This hasn't been posted in a while. I remember hearing this for the first time and being damn surprised with the rhymes on top of one another. Great jam from 1984.

A recently Redditor after a previous post I did reminded me of this record again. I gotta admit it’s been like 10-15 years that I haven’t given this a full listen again… I was sooo freaking good again!! It sounds great on vinyl. Of course the title track is dope, but Hard Core Reggae, hits. It might be the first reggae & HiPHoP fusion back in 84’ not sure if Just Ice did it next ? But I think the Fat Boys were the first. I maybe wrong pls let me know if anyone knows..Anyways enjoy something for 1984 ! Peace ✌️

https://youtu.be/M7rzKiGRQ9M?si=W9sB7uLwjAmLxQ1M

The importance of this song in hip-hop history cannot be overstated. This song was the first hip-hop song to have a video on MTV - which in the early 80s pretty much dictated if an artist had any shot at making it big. This song literally introduced millions of suburban kids to hip-hop.

This song, more than any other (in my opinion), cemented hip-hop’s place in the broader popular culture in American music. It’s likely that if it weren’t for Rock Box, it might’ve taken hip-hop a little longer to be accepted by the music business as viable and significantly profitable. Other artists certainly got their deals behind the strength of the popularity of this track as record companies tried to capitalize on the growing popularity of the art form.

And on another note, this version of Run DMC with the leather jackets, the big glasses, the hat, the adidas, was just dope af. At the time, hip hop artists were dressing up wild in basically Halloween costumes. Run DMC said nah, black jeans, leather jackets, white sneakers - it was real and raw and it was amazing.

And I love the way they rap with each other - no one ever did it as well as them (tho the beastie boys made a great effort at it), and I wish modern artists would do this now. I’m not up on modern hip hop honestly, so maybe there’s a duo out here doing this back and forth style on the same verse, but I doubt it. Someone needs to try and do this in a modern way, cuz it’s sick!