Show some respect to the Kings
The greatest Hip Hop group of all-time is Run D.M.C. Hands down. If you disagree it may be because you're too young to understand the importance, relevance and signifigance of these Hip-Hop pioneers. They held down it down for the "golden age" of Hip Hop. They brought our culture from the hood to the mainstream and were the face and sound of '80s hardcore Hip-Hop. From spins on radio "Rap" shows to "top 40 crossover radio play. The boys took us from the independent local access channels to MTV. From the mom and pop record shops to national record store chains, and from Hip Hop record pool charts to Billboard Magazine.
Run D.M.C. were responsible for revolutionizing Hip-Hop in two very important ways. First, during Hip-Hop's infancy as a recorded form, they changed the direction of recorded Hip-Hop by stripping it down to its barest essentials and back to it's original form: hardcore beats and rhymes. "It's Like That" and especially "Sucker MCs" essentially created Hip-Hop's first "new school." Rendering the reigning acts Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, the Cold Crush Brothers, Funky Four Plus One, Crash Crew, and the Sugarhill Gang "old school." Run-DMC created a new sound that was truer to the way Hip-Hop sounded in its raw form when it was performed live with a DJ and one or more MCs.
Let me break it down.
Run D.M.C. was:
The first rap group to win a Grammy Award
The first rappers to grace the cover of Rolling Stone
The first rap act to earn a gold album. (RUN-DMC/1984)
The first Rap act to headline a major U.S. tour (Arena)
The first rap act to earn a platinum album (King Of Rock/1985)
The first Rap act to exhibit the marketing power of Hip Hop by landing a sponsorship deal with Adidas.
The first rap group to combine rap with live, original metal guitar (which influenced the sound of everyone from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Limp Biscuit to Kid Rock).
The first rap act to earn a multi-platinum album (Raising Hell/1986).
The first rap group to have their videos played (and make regular rotation) on MTV
The first rappers to appear on "American Bandstand" and "Saturday Night Live".
The first rap act to reach the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 ("Walk This Way"/1986).
and last but certainly not least the first rap group to be inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame (It also marked the first time a DJ was inducted).
Their influence is immeasurable, their achievements are unprecedented. They are Hip Hop royalty and their place in Hip Hop and history should never be forgotten.