Listen to the ‘Kings From Queens: The Run DMC Story’ Essential Old-School Playlist
Rap group Run DMC brought hip-hop to the mainstream in the 1980s, and their rhymes, beats and style still resonate decades later.
Peacock’s Kings From Queens: The Run DMC Story (premiering Thursday, Feb. 1) is a three-part documentary series looking back at how Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell joined up to transform and innovate the music they heard at NYC-area park jams and block parties and turned it into a cultural phenomenon that would influence countless artists 40 years later.
Here’s a sampling of tracks that appear in the documentary or influenced the sound of Run DMC — including the big rock ‘n’ roll beats of artists like Billy Squier — plus early Run DMC songs that broke barriers and changed the course of music history:
Spoonie Gee, “Spoonin’ Rap” (1979)
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, “Freedom” (1980)
Kurtis Blow, “The Breaks” (1980)
Billy Squier, “The Big Beat” (1980)
Cold Crush Brothers, “The Weekend” (1982)
Whodini, “Magic’s Wand” (1982)
Orange Krush, “Action” (1982)
Jimmy Spicer, “Money (Dollar Bill Y’all)” (1983)
Run DMC, “It’s Like That” (1983)
Run DMC, “Sucker M.C.’s (Krush Groove 1)” (1984)
Run DMC, “Rock Box” (1984)
Run DMC, “King of Rock” (1985)
Where Are They Now?
May 2021
Catch up with the stars of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s!
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