Run-DMC — King of Rock

In early 1985, less than a year after their debut, the hip-hop group from Queens Run-DMC released their second album, whose title, conceived by their label executive Corey Robbins, established the boys' desire to bring their musical genre ever closer to the attention of the mainstream public, declaring themselves the kings of both rap and rock.

The production structure is similar in these nine tracks and three quarters of listening: robust and violent drum machine that beats hard and strong, light percussion, heavy guitar riffs, minimal rhythms that defines the entire set in which the boys recite their lyrics with an aggressive and hardcore rapping, sometimes going back and forth, and providing simple hooks. The rhythms are created by Larry Smith's group Orange Krush with a sound that intends to merge hip-hop and rock, despite both DMC and Run being against the use of the guitar in their music. The album, known for being the first one released on compact disk, also features one of the first rap and dancehall fusions in "Roots, Rap, Reggae", with the guest Yellowman.

Four singles were taken from the record, the title track, the diss track "You Talk Too Much", "Jam-Master Jammin' (Remix)" and "Can You Rock It Like This", this last tune was written by a young LL Cool J. The singles were successful among the public and some songs were included in the film "Krush Groove", released the same year. Also in 1985, the group rewrote history as the only hip-hop artist present at Live Aid.

Published by Profile and Arista, the album obtained similar results to the previous one in the charts, selling half a million copies in six months and earning positive feedback also in the UK, allowing Run-DMC to become the most popular and influential rappers of the time. Just over two years after its release, in early 1987, the RIAA certified it platinum for one million physical copies sold: this is the first historic hip-hop album to obtain platinum certification. It's still considered one of the best rap albums of the eighties.