#62
March 27 1984
Run-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C.
3.5 out of 5
Highlights:
Rock Box
It’s Like That
Yes, we are going to cover an occasional rap album. No, we aren’t going down the rabbit hole of A Tribe Called Quest and the like. This isn’t Yo! MTV Raps, ffs. But we can’t deny the fact that rap and rock intersect and that starts, pretty much, right here. Yes, you can expect some P.E. and Beastie Boys and maybe even a few others, but let’s be honest, “Run DMC first said a DJ could be a band” as Chuck D said. And he’s right.
The riff on “Rock Box” is metaltastic. The perfect nexus of the nascent form and the old, tread worn style.
That said, the repetition and redundancy runs thick. By “Sucker M.C.’s” the beat box echo machine has worn out its welcome and I can’t wait to flip the record over and see if there’s any magic on the other side to keep me interested.
This must’ve sounded ground breaking in 84, but timeless it is not. It’s obvious that everyone involved is still figuring out how to make this work.
I’m not reviewing it through the lens of “What must this have sounded like back then?” This is now. Does it hold up or not?
Not.
As a relic in an archeological dig, it’s important, though.
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