Every Run-D.M.C. album ranked from worst to best

In terms of sheer weight of importance, there really aren’t many artists in pop culture history that can come close to matching the impact made by Daryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels, Joseph “Run” Simmons and Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell. They’re arguably the group responsible for rap’s ascent into the mainstream, for making hip hop harder and more reflective of its underground street roots and for crossing the genre over into the rock world. Between their formation in 1983 and Mizell’s tragic death in 2002, they made seven albums and changed the face of music forever. Here are all of those records ranked from worst to best.

7. Crown Royal (2001)

If Run-D.M.C. had to adapt their style at the start of the 90s (with mixed results), going eight years without an album and having to do it again as a new Millennium dawned was always going to be daunting. The trio’s final album definitely tried to sound current but relies too heavily on features that range from the sublime (Method Man and Nas) to the ridiculous (Everlast, Sugar Ray and Kid Rock). It’s not a disaster, but hearing Fred Durst wheezing his way through the atrocious country twang of Them Girls diminishes the impact of the superb, classic New York hip-hop of Queens Day. A disappointing if inadvertent final statement.

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6. Back From Hell (1990)

Hip-hop was in a state of flux by the time Run-D.M.C. released their fifth album. With gangsta rap becoming infamous in its infancy and the hip-pop of MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice the genre’s big sellers, Queens’ finest needed to pivot in some way back towards the musical landscape they had helped create. The trio decided to head for harder terrain, with the excellent, rip-snorting What’s It All About sampling both The Stone Roses and Minor Threat, but there were also a few dalliances with the zeitgeisty sound of new jack swing on Faces and Pause. A touch confused? Maybe, but by no means a bad experiment.

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5. Down with the King (1993)

After slightly fumbling the ball on their previous album, Run-D.M.C. got the balance of sounding like the classic version of themselves and adding a contemporary twist far better on Down With The King. The likes of Can I Get It, Yo, 3 In the Head and Big Willie all give their classic big beat and dual-vocal, barking a rap a bit of 90s spit-and-polish, while top notch features from EPMD, Q-Tip, Tom Morello and Onyx only add to the fun. 

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4. King Of Rock (1985)

How do you follow a debut album of such groundbreaking influence and importance? Well, in Run-D.M.C.’s case, just crank it all up a bit harder and louder than before, add in a bit more rock guitar and some dancehall influences, and there you have it. King Of Rock may not have quite the revolutionary qualities of its predecessor, but it does take everything that was great about that album and add a few essential sonic deviations. It’s something perfectly surmised by the sublime one-two of the title track’s hard rock fury and the aggro funk of You Talk Too Much.

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3. Tougher Than Leather (1988)

It was always going to be a hell of an ask to follow up Raising Hell, meaning that, upon release, Tougher Than Leather got a fairly lukewarm reaction. Decades down the line, however, it’s been re-evaluated for the incredible record it is. Both Run’s House and Mary Mary became huge songs in their discography, but listen to lesser remembered tracks, such as the superb electro-funk of first single I’m Not Going Out Like That or the jittering boom-bap of Radio, and you’ll find a diverse effort jam-packed full of gems.

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2. Run-D.M.C. (1983)

The big bang for rap as we all came to know it. Run-D.M.C.’s debut album is one of the most important albums of all time; responsible for making rap harder, sparser and more aggressive, it also contains Rock Box, the first hip-hop song ever played on MTV and the first ever rap-rock crossover track. All very worthy, but, truthfully, the trio would become better M.C’s, expand their sound and improve their production in the future. Still, at the time, Run-D.M.C. sounded genuinely revolutionary and even 40 years later Wake Up, It’s Like That and Hard Times are all essential listening for any hip-hop fan.

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1. Raising Hell (1986)

If Run-D.M.C. were creating blueprints for where the rap genre would go on their first two albums, it’s here on their third where they made their true masterpiece. Raising Hell starts with Simmons and McDaniels tag-teaming rhmes on Peter Piper with a dexterity miles above what they had shown before. It’s a high bar from which Raising Hell never drops below: there are huge, instant, hook-filled bangers like It’s Tricky; amazing big-beat ragers like Hit it Run; some of Jam Master Jay’s finest and most surprising production choices on the likes of You Be Illin; and, of course, the true rap-rock big bang of Walk This Way alongside Aerosmith. It was rap’s first ever Platinum-selling album. It just might also be the genre’s first true classic.

Since blagging his way onto the Hammer team a decade ago, Stephen has written countless features and reviews for the magazine, usually specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal, and still holds out the faint hope of one day getting his beloved U2 into the pages of the mag. He also regularly spouts his opinions on the Metal Hammer Podcast.