hit single ever, a cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way". Raising Hell also generated the hit singles "You Be Illin'" and "It's Tricky."

Raising Hell became the first rap album to reach number one on the R&B charts, to chart in the pop Top Ten, and the first to go platinum. Run-D.M.C. was the first rap act to received airplay on MTV. Basically, as I said before, they were the first hip hop artists to cross over into the pop mainstream.

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. It starred Starring Run-D.M.C., and was an affectionate parody of '70s Blaxploitation films. Even though the movie had been filmed when Run-D.M.C. was at the height of their career, by the time the project was released, the rap game had changed.

Most of the hip-hop heads wanted to hear hardcore political rappers like Public Enemy, not crossover artists like Run-D.M.C. Consequently, the film was considered wack and the album only went platinum, failing to generate 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 DMC suffered a bout of alcoholism and Run was accused of rape.

After DMC sobered up and the charges against Run were dismissed, both of the rappers became born-again Christians, touting their religious conversion on the 1993 album, Down With the King. This album 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-1. 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 #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 as rap pioneers.