When he's not in the studio working on music or involved in youth activism and speaking at Black Lives Matter rallies, emerging hip-hop artist/producer Niko Brim is helping 93-year-old social impact leader Opal Lee with her tireless fight to make Juneteenth a national holiday. 

As the oldest-known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery, Juneteenth marks a special day of remembrance and reflection for many Black Americans. The holiday, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, honors the day—June 19, 1865—when Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, where he informed enslaved African-Americans there of the end of the Civil War, essentially granting them their ultimate freedom.

While Juneteenth is celebrated annually across most of the United States on June 19, it is not recognized as a national holiday.

Lee, widely known as the nation's foremost Juneteenth awareness leader, has dedicated her entire life to changing that. Her story is both personal and universal: At just 12 years old, she lost her home when 500 white supremacists set her house on fire. She's since dedicated herself to educating people about the importance of Juneteenth.

In 2016, at age 90, Lee walked from her home in Texas to Washington, D.C., in an effort to advocate for Juneteenth as a national holiday. She traveled two and a half miles per day to commemorate the two and a half years that slaves waited between when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, on Jan. 1, 1863, abolishing slavery, and the day (June 19, 1865) that message finally arrived in Texas.

<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }</style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https://www.youtube.com/embed//KnvHbgwCBRU' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

Lee's hard-fought dream may actually come true: Today (June 19), multiple senators announced legislation to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Lee's own petition urging the same goal has received more than 600,000 signatures at the time of this writing.

Brim, who just wrapped his guest appearance on Rapsody's 2020 A Black Woman Created This Tour, has received over 1 million streams, with hits including "Throne," "Feds Watching" and "Woke." His latest single, "Hard To Believe," reflects his mission to implore Black and brown youth to reclaim their power.

"For 'Hard To Believe,' I wanted to tie the idea of revolution to some of our best moments as a people," he tells the Recording Academy. "A lot of times when revolution or systemic change is brought up, the images used are from the looters and the burning buildings. But they don't highlight the beautiful community and culture that is leading the charge day by day. 

"[The song's] lyric video has some of the most brilliant black men and women, prolific writers, speakers, artists, etc. All of these people stood for the same change that we need! I wanted to show that in the video to create a conversation that is more uplifting for us as a people."

To honor the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, Brim is launching a new show on his Instagram channel called "Power Hour," which "will explore the meaning of 'freedom for all," he says. The weeklong series, which begins nightly at 6:19 p.m. EST and runs from June 19-June 25, launches with Lee as the first guest.  

The Recording Academy spoke with Niko Brim and Opal Lee about the significance of Juneteenth, the importance of music to the holiday's celebration and the dynamic duo's commitment to make a difference in the world.

<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }</style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https://www.youtube.com/embed//_d3JqaofW38' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

Tell us about the importance of Juneteenth.

Niko Brim: Juneteenth is the day that all Africans were freed from slavery. In Texas, two-and-a-half years after slavery was considered abolished, there were still slaves. June 19 is the day that the last remaining slaves in this country were freed from bondage and given the start to this marathon we have been running for human rights. To me, Juneteenth represents freedom—it represents my past, the present and where the future is headed for Black America. The 4th of July never represented that for me and many Black people. [Juneteenth] is symbolic for us, in acknowledging and being aware of our own history. This was not taught to us in schools or seen on the calendar.  

Lee: I am part of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation. The states that don't recognize [Juneteenth] are Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. Each state has a board member. We currently don't have representation from [those states]. We need many signatures and everyone to shout about it to get Congress on our side to pass this bill. The President would have to sign an executive order to make Juneteenth a federally observed holiday. I hope to see that in my lifetime. 

[Editor's Note: In a June 17 guest column for The Billings Gazette, Montana state Sen. Margaret MacDonald wrote, "In 2017 the Legislature adopted a bill establishing Juneteenth as National Freedom Day in commemoration of the Emancipation Proclamation on the third Saturday of June. Montana was the 46th state to officially mark the date." On Thursday (June 18), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem proclaimed Friday (June 19) as Juneteenth Day for 2020 only in the state; it is not recognized as an annual state holiday or observance, according to the Argus Leader. On Wednesday (June 17), North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced the state would formally recognize Friday as Juneteenth Celebration Day for the year 2020; state Sen. Tim Mathern plans to propose a bill to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday in North Dakota. In Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced on Thursday that June 19 will be officially recognized as Juneteenth and will be celebrated as "an annual day of honor and reflection going forward for the City and County of Honolulu."

Opal Lee | Photo: www.OpalsWalk2DC.com 

What do you love about each other?

Brim: I wanted to work with Opal so I could actively do all that I can to push our community forward. I immediately fell in love with her passion, her commitment and her will for human rights. When I decided to promote Juneteenth, I came across her through the internet and made it my mission to connect [with her]. Since then, she has been a mentor who has guided me and is one of the cornerstones of the Black community. I'm blessed to know her.

Lee: If I could, I would adopt him! I am so proud of him for how he is educating people, and hope he will continue speaking at the rallies. He is a great rapper, and I love him!

How has music played a role with Juneteenth? 

Brim: Music is an important aspect of Juneteenth because it is part of our culture. As we celebrate the Emancipation, we listen to melodies that have been reflective of our times, everything from slave hymns to current-day hip-hop. The music is the voice, and in many ways, the narration. It's the honest experience of us as a people and will forever be a key in all cultural movements.

I think the hip-hop and R&B community is embracing Juneteenth. For years, we were unaware of our history, and now, more than ever, the information is spreading like wildfire. I'm seeing collective support for the holiday, and I hope that for the rest of the 2020s, it will be celebrated on a national level. I would love to see it embraced by the overall music industry entirely, but we'll see.

The holiday still isn't recognized throughout the country, so hopefully starting this year, we can begin annual musical celebrations in honor of the event.

Read: Torae Talks Fighting For Change & Overhauling The Music Industry's Business Model

Lee: Music is an integral part of Black American and African history. The rhythm and vibrations, from drums and voices, create energy that not only moves our bodies, but moves our spirits. Juneteenth represents unity, and when we as people are together, there is an energy there that can transcend all pain and injustices. 

When slaves learned they were free, they started celebrating with music, singing and dancing. It was such a joyous time. I have never been to a Juneteenth festival that didn't have some kind of music there; it could be jazz, opera, country or classical music.  

Niko, tell me about your new Instagram show, "Power Hour." 

Brim: Opal is my first guest on the show, which I created to commemorate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth. Celebrities like rappers Doug E. Fresh and Rapsody, John Amos ("Roots," "Good Times") and filmmaker Monty Ross (Spike Lee's collaborator on films including She's Gotta Have It, Do The Right Thing and Malcolm X), who convey "Black power," will explore the meaning of "freedom for all" during a week-long conversations series [starting] at 6:19 p.m. EST from June 19 through June 25.

The series' topics focus on the "Twelve Freedoms" granted on June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger led federal troops to Galveston, Texas, to announce that slaves were freed and the Civil War had ended. They were now able to do business, dress, grow food, marry, own, read and write, preserve history, serve in the military, travel, worship, birth and name their children, and vote, legislate and govern.

Opal, what is it going to take to get Juneteenth to become a national holiday?

Lee: In order for Juneteenth to be a national holiday, we must not live in fear of people that are different from us, but rather accept those differences and get to know those differences. When this happens, it will be harder to judge a person by their skin color. Education is key and that education is not learned in the classroom, but in life and in our rearing. We just hit 100,000 signatures [on the petition]. Now we want 1 million!

Niko, your mom is veteran music fashion stylist Misa Hylton, and your dad is Jojo Brim, CEO of V Records. What have they taught you?

Brim: My parents have always been a great influence on me. My father has always exemplified doing what is best and taking the higher road, and that is something that inspired me. He is a seasoned music executive, who has taught me how to build a brand. I am thrilled to be on his label! 

Mom has taught me hard work and the importance of believing in yourself. Between the two of them, I feel very comfortable in expressing what I stand for.

Both of them shared with me the ins and out [of] the industry and the business as well as staying true to myself and making the art I love. Learning these jewels from them helped a lot with the pressures that come with the industry and how to maintain a level head and a true heart in my music.

What are you both working on next?

Brim: I have a new song, "Hard To Believe." The truths and beliefs I've grown up with may be hard to believe for people who aren't Black, but for us, it's inherent knowledge that we must be aware of to operate in society the best we can. I touch on politics and how none of the system was ever in our favor, how our young men are incarcerated for being falsely accused or for standing up for freedom. These are just two of the many unsaid truths about being Black in America that I share on this song. 

And this summer, I am releasing my next album, The King Has No Crown, which sheds light on the Black millennial experience. I share my story, rising from the south side of Mount Vernon to be one of the biggest voices for New York. This story is told through my eyes, the eyes of my closest people and the eyes of my city. 

Lee: I am ready to restart my trek across America, which they call "Opal's Walk 2 D.C.," to the White House to bring awareness and get Juneteenth to be a holiday that is on the calendar. I want everyone to know that we were not freed on the 4th of July. My walk is 2.5 miles to represent the 2.5 years it took for slaves in the South to be freed. 

I am also working on a book called "1619." It dives deep into how the first slaves arrived in America, telling a grueling account from whence they landed and the stories that were passed on through the generations.

Fight The Power: 11 Powerful Protest Songs Advocating For Racial Justice

On their new Jersey club-inspired single "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born," Japanese hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts narrate the inner monologue of a confident man, unbothered by others’ negativity and the everyday pressures of life.

In this episode of Global Spin, watch Creepy Nuts deliver an electrifying performance of the track, made more lively with its bright flashing lights and changing LED backdrop.

"Before I show them my true ability/ My enemies run away without capability," they declare in Japanese on the second verse. "Raising the bar makes me very happy/ ‘Cause I’m outstanding, absolutely at No.1."

"Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" was released on January 7 via Sony Music and also serves as the season two opening track for the anime "Mashle: Magic and Muscles." The song previously went viral across social media for its accompanying "BBBB Dance."

"Basically, the song is about it’s best to be yourself, like flexing naturally. Of course, even though we put effort into writing its lyrics and music, it’s still a song that can be enjoyed without worrying about such things," they said in a press statement.

Press play on the video above to watch Creepy Nuts’ energetic performance of "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born," and don’t forget to check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Global Spin.

From Tokyo To Coachella: YOASOBI's Journey To Validate J-Pop And Vocaloid As Art Forms

Twenty-six-year-old rapper Anycia truly lives in the present. The Atlanta-born artist describes her most viral hits as if they were everyday experiences — she's simply going out of town on "BRB" and mad at a partner in "Back Outside" featuring Latto. 

Despite her calm demeanor and cadence, Anycia is a self-proclaimed "firecracker" and credits her success to her long-held confidence. 

"I [command] any room I walk in, I like to introduce myself first — you never have to worry about me walking into the room and not speaking," Anycia tells GRAMMY.com. "I speak, I yell, I twerk, I do the whole nine," adding, "I see tweets all the time [saying] ‘I like Anycia because she doesn’t rap about her private parts’... are y’all not listening?" 

With authenticity as her cornerstone, Anycia's genuine nature and versatile sound appeal broadly. On her recently released sophomore LP, Princess Pop That, Anycia's playful personality, unique vocal style and skillful flow are on full display. Over 14 tracks, Anycia keeps her usual relaxed delivery while experimenting with different beats from New Orleans, New York, California, and of course, Georgia. 

"I'm learning to be myself in different elements. I'm starting to take my sound and make it adapt to other beats and genres," she says. "But this whole album is definitely a little showing of me dibbling and dabbling.

The rising hip-hop star gained traction in June 2023 with her sultry single, "So What," which samples the song of the same name by Georgia natives Field Mob and Ciara. When Anycia dropped the snippet on her Instagram, she only had a "GoPro and a dream." Today, she has millions of views on her music videos, collaborations with artists like Flo Milli, and a critically acclaimed EP, Extra. On April 26, she'll release her debut album, Princess Pop That, featuring Cash Cobain, Luh Tyler, Kenny Beats, Karrahbooo and others. 

Ahead of the release of Princess Pop That, Anycia spoke with GRAMMY.com about her influences, maintaining individuality, working with female rappers, and using her music as a therapeutic outlet.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Where did the title Princess Pop That come from?

Princess Pop That is my little alter ego, and my Twitter and finsta name. It's kind of like a Sasha Fierce/Beyoncé type of situation. 

The cover of your album gives early 2000 vibes. Is that where you draw most of your inspiration from?

Yeah. My everyday playlist is literally early 2000s music. I even still listen to [music] from the '70s – I just like old music! 

My mom is a big influence on a lot of the music that I like. She had me when she was like 19, 20. She's a Cali girl and has great taste in music. I grew up on everything and I feel like a lot of the stuff that I'm doing, you can kind of see that influence.

I grew up on Usher, Cherish, 112, Jagged Edge, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Teena Marie, Luther Vandross and Sam Cooke. Usher was my first concert, ever and actually my last concert — I went to his residency in Vegas with my mom. That's like our thing.

I know you had your hand in many different professions — including barbering and working at a daycare — how did you get into rapping?

I always liked music, but [thought] girl, we need some money right now. Rapping and music is cool, but I always had one foot in and one foot out. When I was [working] my jobs, it was more this is what I need to be doing right now — but I wasn't happy. 

It got to a point where I noticed that I was doing all these things, and it worked but it wasn't working for me. I didn't want to get caught up; I didn't want to be stuck doing something just because it works. I wanted to do something that I actually love to do. I decided to quit both jobs because I was literally making me miserable. 

I feel like that's what happened with a lot of our parents — they lose focus of their actual goals or what they actually wanted to do, and they get so caught up in what works in the moment. One thing about me, if I don't like something I'm done. I don't care how much money I put into it, if I'm not happy and it doesn’t feed me spiritually and mentally I'm not doing it. Right after [I quit] I was in the studio back-to-back making music. It eventually paid off.

Walk us through your music making process. 

A blunt, a little Don Julio Reposado, a space heater because I’m anemic. Eating some tacos and chicken wings or whatever I’m feeling at the moment. It’s not that deep to me, I like to be surrounded by good energy in the studio. 

People like to say female rappers aren’t welcoming or don’t like to work with each other. You’re clearly debunking this myth with songs like "Back Outside" featuring Latto and "Splash Brothers'' featuring Karrahbooo. What was it like working with them and how did these collaborations come about? 

Karrahbooo and I were already friends before we started rapping. It was harder for people to get us to do music because when we were around each other we weren't like, "Oh we need to do a song together." We had a friendship. 

Working with Latto, we didn't collab on that song in the studio. I did the song myself after being really upset at a man. I made the song just venting. I didn't even think that I was ever gonna put that song out, honestly. Latto ended up hitting me up within a week's span just giving me my flowers and telling me she wanted to do a song [together]. I ended up sending her "Back Outside" because I felt like she would eat [it up] and she did just that. 

She did! Are there any other female rappers you’d like to work with?

I really want to work with Cardi B — I love her! I'm also looking forward to collaborating with GloRilla. 

Read more: A Guide To Southern Hip-Hop: Definitive Releases, Artists & Subgenres From The Dirty South

Many female rappers come into the industry and feel like they have to start changing themself to fit a certain aesthetic or archetype. However, everything about you seems super unique — from your voice to your style and appearance. How do you maintain your individuality? 

Being yourself is literally the easiest job ever. When you're doing everything you're supposed to be doing, you're being genuine while you're doing it and you’re just being 110 percent authentically yourself — I feel like everything works out for you perfectly fine. 

I haven't had the urge to change anything or do anything different. The reason people started liking me was because I was being myself. Even if it wasn't accepted, I'm not going to stop being myself. I do what works for me and I feel like everybody should just do what works for them and not what works for the people outside of them. 

That's what creates discomfort for yourself, that’s how you become a depressed artist — trying to please everybody [but] yourself. I feel like people lose sight of that fact. Aside from this being a job or a career for me now, it’s still my outlet and a way I express myself;  it's still my form of art. I will never let anybody take that from me. It's intimate for me. 

Speaking of intimacy, what was the inspiration behind "Nene’s Prayer"? I want to know who was playing with you.

I was just having a little therapy session in the booth and everyone ended up liking it. Instead of getting mad, flipping out and wanting to go to jail I just put in a song. Even though I said some messed up things in the song, it’s better than me doing those messed up things. 

Have you ever written a lyric or song that you felt went too far or was too personal?

Nope. A lot of the [topics] that I [rap about] is just stuff girls really want to say, but don't have the courage to say. But me, I don’t give a damn! If it resonates with you then it does, and if it doesn't — listen to somebody else. 

Exactly! What advice would you give to upcoming artists trying to get noticed or have that one song that pops?

If you got something that you want to put out into the world, you just have to have that confidence for yourself, and you have to do it for you and not for other people. I feel like people make music and do certain things for other people. That's why [their song] doesn't do what it needs to do because it’s a perspective of what other people want, rather than doing [a song] that you're comfortable with and what you like.

How do you want people to feel after listening to ‘Princess Pop That?’

I just want the girls, and even the boys, to get in their bag. Regardless of how you went into listening to the album, I want you to leave with just a little bit more self confidence. If you’re feeling low, I want you to feel like "I am that bitch." 

It's a no judgment zone. I want everybody to find their purpose, walk in their truth and feel like "that girl" with everything they do. You could even be in a grocery store, I want you to feel like the baddest bitch. 

10 Women In African Hip-Hop You Should Know: SGaWD, Nadai Nakai, Sho Madjozi & More

In 2020, Megan Thee Stallion solidified herself as one of rap's most promising new stars, thanks to her hit single "Savage." Not only was it her first No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, but the "sassy, moody, nasty" single also helped Megan win three GRAMMYs in 2021.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, revisit the sentimental moment the Houston "Hottie" accepted one of those golden gramophones, for Best New Artist.

"I don't want to cry," Megan Thee Stallion said after a speechless moment at the microphone. Before starting her praises, she gave a round of applause to her fellow nominees in the category, who she called "amazing."

Along with thanking God, she also acknowledged her manager, T. Farris, for "always being with me, being by my side"; her record label, 300 Entertainment, for "always believing in me, sticking by through my craziness"; and her mother, who "always believed I could do it."

Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage" remix with Beyoncé also helped her win Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance that night — marking the first wins in the category by a female lead rapper.

Press play on the video above to watch Megan Thee Stallion's complete acceptance speech for Best New Artist at the 2021 GRAMMY Awards, and remember to check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

Black Sounds Beautiful: How Megan Thee Stallion Turned Viral Fame Into A GRAMMY-Winning Rap Career

"You don't know that people are going to 40 years later call you up and say, ‘Can you talk about this record from 40 years ago?’"

That was Cory Robbins, former president of Profile Records, reaction to speaking to Grammy.com about one of the first albums his then-fledgling label released. Run-DMC’s self-titled debut made its way into the world four decades ago this week on March 27, 1984 and established the group, in Robbins’ words, "the Beatles of hip-hop." 

Rarely in music, or anything else, is there a clear demarcation between old and new. Styles change gradually, and artistic movements usually get contextualized, and often even named, after they’ve already passed from the scene. But Run-DMC the album, and the singles that led up to it, were a definitive breaking point. Rap before it instantly, and eternally, became “old school.” And three guys from Hollis, Queens — Joseph "Run" Simmons, Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels — helped turn a burgeoning genre on its head.

What exactly was different about Run-DMC? Some of the answers can be glimpsed by a look at the record’s opening song. "Hard Times" is a cover of a Kurtis Blow track from his 1980 debut album. The connection makes sense. Kurtis and Run’s older brother Russell Simmons met in college, and Russell quickly became the rapper’s manager. That led to Run working as Kurtis’ DJ. Larry Smith, who produced Run-DMC, even played on Kurtis’ original version of the song.

But despite those tie-ins, the two takes on "Hard Times" are night and day. Kurtis Blow’s is exactly what rap music was in its earliest recorded form: a full band playing something familiar (in this case, a James Brown-esque groove, bridge and percussion breakdown inclusive.)

What Run-DMC does with it is entirely different. The song is stripped down to its bare essence. There’s a drum machine, a sole repeated keyboard stab, vocals, and… well, that’s about it. No solos, no guitar, no band at all. Run and DMC are trading off lines in an aggressive near-shout. It’s simple and ruthlessly effective, a throwback to the then-fading culture of live park jams. But it was so starkly different from other rap recordings of the time, which were pretty much all in the style of Blow’s record, that it felt new and vital.

"Production-wise, Sugar Hill [the record label that released many key early rap singles] built themselves on the model of Motown, which is to say, they had their own production studios and they had a house band and they recorded on the premises," explains Bill Adler, who handled PR for Run-DMC and other key rap acts at the time.

"They made magnificent records, but that’s not how rap was performed in parks," he continues. "It’s not how it was performed live by the kids who were actually making the music."

Run-DMC’s musical aesthetic was, in some ways, a lucky accident. Larry Smith, the musician who produced the album, had worked with a band previously. In fact, the reason two of the songs on the album bear the subtitle "Krush Groove" is because the drum patterns are taken from his band Orange Krush’s song “Action.”

Read more: Essential Hip-Hop Releases From The 1970s: Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash, Sugarhill Gang & More

But by the time sessions for Run-DMC came around, the money had run out and, despite his desire to have the music done by a full band, Smith was forced to go without them and rely on a drum machine. 

His artistic partner on the production side was Russell Simmons. Simmons, who has been accused over the past seven years of numerous instances of sexual assault dating back decades, was back in 1983-4 the person providing the creative vision to match Smith’s musical knowledge.

Orange Krush’s drummer Trevor Gale remembered the dynamic like this (as quoted in Geoff Edgers’ Walk This Way: Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and the Song that Changed American Music Forever): “Larry was the guy who said, 'Play four bars, stop on the fifth bar, come back in on the fourth beat of the fifth bar.' Russell was the guy that was there that said, ‘I don’t like how that feels. Make it sound like mashed potato with gravy on it.’”

It wasn’t just the music that set Run-DMC apart from its predecessors. Their look was also starkly different, and that influenced everything about the group, including the way their audience viewed them.

Most of the first generation of recorded rappers were, Bill Adler remembers, influenced visually by either Michael Jackson or George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic. Run-DMC was different.

"Their fashion sense was very street oriented," Adler explains. "And that was something that emanated from Jam Master Jay. Jason just always had a ton of style. He got a lot of his sartorial style from his older brother, Marvin Thompson. Jay looked up to his older brother and kind of dressed the way that Marvin did, including the Stetson hat. 

"When Run and D told Russ, Jason is going to be our deejay, Russell got one look at Jay and said, ‘Okay, from now on, you guys are going to dress like him.’"

Run, DMC, and Jay looked like their audience. That not only set them apart from the costumed likes of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, it also cemented the group’s relationship with their listeners. 

"When you saw Run-DMC, you didn’t see celebrity. You saw yourself," DMC said in the group’s recent docuseries. 

Read more: 20 Iconic Hip-Hop Style Moments: From Run-D.M.C. To Runways

Another thing that set Run-DMC (the album) and Run-DMC (the group) apart from what came before was the fact that they released a cohesive rap album. Nine songs that all belonged together, not just a collection of already-released singles and some novelties. Rappers had released albums prior to Run-DMC, but that’s exactly what they were: hits and some other stuff — sung love ballads or rock and roll covers, or other experiments rightfully near-forgotten.

"There were a few [rap] albums [at the time], but they were pretty crappy. They were usually just a bunch of singles thrown together," Cory Robbins recalls.

Not this album. It set a template that lasted for years: Some social commentary, some bragging, a song or two to show off the DJ. A balance of records aimed at the radio and at the hard-core fans. You can still see traces of Run-DMC in pretty much every rap album released today.

Listeners and critics reacted. The album got a four-star review in Rolling Stone with “the music…that backs these tracks is surprisingly varied, for all its bare bones” and an A minus from Robert Christgau who claimed “It's easily the canniest and most formally sustained rap album ever.” Just nine months after its release, Run-DMC was certified gold, the first rap LP ever to earn that honor. "Rock Box" also single-handedly invented rap-rock, thanks to Eddie Martinez’s loud guitars. 

There is another major way in which the record was revolutionary. The video for "Rock Box" was the first rap video to ever get into regular rotation on MTV and, the first true rap video ever played on the channel at all, period. Run-DMC’s rise to MTV fame represented a significant moment in breaking racial barriers in mainstream music broadcasting. 

"There’s no overstating the importance of that video," Adler tells me. vIt broke through the color line at MTV and opened the door to a cataclysmic change." 

"Everybody watched MTV forty years ago," Robbins agrees. "It was a phenomenal thing nationwide. Even if we got three or four plays a week of ‘Rock Box’ on MTV, that did move the needle."

All of this: the new musical style, the relatable image, the MTV pathbreaking, and the attendant critical love and huge sales (well over 10 times what their label head was expecting when he commissioned the album from a reluctant Russell Simmons — "I hoping it would sell thirty or forty thousand," Robbins says now): all of it contributed to making Run-DMC what it is: a game-changer.

"It was the first serious rap album," Robbins tells me. And while you could well accuse him of bias — the group making an album at all was his idea in the first place — he’s absolutely right. 

Run-DMC changed everything. It split the rap world into old school and new school, and things would never be the same.

Perhaps the record’s only flaw is one that wouldn’t be discovered for years. As we’re about to get off the phone, Robbins tells me about a mistake on the cover, one he didn’t notice until the record was printed and it was too late. 

There was something (Robbins doesn’t quite recall what) between Run and DMC in the cover photo. The art director didn’t like it and proceeded to airbrush it out. But he missed something. On the vinyl, if you look between the letters "M" and "C,", you can see DMC’s disembodied left hand, floating ghost-like in mid-air. While it was an oversight, it’s hard not to see this as a sign, a sort of premonition that the album itself would hang over all of hip-hop, with an influence that might be hard to see at first, but that never goes away. 

A Guide To New York Hip-Hop: Unpacking The Sound Of Rap's Birthplace From The Bronx To Staten Island