Run-D.M.C.

Run-D.M.C. were a Hip Hop group from Hollis, in the Queens borough of New York City. They have been widely acknowledged as The Beatles of Hip Hop, being one of the greatest rap groups in history. Run-D.M.C. have bought into their sound harder, grittier elements than the other bands of their day. They bought in a street attitude in their style with the jeans, sneakers, fedoras and black leather jackets. Unlike other Hip Hop groups who sampled Funk and Disco records, they instead sampled noisy keyboards, industrial sounds, and most prominently Rock guitar, paving the way for the big Rap Rock movement of the nineties. They famously collaborated with Aerosmith to remix their song "Walk This Way", which was a huge hit, bringing Aerosmith back into popularity, and bought Run-D.M.C. acceptance with white music fans, when Hip Hop was previously a "fad" among black people.

The band broke up after Jam-Master Jay was tragically shot and killed at his recording studio on October 30, 2002, sending the Hip Hop community into shock. The remaining members then went off to pursue solo projects.

Members

D.M.C. (Darryl McDaniels) - rapper; MC (1981-2002)
Rev./DJ Run (Joseph Simmons) - rapper; MC (1981-2002)
Jam-Master Jay (Jason Mizell) - DJ; samples; keys; percussion (1981-killed in 2002)

Discography:

Run–D.M.C. (1984)
King of Rock (1985)
King Holiday (1986)
Raising Hell (1986)
A Very Special Christmas (1987)
Tougher Than Leather (1988)
Back from Hell (1990)
Together Forever: Greatest Hits 1983–1991 (1991)
A Very Special Christmas (1992)
Down with the King (1993)
Crown Royal (2001)
Greatest Hits (2002)
Ultimate Run–D.M.C. (2003)
Live at Montreux 2001 (2007)

Run-D.M.C. provides examples of the following tropes:

Badass Preacher: Run actually is a reverend, hence his name "Rev. Run".
Big Applesauce: They were from New York.
Boastful Rap: Many, many of their songs...
Clothes Make the Legend: They always wore the iconic jeans, sneakers, fedoras and black leather jackets.
Christmas Songs: They recorded two songs for "A Very Special Christmas" and "A Very Special Christmas 2", Christmas-themed charity compilation albums for the Special Olympics:
- "Christmas in Hollis". It shows Run telling a story of how he found Santa's wallet, and returned it to him instead of keeping it.

But I'd never steal from Santa, 'cause that ain't right
So I headed home to mail it back to him that night
But when I got home, I bugged, 'cause under the tree
Was a letter from Santa that said the dough was for me!

- "Christmas Is". It shows Run asking for the listeners to share money, gifts and foods with kids from the ghetto and prisoners.
Crossover
- Aerosmith - "Walk This Way"
- Various A&M Records Artists - "A Very Special Christmas" and "A Very Special Christmas 2"
- King Dream Chorus and Holiday Crew- - "King Holiday"
Dead Artists Are Better: Although Jam-Master Jay always was well respected when he was alive, it was only after he died that people started to realize how important he was to the band. Important to the point of the band splitting up instead of getting another DJ.
Greatest Hits Album: Together Forever: Greatest Hits 1983–1991, Greatest Hits, The Best of Run–D.M.C. and Ultimate Run–D.M.C..
Hardcore Hip Hop: The pioneers of the genre along with Boogie Down Productions, and Eric B. & Rakim.
Hip Hop
Long Runner Lineup: The starting Run-D.M.C.-Jay lineup lasted for 21 years. When Jam-Master Jay died the band split up instead of getting another DJ.
The Quiet One: Jam-Master Jay.
Rap Rock: Credited or blamed for this.
Rated "G" for Gangsta
Rockstar Song: "Rock Box", "King Of Rock" and "Walk This Way".
- The entire "Crown Royal" album was kinda an example of this trope. Most notably the song "Rock Show".
Self-Titled Album
Signature Song: "Walk This Way", their Aerosmith collaboration, as well as "It's Like That" and "It's Tricky".