Sold Date: February 15, 2023
Start Date: February 8, 2023
Final Price: $24.50 (USD)
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RUN DMC 1984 FIRST PRESSING FIRST ALBUM PROFILE-1202 ~ RARE ORIGINAL CLASSIC LP
"RUN DMC" LABEL: PROFILE RECORDS  PRO-1202 RELEASED: MARCH 27, 1984 EDITION: FIRST PRESSING  RECORDED AT: Greene St. Recording MASTERING: Herb Powers Jr. MASTERED: Frankford/Wayne Mastering Labs PRESSING: Hauppauge Record Manufacturing NY MATRIX: (A) A- ▻ PRO-1202-A MASTERING BY FRANKFORD/WAYNE NEW YORK HERbIE JR :>) ANgIE MATRIX: (B) A-1 ▻ PRO-1202-B MASTERING BY FRANKFORD/WAYNE NEW YORK HERbIE JR :>)
CONDITION: VINYL: VG+  JACKET: VG+
I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection this winter and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 40 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I am offering up this very nice clean copy of this original 1984 first pressing of Run-DMC's classic first album.
This is a decent condition original First Pressing on Profile Records.
See details on the Vinyl and Jacket condition below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Run-DMC was from Hollis, Queens, New York.
Comprised of Joseph “Run” Simmons, Daryl “DMC” McDaniels, and Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, the trio is considered the first “new school” hip-hop group. 
The Boys from Hollis didn't just pop up overnight on the scene.
They were involved in the growing rap scene in New York during its early development.
'Run' was the younger brother of Russell Simmons, an early hip-hop promoter and one of the moguls behind Def Jam Records. They both had their ears focused on the early NY Rap scene.
Run started out DJing for Kurtis Blow, one of rap music’s first big artists, and dabbled in writing some rhymes with him. 
Run met DMC out at shows on the streets and in the parks of Hollis. The two later connected with Mixmaster DJ Jay who they discovered performing in a park one day, both being blown away by his cutting and scratching skills. 
Jam Master Jay was the group’s 'glue', the thing that brought them musically together and made it all make sense. There is no Run-D.M.C. without Jam Master Jay.
The 3 friends started working together in 1982, originally calling themselves Orange Crush.
Run's brother Russell changed their name to "Run-D.M.C." and began shopping around their demo of “It’s Like That,” recorded with producer Larry Smith in his home studio in Queens. 
Russell gave their demo tape to Cory Robbins, co-founder of Profile Records who signed them to a deal to re-record the song.
The trio added the new song “Sucker M.C.’s.” and it was released on Profile as a twelve-inch, their first single, in 1983. It was a big hit. It's hard to not be captivated by DMC’s booming voice, Run’s shout rap and Jay proficiency spinning the platters.
It started Run DMC on their long journey.
~~~~~~~~~~ Run DMC's dual MC style was unique at the time. Run would kick one line and DMC would follow up with another, with them often rhyming in tandem, trading words and syllables within each line. They often finished off each other's lines. The twin MC sound became the norm in later Hip-Hop, but Run DMC pioneered the style.
Lyrically, Run and DMC played off of each, blending their distinct voices and styles into one unified instrument. Run & DMC together were the definition of chemistry on the mic. 
The two rappers compliment each other perfectly. They play off each other and merge their voices throughout their songs, giving the lyrics more verbal power and intensity. Their wordplay was great. They traded rhymes, and sound great and powerful paired together. The twin MC's, with their great tug and pull, made Run-DMC a dynamic duo. 
Trading simple yet profound lines, their lyrics summed up the hard-scrabble community they lived in. Their lyrics embodied hardship, societal frustrations and inner city blight. They brought a dose of everyday reality to rap.
They told what the real situation was in their crumbling, poverty ridden neighborhood. Their words painted a bleak picture of a city on the brink of collapse.
Run DMC was 'Straight outta Hollis' and reflected the reality of the situation.
But what made Run and DMC different was that they offered some glimmers of hope and optimism, encouraging others to live their best lives, despite the odds. Their lyrics are notable for their message of personal responsibility, hard work, and self-improvement. Pride and hope was a big part of Run-DMC’s music in those early days. 
That's what made Run-DMC popular. They were real. With their brutaly honest lyrics and message of hope, they became the voice of an entire disenfranchised generation.
Lyrically, both Run and DMC introduced some themes that have become common and 'standard' in Rap music. They introduced some of the earliest instances of “swag” and "Get the Dollar" ethos in their lyrics that still define so much of hip-hop to this day.
These rhymes may be basic by today’s standards but in 1984, this aggressive style was thrilling, fresh and revolutionary. The ferocity and power of their lines changed the way subsequent MC’s delivered their rhymes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Between it's early roots in 1978 and 1982, the hip-hop universe was considered "Old School Rap," based around the Sugar Hill label and Sugar Hill Gang artists. The music was full of artists and bands recreating and blending sampled clips and was more Funk/Disco based, staying close to the sounds of the City back then.
Between 1982 and 1983, hip-hop began to expand and new sounds like Afrika Bambaataa, and Run-DMC emerged.
Run-DMC almost singlehandedly ushered in the 'New School' Era of hip-hop with “It’s Like That”/”Sucker MC’s” in Spring 1983. 
Run-DMC helped define the 'new school' of hip-hop, which was characterized by a streamlined soundscape, simple synth sounds over a drum machine, and the Mc's portraying the image of tough, cool, street b-boys.
They were one of the first Rap groups to emphasize and highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship. They set a new standard of performing with 2 lead MC's and a strong backing with a fantastically skilled DJ.
Their 'music' was just rhythm with simple electronic beats, the feel of the streets of Queens. They weren't trying to mimic anyone else, they weren't interested in including 'sample' hooks, they took the sound and attitude from the streets and put it on record.
They were one of the most influential acts in the early history of hip-hop culture. They reset and redefined the 'standard' of what rappers were supposed to look like, what rap music was supposed to sound like, and how rap music was recorded and released. 
They changed both the sound and the Aesthetic look of Hip-Hop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before Run DMC came along, most rap groups of the 'Old-School' era dressed up in wild glitzy costumes, like hip modern versions of Funkadelic, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Kool & The Gang. Grand Master Flash set the fashion style of early HipHop.
But Run-DMC changed all that. Unlike the flamboyant flashy dressed Rap groups before them, Run-DMC dressed like straight up B-Boys from Hollis, Queens. 
They wore simple black jeans, dark leather jackets, and simple, but hip, fedora hats. They completed the look with thick framed Cazal 607 eyeglasses.
They also, famously, wore fresh, clean Adidas tracksuits, complete with Adidas kicks with no laces. It was their everyday look, not a 'costume'.
They dressed like the regular everyday people they new, like the local b-boys. They created and established the "be yourself" fashion in Rap.
Their 'real' aesthetic made them relatable to their fans. They weren't fake or created by some record label, they were from down the street.
They were real and authentic before authenticity in hip-hop was even a thing. They looked like the people in the street they were writing about and making their music for. 
RUN DMC looked and sounded like the Streets that they came from. Their sound came straight from the corner parks and the streets where they learned their craft.
Run-DMC defined how rappers should dress and present themselves. They single-handedly changed the look and physical style of the Rap scene. They looked and sounded real and authentic, people could relate and they quickly became huge, changing HipHop forever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Up until this album was released, the hip hop scene mainly consisted of long 12" singles. Hip-Hop was clearly a singles driven genre.
Early Rap and Hip-Hop wasn't played on the radio, it was a local community and neighborhood thing. Much of the music was performed live, spontaneous, often in the parks, at parties, or on the streets. If a song was popular enough, it would be polished in a local studio and recorded on a 12" single.
In hip-hop’s early 'Old School' era, songs were usually much longer, following in the style of the disco and dance mixes they emerged out of. Most early rap and hip-hop songs were over seven or eight minutes long. “Rapper’s Delight” a classic, early, landmark Rap song was nearly 15 minutes long. 
Both the artists and the labels realized that there was no real need to spend the time and money to make a full-length album. It wouldn't sell a whole lot and radio wasn't interested, so why bother.
RUN DMC Changed all that. Run-DMC was one of the first Hip-hop groups to whittle things down, tighten up and focus the music, and record more traditionally structured songs. They created a full-length hip-hop album when the genre was still very much single driven.
This album is considered to be the very first full-length album in the hip-hop genre. It's 40-minute run time, and 9 songs, was the first Hip-Hop record to be the length of a 'standard' album. It wasn't really planned and thought out to be a full, unified piece of music. Profile Records essentially collected the A and B Sides of the group’s first four singles and released them together on LP as 'Run-D.M.C.'
Even though this Album is basically a fleshed out collection of their singles, it was critically important as the first full length HipHop album and led the way for many groups to come.
This album captured the spirit and straight forward energy of the live park jam and put it on a record.  After this album was released in the Spring of 1984, it was clear that things would never be the same for rap music. It's a true milestone in the genre. 
It's sill essential listening for any hip-hop fan and should be in any record collection due to how important it was and how genre-changing it was.
This album dropped with 9 different tracks on it. Unheard of in the Hip-Hop World at the time. The songs on this album include:
Hard Times Rock Box Jam-Master Jay Hollis Crew (Krush-Groove 2) Sucker M.C.'s (Krush-Groove 1) It's Like That Wake Up 30 Days Jay's Game
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The album opens up with “Hard Times”, which is actually a cover song, originally written and recorded by Kurtis Blow, who Run had previously worked with and Run's brother Russell Simmons managed. It was a nod to their past, but they re-invented the song in their own sound and style.
“Sucker M.C.’s (Krush Groove)” is classic Run DMC and changed everything. It was bare and minimalist, but a very powerful song. It was raw, gritty, and completely revolutionary. It's stripped-down hip-hop perfection, with just Run and DMC dropping and sharing verses over a stark, snapping drum machine track. “Sucker M.C.’s" contains one of the classic and most famous hip-hop drum patterns in the history of the genre. 
“Jam Master Jay” from this album was unique in that it was one of the first hip-hop tracks that featured interplay between the emcees and the man behind the turntables. 
In many Rap tracks of the time, the MC's rarely involved their DJ in the verses. They just supplied the groove, but in this track, Run and DMC leave space in the song for Jay to shine and do his thing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ This record was cut and mastered by Herb Powers Jr. at Frankford/Wayne in New York. He was a master of his craft with lots of experience. He did an excellent job, but the production and mixing on this album show the limits of recording Rap in those early days.
The format of Hip-Hop, with 'live' turntables, live loud shouted vocals and electronic drum machines, caused significant problems in the recording studio in those early days. Studio engineers had yet to really figure out how to mix live turntables into the overall sound.
That being said, this album sounds slightly dated, but amazing and fantastic. The rumbling bass, the snap and pop of the drum kicks, the 'scratching' sounds, and the overall mix is amazing for 1984. Very 'crisp' and very dynamic. Pure, all analog, power. No digital trickery. The aggressive sound, deep kick drums and snare sounds are sharp and jump out of the speakers.
This is a classic album and sounded great when it was released in the spring of 1984. It was heard everywhere in New York City during the summer of 1984.
I listened to this album several times over while writing this description and my mind went right back to my youth in NYC, the people and places I hung at in those days.
~~~~~~~~~ Much of this album is just Run and DMC rhyming over beats produced by the iconic Oberheim DMX drum machine, with occasional electronic blips, some guitar bits, and DJ Jay adding some cuts and scratching. This new musical sound was fresh and steered the direction of Hip-Hop.
Run-DMC gained so much recognition and respect with this first album that they ended up defining a new musical 'style' within Rap. It set the template for what hip-hop’s album culture would become and was vital to the evolution of hip-hop today. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The album was reviewed and written up in leading music publications giving the group much National exposure. The positive critical response to the album echoed the opinion of the streets; it's a great album. 
After reading the positive reviews, Kiss FM (WXYS) in Boston played “Rock Box” in regular rotation on the air, and music history changed. This album ushered in a new age for a daring, brash young American genre of music.
In addition to getting air play on Radio, Run-DMC also established hip-hop culture and rap music on MTV.
“Rock Box” is the song that really established Run-DMC as a group to be reckoned with. It features some great driving electric guitar by session musician Eddie Martinez.
“Rock Box” had a slight rock element it needed to attract white audiences and was the first clip from a Rap or Hip-Hop act to ever play on MTV.
After those barriers were broken down, the floodgates opened up and hip-hop culture’s invasion of the mainstream was complete. 
This album was a massive success, and became the first hip-hop album to be certified Gold. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After the release of Run-DMC’s self-titled debut album, it was clear that things would never be the same for rap music. 
Listening to this album today, it reminds me so much of growing up in NYC around that time. it was the sound you heard on the streets and on the subway trains. It was on seemingly every boombox in the city. This album is truly timeless.  A legendary album that will never be duplicated.
Arguably the first classic hip hop album. It's every bit as powerful now as when it was first released. This is the album that started it all, the most influential hip hop album of all time.
The album is a cultural and musical landmark. It's a necessary record for anyone with even the slightest interest in rap history. It should be in any serious record collection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures.
VINYL: The condition of the vinyl is decent but does have some hairline scratches on it. Finding original pressings of this album in perfect condition is almost impossible. They were played to death and were often played at parties and in non-ideal situations. Most original pressings out there are totally trashed. This one is still pretty good.
I've played this one several times thru while writing this and it sounds quite good. Still clean and powerful. A few pops and clicks, but quite acceptible. I tried to show some detail photos of the actual vinyl. You can see how good it still looks. I'm sure you'll be happy with it.
The Matrix has the first pressing stamping; the 3 line mastering stamp in the dead wax: MASTERING BY ~ FRANKFORD/WAYNE ~ NEW YORK and "Herbie" Power's name and smiley face. Powers was known for including shout-outs and dedications inscribed in the Dead Wax of records he mastered. This one has "ANgIE" after his name and trademark 'Smiley Face' on side A and just his name on Side B.
I included pictures of the Matrix.
LABELS: The labels are clean and bright. No damage or marks. This has the original grey Profile labels with the first pressing '250 w. 57th' address.
The spindle holes are crisp and clean, suggesting minimal playing.
JACKET: The Jacket has some edge and corner wear, but nothing horrible.  This original first pressing has all the 'correct' attributes on the back cover:
The '250 West 57th Street' address on both the cover and labels. Produced for Rush-Grooves, Recorded at Greene Street Recording, Mastered at Frankford/Wayne, and the dedication to DJ June Bug.
The corners are slightly 'bumped' but not too bad. There are a few small crease, but again, not bad. The biggest 'fault' is some wear along the spine with some cover loss. I tried to show details of the worst areas in my photos.
Overall an acceptable jacket for this first pressing. Again, this album was generally treated poorly at the time and finding clean original jackets is rare. This record was meant to be played and played hard. It wasn't a 'collector' record when it was released and nobody thought they would end up in a record collection 35 years later.
Overall, a very acceptable copy, vinyl and jacket, of this rare 1984 First pressing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** NOTE: I'm selling this rare 'Collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare and as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition. Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
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THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN