Happy 35th Anniversary to Run-DMC’s second studio album King of Rock, originally released January 21, 1985.
Run-DMC’s King of Rock isn’t one of my five favorite albums ever. I don’t think it’s even in my top 100. But it’s certainly one of the most important albums I’ve ever heard. It’s the first hip-hop album I ever owned, and it changed my life 35 years ago when I first popped it my tape deck.
I first experienced “King of Rock” through its music video, and it made an indelible impression on me. For one, the visuals, although pretty low budget in retrospect, were absolutely captivating to my 9-year-old eyes. Watching Run-DMC running amok through a “Museum of Rock & Roll,” a good ten years before the official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was built, made for compelling TV.
After being initially dismissed by Larry “Bud” Melman (of Late Night With David Letterman fame) for not “belonging” there, Joseph “Run” Simmons and Daryl “DMC” McDaniels stalk through the fictional hallowed halls, kicking down doors, completely unimpressed. The two mock broadcast performances by Bud Holly, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis. They make a point to step on a replica Michael Jackson’s glove, break a replica of Elton John’s glasses, and crown a bust of one of the Beatles with one of the duo’s trademark hats. Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell strikes a mean B-Boy pose. Run wields an electric guitar like a blunt instrument and menaces the camera with it. They finish by sauntering out of the exhibit after spray-painting “Run-DMC, King of Rock” on the wall.
Even without the video, the song itself is as arresting as it is confrontational. Run-DMC were already no stranger to incorporating electric guitar into their music, with the success of “Rock Box” from their self-titled debut album Run D.M.C. (1984). However, “King of Rock,” well, rocked even harder, “with a sound so strong that it’s knocking down trees.” Session-player Eddie Martinez shreds a hard rock groove that dominates the track, backed by the simplest of drum tracks. On the mic, Run and DMC swagger like the baddest motherfuckers on the planet Earth, “rocking without a band.”
When I heard “King of Rock,” something about it spoke to me in a completely different way that artists like Michael Jackson, Prince, or Van Halen ever had. There was a power in Run-DMC’s raps that was undeniable and still reverberates three-and-half decades later.
There was no denying the brashness and confidence that the pair radiated. Rappers have been proclaiming that they are the best to ever pick up a mic since the first emcee ever picked up a mic. But rappers had always sought to express their domination over other rappers. On this single, and moreover, the album, Run-DMC were putting Rock & Roll icons on notice.
King of Rock is mostly thought of these days as the album sandwiched between Run-DMC’s groundbreaking debut and Raising Hell (1986), which turned them into unquestioned superstars. It was as financially successful as either album, going Gold in six months, but ultimately not certified Platinum until a couple of years later. But in re-listening to it in full for the first time in years, with this album, the trio was asserting that they were ready for prime time.
I remember the first time that I played King of Rock in full and being somewhat baffled by it at the offset. Listening to the album opening “Rock the House” was an almost surreal experience. The track is essentially a dub version of the album’s title track, with the two emcees shouting lines from the song and the occasional declarative statement. At the age of 9, I wasn’t familiar with the concept of the album intro or a “dub,” so it was a confusing listening experience.
Similarly, I really wasn’t ready for “Jam Master Jammin’,” the group’s second dedication to their DJ who played such an integral part of the unit. The song is filled with heavy distorted vocals that croak through the track’s first seconds and then chant, “Couldn’t wait to see Jam-Master Jammin’! Couldn’t wait to see the Master Jam!” Run and DMC mostly rhyme simultaneously, testifying to the dominance of their DJ as the drums and guitar sampled from Billy Squier’s “Big Beat” rage. They rap, “While sucker DJ's, are busting out Z’s, my man Jam Master’s scratching hard ’cross seas.”
Run and DMC further honed their lyrical technique of rhyming in tandem, which they first displayed on Run-D.M.C., and fueling each other was their energy throughout King of Rock. Occasionally each emcee will kick a short verse, but often they go line for line, word for word, and even syllable for syllable.
The pair’s ability to rhyme as a unit is on full display on “You Talk Too Much,” where they decry dastardly liars who talk trash. Hip-Hop beat creation was still in its formative stages during the mid-1980s, so the song, like all the others on the album, relies on the understated genius production of Larry Smith. Here he works the drum machine and keyboards to perfection, with Run and DMC chiding the nameless sucker because “your mouth’s moving fast, and your brain’s moving slow.”
Run-DMC delves into socially conscious hip-hop with “You’re Blind,” a screed against greed and the valuation of money over humanity. The pair alternately berating slumlords for profiting off of the poor without giving back and rebuking hustlers, drug-dealers, pimps, and wannabe gangsters for living off the misery of the community.
Even the fairly goofy songs on the album are musically compelling. “It’s Not Funny” is held together by innovative drum programming and sharp scratches by Jay, who precisely cuts up slowed down vocals from an Eddie Murphy stand-up. “Roots, Rap, Reggae” pays homage to hip-hop’s Jamaican roots, with Run and DMC bouncing off of each other over a minimalistic, low-tech version of a reggae riddim. They’re assisted by dancehall legend Yellowman, fresh off the success of King Yellowman (1984). It’s ultimately a lightweight track, but one of the early cross-genre collaborations between respective stars of their musical kingdoms.
King of Rock is at its strongest when Run and DMC keep things focused on their own exploits. “Can You Rock It Like This,” the album’s third single features the pair describing the cost of their superstardom. The track, reportedly ghost-written by a young LL Cool J, begins with Run boasting about “signing autographs for three months straight” while DMC brags about how his “face is a thousand lipstick flavors.” But the two walk the line between basking in the attention their stardom has earned them and exasperation at their lack of privacy. Still, they ultimately commit to their continued super-stardom, proclaiming, “And if you mess with us, you’ll be a real short liver / You may be big but our bodyguard’s bigger!!!!!”
The album ends with “Daryl and Joe,” the third installment of Run-DMC’s “Krush Groove” series (preceded by “Sucker MCs” and “Hollis Crew” and followed by “Together Forever”). The track is a culmination of all of the styles, both musical and lyrical, the group utilizes throughout King of Rock. Larry Smith put together continuously changing drum tracks and keyboard progression that sounds inspired by Art of Noise’s “Close to the Edit.”
Run and DMC are at their fiercest on “Daryl and Joe,” delivering their lengthiest verses on the album, extolling their skills as emcees. “Travel round the world with my mind at ease,” Run boasts. “No Calvin Klein, just wearing Lee’s.” DMC, as always, is a commanding presence on the mic, booming, “When I perform, many hearts I warm / I’m better known, as the Quiet Storm / I don’t talk too much but I got beef / When I kill emcees, I cause grief.” Jay continues to showcase his prowess on the tables providing his scratches throughout the track, but really getting loose during the extended outro.
As entrées into rap music go, King of Rock was a solid one. The next few years of my life, my album buying habits mostly went from Run-DMC album to Run-DMC album. King of Rock built the foundation for my life of hip-hop. Although quite a few albums have superseded it over the last three-and-a-half decades, it continues to hold a special place in my life, and its peaks are higher than most.
LISTEN: