Run-D.M.C.: Run-D.M.C. Red Vinyl LP

Why you'll love it

This limited red vinyl pressing brings back the Profile Records debut. It was the first rap album to go gold in the US, and Rolling Stone has listed it among the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

This edition

Red vinyl
Limited edition

About the album

Run-D.M.C. was a pretty stark statement for 1984. Where most rap records of the day were bright party jams, Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels and Jam Master Jay came in hard: sparse Oberheim DMX drum machine beats from Larry Smith's group Orange Krush, Jay's scratching, and two voices trading lines like a shouting match you'd happily listen to all night.

"It's Like That" is often called the first hardcore hip hop song, and "Sucker M.C.'s" set the template for the diss track. "Rock Box" stacks Eddie Martinez's guitar on top of the beat, invents rap rock more or less on the spot, and its video became the first rap clip on MTV. Russell Simmons and Larry Smith produced, and "Hard Times," "30 Days" and "Jam-Master Jay" round it out. The album carries a dedication to the memory of Bronx DJ June Bug.

The Kangol hats, black leather and unlaced white Adidas in that "Rock Box" video started a uniform that is still worn today. We'd suggest wearing it while you listen, though it isn't strictly required.

Also at Kops: more Run-D.M.C. on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B