Run-DMC were one of hip hop’s most beloved crews. Rising to prominence in the 1980s alongside crews such as Public Enemy and The Beastie Boys, Run-DMC were loved for their ability to fuse hip hop with other genres and were ultimately responsible for crossing hip hop into the mainstream. Known as hip hop’s first mainstream group, Run-DMC were definitely ahead of the curve with their music.
With the crew’s rise to fame commencing during the mid-1980s boom bap era, Run-DMC’s mainstream commercial success was almost instant when they released their debut single ‘It’s Like That/Sucker MCs’ and from there continued to grow with their Aerosmith collaboration remaining legendary unto this day.
The crew’s first and second albums would lay the foundation for artists and crews alike to start experimenting with hip hop more and breaking free of the creative restrictions placed upon artists by hip hop purists.
Having made such an impact on hip hop, it is only fitting that we look back and analyse the facts and figures that detail the seismic career of Run-DMC.
Run-DMC’s studio albums
Across their 20-year career span, Run-DMC released a total of seven studio albums. However, as a side-note, their first and second albums had enormous impacts on hip hop.
Run-DMC’s most successful album to date is their 1986 third album Raising Hell. Raising Hell peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums. It was the first ever hip hop album to enter the top three bracket of the Billboard 200, and the album’s second single ‘Walk This Way’ was the first ever song by a hip hop act to reach the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Certified three times platinum by the RIAA, the album was the first ever hip hop album to be nominated for a Grammy award and, in 2018, was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or artistically significant”, making it a cultural relic of sorts.
Run-DMC’s most streamed song
Run-DMC’s most streamed song is their fourth single from Raising Hell ‘It’s Tricky’. Released officially in 1987, the single was produced by Rick Rubin and samples ‘My Sharona’ by The Knack. The allegedly unauthorised sample caused The Knack to take legal action, suing Run-DMC over the track in 2006. However, the lawsuit was settled out of court. The song also borrows rhyme schemes and its cadence from ‘Mickey’ by Toni Basil.
The single peaked at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 but debuted at 16 on the UK Singles Chart. The song has since been used in multiple films including the 2004 comedy White Chicks. The song currently has 217.5 million streams on Spotify.
Run-DMC’s biggest video on YouTube
As a crew, Run-DMC’s most popular YouTube video is their 1986 single ‘Walk This Way’ featuring Aerosmith, which currently sits at 108 million views. Of course, the music video pre-dates the website YouTube and was on TV screens in 1986 as the second single for their album Raising Hell, but has managed to accumulate 108 million views since its upload in 2009.
As featured artists, Run-DMC’s most popular YouTube video is the 1999 single ‘Let’s Get Married’ on which they appear alongside Jagged Edge. Uploaded in 2010, the video currently has 57 million views on YouTube, making it Run-DMC’s most viewed as featured artists.
Run-DMC’s net worth
Run-DMC disbanded a long time ago so as a group their net worth in 2022 is $0.00. However, as individuals, they all have a calculable net-worth. As of September 2022, Rev Run (real name Joseph Simmons) has a net worth of roughly $60 Million. Darryl McDaniels’ net worth is roughly $40 Million and the crew’s late DJ, Jam Master Jay (real name Jason Mizell) has a net-worth of $1.5 million.
Below you can watch a clip of Eminem inducting Run-DMC into the Rock’n’Roll Hall Of Fame.
