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7"
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GET 786EP
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"One of the greatest hip-hop singles to be released in 1993 -- reissued as a limited edition 7" vinyl single. 'Down With The King' featuring Pete Rock and CL Smooth is pressed on red and clear colored vinyl in a picture sleeve with 'Come On Everybody' feat Q-Tip on the B-Side."
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LP
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GET 51509G-LP
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"Thirty years ago on May 4, 1993, Run-DMC made one of the greatest comebacks in hip-hop history with the release of their sixth studio album Down With The King. In 1991, a 12" remix came out for the single 'Back From Hell' featuring Chuck D and Ice Cube and fans took notice. It would be two more years before anyone would hear from Run-DMC again. In March of 1993, a new single and video 'Down With The King' debuted on Yo! MTV Raps featuring the new Hip-Hop Gods Pete Rock and CL Smooth paying homage to The Kings calling back verses from Sucker MCs over a dope signature Pete Rock beat. Fans watched it over and over to catch all the cameos, everyone from Eazy-E to the Native Tongues Family of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. The anticipation was building, but would the album live up to the lead single that knocked it out of the park? On May 4, 1993, the album dropped on CD, cassette, and vinyl. Run-DMC enlisted The Bomb Squad from Public Enemy, Q-Tip, EPMD, Jermaine Dupri, Kay Gee of Naughty By Nature, and Pete Rock to produce the album with a special appearance by Tom Morello rocking out his guitar emulating DJ scratches he made famous with Rage Against The Machine. Their rhyming was as enthusiastic and powerful as they were on their debut album ten years prior. Run-DMC, the self-proclaimed Kings of Rock and original Kings of Hip Hop were indeed back. Get On Down is presents for the first time on vinyl since its original release, a 30 Year Anniversary pressing on double-colored vinyl with numbered OBI in a gatefold jacket."
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LP
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GET 51318LP
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2021 repress; clear transparent vinyl. "Future archaeologists will discuss two periods in 1980s: before Run-D.M.C. and after Run-D.M.C. It's no exaggeration to say that the group changed the course of music in the '80s, bringing the old-school of rap into the new with one simple piece of flat, black plastic. Coming up in the rap world of the early 1980s under the wing of Kurtis Blow (group manager Russell Simmons managed Blow, and Run was, at one time, a DJ known as 'Son of Kurtis Blow') and Blow's bassist and burgeoning super-producer Larry Smith, the trio -- Joseph 'Run' Simmons, Darryl 'DMC' McDaniels and Jason 'Jam Master Jay' Mizell -- learned from the best, but created their own path. 1983 was the year that they first broke out. With only an Oberheim DMX drum program and some cuts by Jay, 'Sucker M.C.s (Krush-Groove 1)' was a shot across the bow to the slick, post-disco pocket rap had settled into. It was raw, pure swagger and it took both New Yorkers and music aficionados around the world by storm. The song's lyrics are a mandatory memorization assignment to this day by MCs learning their craft. 'Two years ago, a friend of mine...' The group's sound, which was laid out muscularly on Run-D.M.C. (1984), had a harder approach than their peers, thanks to producer Larry Smith's use of live musicians who laid down grooves but didn't soften the edges. Lyrically the group wasn't just about brags either, with songs like 'Hard Times,' 'It's Like That' and 'Wake Up' (the first two were singles). Run's and DMC's overlapping tag-team approach to lyricism was powerful and immensely influential. 'Rock Box,' another single and arguably the centerpiece of the album, was a nod to their hard edge, and a foreshadowing of their first worldwide smash, 1985's 'King Of Rock.' Jam Master Jay's DJ work was stellar, knowing exactly when to jump in and put listeners' ears in a headlock. The album was the first rap full-length to achieve Gold status, and as fans know, the group was just getting started -- their next two LPs would take them to even higher status in the music world, critically and sales-wise. But this is where it all started, and it's a classic that still sounds fresh today as it did more than 30 years ago."
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LP
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GET 51321LP
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2023 repress on translucent red vinyl. "Run-DMC's self-titled 1984 debut pushed the doors of pop music open, showing that hip-hop was not the fad that haters had prophesized. As they proved decisively on Run-DMC, rap was a legit art form, fully capable of producing long-players full of no-fast-forward cuts. By 1985, any doubters were running on fumes, as the group's King Of Rock blew the aforementioned pop doors off their hinges. Emboldened by their success (including the first rap album to ever go Gold); energized by worldwide touring and accolades; and given all the support they could want by a genius producer (Larry Smith), an open-minded label (Profile) and a charismatic manager (Russell Simmons, who also lent a hand on production), they ruled the charts and hinted at even greater things to come. The album's most fondly-remembered single set the album's tone perfectly: 'King Of Rock' was hard, full of charisma and tag-team vocal finesse, and had enough guitars to bring the suburbs into the rap fold. The song's video was equally popular and powerful, and the pioneering MTV exposure drove the group into a new stratosphere. But there was much more to King Of Rock than the title track, including more rock / rap hybrids -- 'Can You Rock It Like This' and 'You're Blind' -- as well as the additional singles 'Jam-Master Jammin'' and 'You Talk Too Much.' (The latter, incidentally, charted as high as 'King Of Rock' on both the Pop and R&B charts). Throw in the forward-thinking reggae/rap collab 'Roots, Rap, Reggae' (featuring the legendary Yellowman) and the live-throwdown-simulation 'Darryl and Joe (Krush-Groove 3)' and the album -- which went on to pass Platinum status -- is a winner from A1 to B4."
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LP
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GET 51320LP
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2023 repress; translucent blue vinyl. "Too many people sleep on Tougher Than Leather, Run-DMC's fourth album. But hear us out as we plead the case for this amazing LP. By 1988 there was a lot more competition in the rap game -- Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, Ice-T and many more had given Hollis, Queens' prodigal sons lots of competition. But Joe, Darryl and Jay were still at the top of their game, and hip-hop fans should never let this classic -- chiefly produced by their Queens neighbor, DJ and multi-instrumentalist Davy D[MX] -- get lost in their crates. For starters, the album's first single, 'Run's House' b/w 'Beats To The Rhyme' is arguably the most powerful one-two punch of the trio's career, showing contenders to the rap throne that they could still destroy a beat, tag-teaming with power at any speed. Not to be lost in the shuffle, fans were also reminded on both sides that Jam-Master Jay remained one of the world's best DJs, flexing the pinnacle of what would be called 'turntablism' a decade later. Both songs show a musical telepathy between all three that has rarely been equaled. The second single, 'Mary, Mary,' driven by an infectious Monkees sample, took a different approach, shrewdly ensuring that pop fans who jumped on the Raising Hell bandwagon had something to chew on. But, like 'Walk This Way,' the song wasn't just bubblegum -- there was an edge to it, and the lyrical gymnastics were very real. It wasn't selling out, it was allowing fans to buy in. 'Papa Crazy,' driven in concept and by a sample from the Temptations' 'Papa Was A Rolling Stone,' followed a similar pop-leaning path. Overall, the lyrical content on the album was a step up from the group's first three LPs. It's easy to infer, looking back, that they were feeling the heat from their younger competitors in the rap game. The genre was changing fast, and they were up to the challenge. On cuts like 'Radio Station' they bring substance to the grooves, by attacking Black Radio for its continual denigration of rap. 'Tougher Than Leather' reminds the world that they were still the Kings of Rock, with hard guitars to drive the point home. And 'They Call Us Run-DMC' and 'Soul To Rock And Roll' both bring things back to their early days, with sure-fire park jam rhymes and killer cuts. Tougher Than Leather, which went platinum up against a lot of competition, perfectly bookends the '80s output of one of the decade's most important groups. It encompasses the full range of the trio's capabilities, and reminds us that Run-DMC should never be forgotten as both pioneers and party-rockers. And so, we say, long live Joe, Darryl and Jay!"
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GET 51319LP
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2023 repress. "Up until Raising Hell, the rap juggernaut we know as Run-DMC was still in its building and breaking-down- doors phase. In 1986 that changed, and in a dramatic way. With their third long-player, the group had reached the mountaintop. It was THE record that proved hip-hop wasn't a fad. Raising Hell marked an important and significant new era for the group. Leaving producer Larry Smith for up-and-coming sonic innovator Rick Rubin (still co-produced by Run's brother Russell Simmons), they began to fully transition not only their own sound, but the sound of the entire genre. Less live playing -- with some exceptions -- and a slicker, tighter sonic attack. Musical aesthetics aside, though, at their core they stayed true to the essence of hip-hop: two turntables and a microphone, or two. It's impossible to talk about the album without its worldwide smash, 'Walk This Way,' which hit #4 on the Billboard pop charts and saw the group digging in the rock crates to summon Aerosmith in the flesh, combining Steven Tyler's and Joe Perry's musicianship with the group's own take on the '70s classic. The song's video cemented Run-DMC as legit MTV idols, and both groups rode its wave to new heights. Beyond 'Walk This Way,' the platter is full to the hilt with undeniable classic singles: 'You Be Illin''; 'It's Tricky'; 'Peter Piper' and the fashion-world shifting 'My Adidas.' Each song was new proof that Run-DMC's sound was indeed new, but still familiar, and full of the energy, charisma and innovation that drew fans to their first two LPs. Aside from the singles, the reason the album stands up so well is the fact that there is virtually no filler. 'Proud To Be Black' remains a pioneering and underrated cut when people talk about 'conscious' hip-hop. And to make sure they never lost the streets that gave them their start, 'Hit It Run,' 'Son Of Byford,' 'Is It Live' and 'Perfection' all bring it back to the group's early days in the park. Besides the triple platinum status the album achieved, it was more than just a pop smash. It signaled a new era for rap music, and it was the no-turning- back point for the entire genre. This was the beginning of what we now call the Golden Era, and it still sounds as fresh today as it did three decades ago."
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5x7" BOX
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GET 56037-7
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Black Friday RSD 2015 release. "In a musical world where heated debates rage constantly, here is a statement that no one can dispute -- Run-DMC is one of the most important and influential groups in rap history. Forming in the early '80s and guided by Russell Simmons (who was, of course, Run's brother), the three-man unit were lyrical and musical pioneers from their first, Larry Smith-helmed foray: 1983's 'It's Like That,' with the world-shaking b-side, 'Sucker M.C.'s.' With a string of gold and platinum albums that started with Run-DMC in 1984 and ran through 1988's Tougher Than Leather, the trio changed the course of music (and videos, and youth culture, and more) and ruled the genre outright, boasting sales numbers that were neck-and-neck with manufactured pop stars of the day. Part of their charm was their every-man appeal -- they didn't dress like rock stars, and they didn't act like them either. They just made amazing music. Get On Down, who celebrated 2014's Black Friday Record Store Day with their reissue of Run-DMC's Christmas In Hollis, follows it up for 2015 with the deluxe 45 RPM vinyl Singles Collection box, which celebrates the group's glory days with a curated assortment of five smash singles that brought the group from New York to Tokyo, London to Sydney, and just about every corner of the Earth. With lovingly re-created 7-inch sleeves (taken from original 45s and 12-inches), the set is housed in a sturdy outer box with the group's name proudly overlaid across a map of their hometown: Hollis, Queens."
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7"
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GET 720EP
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"Once you hear those warm-but-mildly-distorted intro horns (sampled from Clarence Carter's 1968 hit 'Back Door Santa'), you are instantly filled with the holiday spirit, thanks to the most important hip-hop group of the 1980s. By late 1987 this incredible Run-DMC production (co-produced by Rick Rubin and Steve Ett) had taken full hold of the music world. That holiday season, the song was featured on the A & M Records charity compilation A Very Special Christmas and was also granted its own A-side release outside of the U.S., complete with a cover illustrated by the late Keith Haring. This version of the 7-inch also includes a little song called 'Peter Piper' on the B-side that you may have heard before, plus the full lyrics to 'Christmas In Hollis' printed on the back cover. And to make this package impossible to pass up, Get On Down is also including a playable 'Audible Postcard' of 'Christmas In Hollis' in addition to the vinyl -- keep it as a collector's item or send to a friend to become the illest rap gift-giver of the year."
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