RaR43 – Rock Box
DIRECTIONS:
Listen to the recording of the tune by clicking the attached mp3 file. This will open the recording in a new window or tab. Listen and follow along with the listening guide in the book.
Read the liner notes below.
Read the information “What to Listen For”
Respond to the Rate-A-Record/Questions by clicking on the assignment link and then click on on the button “Write Submission” (to the right of Text Submission) to record your response. Do not use the comments field.
Rock Box by Run DMC
Run-D.M.C.—sometimes hailed as “the Beatles of rap”—are largely responsible for the sound, style, and popularity of modern hip-hop. They were the first “hardcore” rap group, with the sharp-edged flow and rock samples that made them sound more menacing than most early rappers, and they made entire rap albums, rather than just singles of popular street hits. Most significantly, they were the first rappers to break through to mainstream white America, through the still largely white-dominated medium of MTV.
Joseph Simmons (Run) is the brother of rap promoter and Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons. The elder Simmons, who managed several successful New York artists in the early 1980s, encouraged his brother to form a rap group; he had a hunch that the genre was about to take off and there was money to be made by artists who were properly positioned. Joseph Simmons enlisted his friend Darryl McDaniels (D.M.C.); the duo got their start opening for Kurtis Blow (the first artist signed to Def Jam) while still in high school. They later added DJ Jason Mizell (Jam Master Jay) to the group. Their first single, “It’s Like That,” was an instant success. Run-D.M.C.’s literate rhymes, delivered in a sharply accented manner over sparse, R&B-inflected beats, sounded new and fresh. “It’s Like That” introduced new possibilities for rap, and it is considered the first “new school” hip-hop recording. Their second single, “Hard Times,” and two others, “Rock Box” and “30 Days,” hit the rhythm and blues charts before the group’s eponymous debut album was released in 1984. However, Run-D.M.C. did not become stars until Russell Simmons got “Rock Box” into MTV’s prime time rotation; they were the first rappers to appear on MTV, and the exposure significantly broadened their fan base.
Their second album, King of Rock (1985), introduced a different, harder-edged sound, with the group rapping over beats clipped from heavy metal and hard rock. The group’s third effort, Raising Hell (1986), is one of rock’s most significant albums; its featured single, “Walk This Way,” obliterated the boundaries between rhythm and blues and rock and roll as surely as the Temptations and the Supremes had twenty years before. The song began as a rap over the opening riff of the Aerosmith classic “Walk this Way,” but it soon developed into a rapped cover version of the song. Producer Rick Rubin suggested that Run-D.M.C. bring Joe Perry and Steven Tyler into the studio to record with the group. The popular video, which featured both acts, made rap accessible to hard rock and heavy metal fans, many of whom had never given it a chance. The track reached number four on the pop charts, the best performing rap single to that date. It led to endorsement deals for Run-D.M.C., appearances on Saturday Night Live, the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, and a Grammy nomination, the first for any rap group. “Walk this Way” also fueled the comeback of Aerosmith, a band struggling to regain its place in the hard rock pantheon after several mediocre albums and public battles with addiction.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
Rap elements
Sound of the drums
Inclusion of electric guitar and guitar riff
Cheesy horn-like figures on the synthesizer
RATE-A-RECORD/QUESTIONS TO ANSWER:
What did Run-DMC do to their music (or put in it) to make it appeal to a wider audience?
Give it a rating: 0 = Bad, 100 = Awesome. Defend your number.
Here’s the link to the video: https://youtu.be/GND7sPNwWko
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