Reviews (page 5 of 8)
Wake up, get up— vision of a world working as team, it was just a dream
Está bueno. Buenos ritmos de hip hop y rap, arreglos padres y en general un buen rato.
Suuuper dated rapping, but their voices sound great. And the beats/production is surprisingly great thanks to Jam Master Jay and producer Russell Simmons
This was fun although I feel like once you’ve heard one song you’ve heard them all. My favourite lyrics 😂 I'm gonna give you everything that you ever need If you need a pint of blood, then I'll even bleed If you're lookin' for a car, I will buy you two And if you're lookin' for a pet, I'll buy a kangaroo
Despite the fact that this is a foundational hip hop album, the rhymes are super dated and the beats are quite basic. Sucka MCs is the first diss track ever, but the lyrics are so generic that it feels corny.
As Rap albums go, this is a good kickoff for the genre.
non male la dinamica tra i due ma suona troppo vecchio, troppi bassi e troppe poche melodie per i miei gusti
Pretty good
I was annoyed by the first song, seemed very repetitive, but as the album went on I enjoyed it more. Not a huge fan but I understand how people enjoy it.
Definitely 1980s, and sounds the same after a while, but it's a good sound. Favorite track: Rock Box
This takes me back to the times when rap was known as electro in the UK . Thanks to the great albums electro 1-7. This is a good record but also feels a little sparse to what rap, sampling and scratching would become - Feels almost punk in places but I'm Not sure it is required in the 1001 albums . “It’s like that” is head and shoulders above the rest It could be a 3 to fit with my I like that enough to buy on vinyl ( I already do )- but I think I’m being generous It’s not a 2 as I like listening to early hip hip - check out the amazing Soul Jazz Records Presents YO! BOOMBOX - Early Independent Hip Hop, Electro And Disco Rap 1979-83. That’s good enough for 3 double albums but this is not as great as they will turn out to be.
raw, minimal, powerful
Old school rap
I never loved Run DMC, but it is fun to go back and hear the mail they made.
In 1984, this was seminal, and has influenced just about every hip-hop artist since. This is the original sound of hardcore hip-hop moving from the underground scene, and bringing it towards the mainstream. The problem is that the whole genre has developed so much since this album came out, that it sounds very basic, and totally of its time.
In the context of when this came out, it's incredible how innovative this sounds compared to the Message, which only came out a couple years before. The flip side is how fast the genre kept innovating that this record became dated only a few years later when Eric B & Rakim, De La Soul, etc came along. Still a great record, but it definitely serves more as a snapshot of rap at the time it was released.
I totally get how seminal this was but it hasn’t really stood the test of time. I was wiggling my hips to the beat but the beat is pretty much the same in every track and it’s all a bit too shouty
good
It is interesting to hear the early outings of hip hop compared to what we hear today. Thoroughly inoffensive, heavy disc scratching, super cheesy lyrics, it’s just about as 80s as you get. It’s like the entire industry was still learning flow. Not sure why they introduced themselves in each song. They definitely felt a need to tell us it was, in fact, them on the mic. And, yes, I get it, you dislike “Succah MCs” and love rhyming “Queens” and “Greens”. I mean no disrespect as hip hop is not what it is today without Run DMC, but this album is painfully dated. This has a special place in history, but the early days of any newer media is often still trying to find itself, which leads to some defined growing pains.
This is a weak 3. It’s hard to get really into this type of rap, since the beats are so simple and the raps aren’t all that different song to song. But it’s clearly incredibly influential and important so gotta give it respect.
can imagine this blowing peoples minds in the 80s
Groundbreaking early 80's "hardcore" hip hop. A departure from the good time rap style of the day, more raw and streetwise. The beats are very machine sounding and a bit tinny compared to todays sounds. The blending of rock and rap were very forward thinking and an inspiration for many future bands. Overall it is very catchy and worth an add to any collection for the history of a genre.
Beastie Boys took this style and ran. This doesn't age well, but it's not awful.
This wasn't really my genre, but I think I can appreciate old-school hiphip. I didn't love this, but I didn't hate it. It was better than average for the era, but it didn't blow me away and I was ready for it to be over at the end. Three stars.
I understand the historic significance of this album, I'm going to focus the rest of my words on how it feels to me. Because that choppy '80s sound usually bugs me, but there's something about the production on here that integrates really well with their Vocal Chore- Ogra- PHYYYYY I also find it cheesy, but as a founding structure of hip-hop, I can't hate on it too much. I appreciate it's a short listen, it's fun and packs a quick punch, just a spurt of energy. I'd buy this record. 3.3/5
6.0
It's like that
Not as good as their later stuff, but still half-decent. I like the classic hip-hop style and sound, and this album is the prime example. Yeah, it doesn't go anywhere exceptional, and sounds very dated listening 40 years on with 40 years of hip-hop gone by. The beats are basic and the flow is predictable, but still, doesn't mean it's bad. Decent enough.
6/10… hip hop / *1984
It's good for me, 'cause I like that hip hop shit. But it really feels outdated: the beats, the sounds. Huge respect to the guys anyway. 3/5 —————————————— Liked: — Rock Box — Wake Up — 30 Days
3 and only because of its historic relevance, because honestly it sounds pretty dated.
Raising Hell is the album I'm familiar with. I think this one is better. Of course it's dated. It's literally old school.
Hip-hip pioneers produce a record so 80s, you can see the neon leggings. But in a good way.
not my style, but i'm glad i listened to it
Not something I expected to be as creative as it was sonically. I don't know much about this style of music, it was certainly interesting to hear this album. I'm not sure it was something I would listen to again but if I did hear any of the songs I'm sure they would be just as enjoyable. The opening and closing songs were strong
Hard times is still do relevant
No es mi tipo
I feel like I listen to a part of history. A vintage hip hop album for sure. A great listening 3/5
Fun ? Liked it overall but every song sounds the same. idk if that’s bad in this case because i don’t find it particularly annoying or anything
I didn't enjoy this one as much as their other album. The songs here sounded very dated 3 ⭐️
Very, very dated. The call and response, ending each others sentences gimmick really grates after a while. This was clearly an important and influential album, but it ends up sounding very simplistic and old.
Best Track - "It's Like That"
I liked Wake Up
Proto-HipHop. Inzwischen etwas aus der Zeit gefallen für meinen Geschmack, aber natürlich revolutionär und teilweise gute Songs dazwischen. Scranton. What? The Electric City
“Rock Box” is great. The rest is okay.
I liked this one more than their later albums because it sounds fresher, prob cause it is. Everything else just sounds repetitive.
I recognize the importance of this album to hip hop. I enjoyed it. But it got old fast.
It was a little goofy at times ngl… but I had fun!
This record changed the world. I recognize this; I just don't really enjoy listening to it.
This album in particular--by one of the creators of what became Rap/Hip-hop, raises the question of do you rate based on historical importance, impact, etc., or on how much you actually like the music, today? This is a classic, important album, but I'm not sure it's stood the test of time. There's a couple tracks on here that will always be bangers at a party but otherwise I'm never likely to play this again.
3 stars. It's like that & that's the way it is.
A good album, I liked Hard Times and 30 Days the most.
It's an interesting album and one that is on this list for obvious reasons. One of the most influential and important rap albums of all time, and the first to really penetrate the main stream American conscious. It's a really interesting listen because there's a lot of rock influence in the songs - which I presume is the Rick Rubin influence but I'm too lazy to look up whether he produced this one. It's also interesting to hear the extent that the DJs were, at that time, the stars of the show. The rappers were kind of just there to showcase the DJ, who was the man the audience came to see. How far we've come. Ultimately, one of the greatest things about rap is that it is a perfect little time capsule of the era it's created in. Although that can lead to a healthy dose of nostalgia and admiration, it also means that rapp from certain eras can end up sounding cringey, corny, or just plain anachronistic. I respect the hell out of this album, but I don't think I can say I like it.
Ancient texts, hanging gardens of Babylon ahh rap album, the goats
Did Macklemore rip off Rock Box?
The rhythm and structure of the lyrics don’t age well, but some of those beats still funk me up. And It’s like that, and that’s the way it is.
A good ride for a Tuesday listen
Maybe my expectations were too high or it just feels outdated but 🤷🏻♀️
So sweet and innocent! And I loved Rock Box.
Feels incredibly dated in 2025, which probably just means it was influential as shit.
This is a fun time, but Raising Hell is better. A little simplistic but for early hip-hop it works. Kinda front-loaded too. Favorite songs were Hard Times, Rock Box, and It’s Like That.
Hiphop uit de 80s, dat is kale beats en veel geluidjes uit de computer. RunDMC mixt daar een vleugje rock bij. Blijkbaar waren ze pioniers daarin om rap en rock te mixen. En ik moet zeggen dat ik ze daar toch wel dankbaar voor ben. Veel nu-metal is daar misschien wel op gebaseerd en dat heb ik toch met veel plezier mogen luisteren destijds. Het stomme is, ik had Rock Box nog nooit eerder gehoord. We denken altijd aan Walk this Way met Aerosmith, maar dit nummer was dus veel eerder. En het klinkt bijna alsof Eddie van Halen of Brian May meedoet, met die scheurende gitaar erbij. Even kijken op de wiki wie dit inspeelt: Eddie Martinez. Nooit van gehoord, een sessiemuzikant, maar hij heeft wel veel van David Lee Roths soloalbums ingespeeld. De zanger van, jawel, van Halen! Nice! Qua hiphop kan ik die ouwe dingen wel beter waarderen dan de recentere. Al is dit soms heel erg kaal met alleen een beat en wat gescratch. Ik weet niet zo goed hoe kinderachtig de teksten zijn, maar ze waren wel heel erg bezig met hun kleding. Ze hebben eigenhandig een bepaald schoenenmerk groot gemaakt zo ongeveer. Dat uiterlijk vertoon heb ik nooit zoveel mee, dan heb ik bijna nog liever uit-het-raam-staar-zweverige teksten of teksten van Blof waar je niks van begrijpt. Qua muziek is het dus allemaal wat karig, wat moet je daar nu voor geven. Sterretje of 2. Het pionierende Rock Box is heel tof, dus dat verdient wel een extra ster. Krijgen ze 3 strepen van me, net als hun favoriete merk.
I'm too white to have an opinion on this.
beastie boys found bald and sobbing in fear
aged better than LL cool j, but worse than public enemy or the beastie boys. Not a bad album, and without it I think music in 2025 is drastically different, but it's not something I'm going to want to listen to frequently
Ah, the early days of rap. Cardboard box breakdancing, back spins and the worm! Setting the stage for the Walk This Way megahit.
Nice! Meshed perfectly with my long walk. Would give it a 3.5!
Mér fannst einfaldleikinn og beatin sjarmerandi en varð fljótt einhæft
Skemmtilegt (hallærislegt?) rapp. Samt ekkert sem ég er einstaklega hrifinn af.
These super old school rap are fun but get repetitive quite quickly 6/10
Gee 1984 was a great year! I mostly enjoyed this, its maybe a tad repetitive and a bit slow, but its really important in the history of the genre and given the technology used at the time to put these tracks together its pretty interesting.
The guitars on the second track, Rock Box, are great and kind of unexpected. There's nothing new I can add to the convo. The beats are simple, the rhymes are basic and it all sounds kind of the same. But you'd be hard pressed to not at least somewhat enjoy, It's Like That. But I gotta say, I prefer that remix of it by Jason Nevins from 1997. On the whole, I get why this is so important.
So I'm gonna give it a 3 because I'd rather listen to it than popular rap these days but it like uh.. does often sound the same throughout
Well, somehow I misread the information on Raising Hell and mentioned it being their debut. Mea Culpa. The Generator is here to correct me within two days, by giving me their real debut album. Also since notes are unchangeable, my mistake will be on this site till the end of the internet. Now for my thoughts on Run-D.M.C. real debut. It's quite good. Obviously getting two albums from the same artist in such a short time makes for an easier comparison. And this album's rating will suffer from being less good than Raising Hell. But that doesn't mean the album is bad. It has a some bangers on it and is overall a great tasty snack before the dinner to come. An Amuse-bouche as one could say.
A groundbreaking album at the time, but hearing it back now it does come off as a bit simplistic and repetitive in terms of beats/sampling. Lyrics can be corny too, but interesting cross-over. Fave tracks are "It's like that" and "Hard times"
It's weird to listen to this album today, forty years later. Hip hop has come so far that this sounds kind of simplistic and slow but at the time is was super cool and ground breaking. Someone had to start it up. I'm listening to the highlights again now as I'm writing this and the beats and pacing of the lyrics seem crazy slow. It's really interesting to hear how things have changed.
I am going to listen to this again so it may get a higher rating, but as someone who doesn't listen to a lot of rap I really liked this. I have read that this debut album showcased a more hardcore rap, so I am surprised by why I enjoyed it so much. The reason is two fold, first: no samples, which I always find annoying, not so much if you do it in one song but if all of your tracks use tunes from others I am not going to rate it highly. Secondly the guitars - those guitar solos had me at hello.
I was expecting to like this but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. I like the rapping and they sound good together. The lyrics are good, marking hip hop's development as protest music, and there are a few highlights (Rock Box was a new song to me). I'm not a fan of the tinny, drum machine beats though, and in some parts there's not much else happening. Not bad but not great either
Quite enjoyed this but did find that the songs all sounded similar
3 out of 5. Enjoyable listen, and I'm starting to appreciate Run D.M.C. the more albums I hear from them.
Kind of fun, but not my usual type of music.
Classic hip-hop golden age album (and arguably the one that kicked off the golden age). Still holds up pretty well.
This is such a wildly important album for both hip hop and modern music at large that it really can't be overstated. Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way: this sounds like a hip hop album from 1984. So yeah, it sounds old, and it sounds clunky at times, but I can pretty much guarantee I didn't need to tell you that. Even if you go a year or two later, you get music that sounds way more modern, but it's because of albums like Run-D.M.C.'s self-titled that we got that music. And honestly, if you go a year or two earlier, you get hip hop that sounds *so* much clunkier. And honestly, despite the age, I actually like this quite a bit. McDaniels and Simmons have some really cool synergy. And through the somewhat dated rapping, you can still very much tell that both men were incredibly skilled at the art-form. And Jam Master Jay's production can be similarly dated, but there are still plenty of cool grooves here. I also need to acknowledge that people were still figuring hip hop out here: upon doing research, this is really an album of firsts. I've seen people cite It's Like That as the first hardcore hip hop song, Sucker M.C.'s as one of the first diss tracks, and Rock Box as the first rap rock song. These are also among the best songs here. It's Like That is almost an incredibly early example of conscious hip hop. Although Rock Box may be my favorite here: Eddie Martinez's hair metal guitar works surprisingly well here, and McDaniels and Simmons are at their most locked in, the flow is actually really cool. Additionally, I've heard arguments that this song had a big hand in tearing down the barriers between rock and hip hop, giving us future Run DMC songs, and resulting in other very influential artists like the Beastie Boys. I'd also like to shout out Wake Up, with it's very hopeful lyrics. While this album wears it's age on it's sleeve, I still find it very enjoyable, and it's role in music history can *not* be denied.
Bit more relatable than the more gangsta stuff and quite whitty in places but this genre is definitely not for me
Listening in 2025 this sounds very safe and tame compared to what came after. It really isn’t very exciting, the beats are bland but the rapping and flow is solid, it’s just very dated and not my bag in general. Not rubbish, but not good.
Influential but doesn’t hold up over time. Outdated rhymes and beats. Not bad, just lacks something. 3/5 Probably won’t listen again
I can appreciate how influential this group is and the talent of their rapping abilities but the production on this thing has aged like milk.
I love hip hop, but there is just something so annoying about the early days of rap. Maybe it’s the flow, maybe it’s the beats, maybe it’s that it sounds kinda gimmicky, but the golden age of hip hop can’t come soon enough for the mid 80s. Not a bad listen, not a great listen either.
Enjoyed this
Iconic but really doesn't age well.
They walked before they could run on several songs but still enjoyable.
Influenced heavily by Grandmaster F&TF5, but less interesting
Good fun
Rock Box is a cracker
A bit of the same but fun and short
A difficult one to rate for sure. The album and Run DMC have significant influence into how modern Hip Hop and Rap has been shaped (along with the creation of rap rock), however the album itself doesn't have many highlights and a simple beat in each song. Rock Box is the standout for sure, the influence in creating and inspiring Rap Rock is of course important, however it is also just a really good song. I will go for 3 stars on balance.
if there’s one thing i’ve learned from this project is that 80s rap > 90s rap
I don’t like to use the term dated. Everything is dated. But hip-hop for sure doesn’t sound like this any more. Which is a shame. No mention of fucking hoes, and shooting niggas, and Oh I’m so oppressed. And it’s all the better for it. Found it got a bit repetitive at times, but I’d listen to it again.
Early tracks felt ahead of their time, i just wish some were less sparse. Made the whole album feel longer.
They're good lads. Does sound very dated now and the 'melody' gets very repetitive, but I like it and appreciate it's importance.
Old school
ekki sjarmalaust en mjög fornt bæði hvað varðar flæði og takta. þarf ekki meira.
Way ahead of the curve, rhymes written by ChatGPT long before ChatGPT... And God damnit, use the snare, it helps with the groove, really... Influential for sure with some fresh ideas, but other who came after did it better...
I know it is the start of hip hop as we know so I respect that, I just prefer modern hip hop
I like it. Oldschool, often minimalistic beats made only with percussion. The lyrics a sometimes a little childish, ironic but the things you hear in newer rap songs are already here. Fav: It's like that
Endearingly primitive in its sound. Not a ton to take away in 2025 but well worth the history lesson.
punk af
Liked it more than I expected. Not a fan of the finish each other sentences style, but it wasn't terribly annoying with this album. Good beats, and pretty clear lyrics. The song about dreaming, with the constant "wake up" I can't get out of my head.
Hard times, it’s like that var bäst. Generellt lite enformiga och för långa låtar
Not as good as I was hoping for but still enjoyable.
I have a fondness for Run DMC just because I watched a lot of vh1 countdowns and I-Love-The shows, and inevitably they all talked about how Run DMC started hip hop. (Seems a bit of an oversimplification, in retrospect, but hey, I wasn't there.) My vh1 recollection is basically like: "OK, so music was invented by Michael Jackson, Queen, Run DMC, and Madonna. The end." Oh, we had another Run DMC album 150 albums ago and I said the same thing. Time is a flat circle. Anyway, this is good. The rhythm/stress pattern is so consistent that it's kind of like the album is all one big song ("my name's aMANda and i'm HERE to SAY, i'm likin' this ALbum in a MAjor way"). No slurs! I arbitrarily decided that 4 is for albums I'd listen to in my spare time, which is apparently a pretty high bar, but among 3s, this is one of the 3s-I-like and not one of the 3s-I-don't-dislike. It's tricky to sort a disc, to sort a disc that's just like this, it's tricky :( Highlight: 'Sucker M.C.'s (Krush-Groove 1)' (it unlocked a core memory for me of the rhythm game(?) in Sega's Toejam and Earl 2, which I was terrible at but liked a lot), 'Wake Up' (nice dream. presumably "we weren't afraid to show our faces / it was cool to chill in foreign places" was meant about race, but now it applies even more broadly 😔) Lowlight: 'Jay's Game' (the only break in the long song -- I also hate these short repeated loops (IDK if there's a DJ name for this thing); I think it's one reason I dislike Missy Elliott['s songs] actually)
Wow, going in I thought I would like this album given Run DMC's place in hip-hop history. I found most of the songs sounded very similar to each other, the notable exception being Rock Box with that awesome guitar riff. I guess they walked so others could run, but listening to them walk isn't something I'll choose to do again.
I kno its old school, but ive heard good old school
I was enjoying this but it did can a bit samey about half way through them came good again at the end. Refreshing was the total absence of bitches, niggas and requests to suck their dicks!
3.5 stars - I liked the lyrics to several of the songs, but overall the album felt a bit repetitive in its sound.
I'm sure Michelangelo had some sick finger paintings too. Why would anyone listen to this when Raising Hell(⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐exists?
Ok so some of this feels a bit dated but it’s still pretty good. Rock Box is the stand out track, possibly because it’s the one that sounds different from the rest, a lot of which all sound quite similar.
Early hip hop that whilst basic seems more accessible that than what the genre has morphed into. I liked some of it, but was a bit samey.
Ah, the true masters of going ‘huh’ to end a chorus. Minimalistic beats and some rudimentary sampling. Actually it’s quite catchy.
Even though I dont really care for it, I understand Run DMC's importance to hiphop as a whole. Its a fun time capsule of an album. I cant listen to this without getting the DK rap song stuck in my head though 😂
I don't don't like it
Pretty good
Decent classic hiphop nothing really stood out to me though
Ritme increïble, impossible no moure's. Preferides "Hard Times","Rock box", i "Hollis Crew" la resta se'm fan un pèl pesades (segurament perquè no estic acostumat a escoltar aquest tipus de música.)
Fantastic timeless rap/rock fusion album.
Pretty good early hip hop. Enjoyable.
No standouts, but not bad, just nothing special
It’s decent but I prefer the other Run DMC album on the list 3/5
Pioneers of rock rap
I mean it definitely changed the game, but it feels outdated nowadays. 56/100
it's a one time offer for nothing at all
Let's say 3/5
i like the topics and ideas especially in the second half of the album but the beats are all very similar and minimalistic which i know is the essence of this album but makes the tracks feel longer than they are for me personally.
Easy to listen to. Surprisingly good
They are hip hop pioneers, but it's sooo dated. For 1984, this was probably groundbreaking, but it didn't age well at all. I'll give it 3 stars because they were very influential.
30 Days did not need to be that long, but I liked the 80s vibes
I enjoyed a few songs on this album. Although, while I appreciate their impact on hip hop, Run DMC has never been one of my favorites.
i love it when they alternate words between the two of them it’s so much fun
Seems funny that back in the day this seemed hard core. Now, with no disrespect, it feels cute in the way that some old people are cute
84 ja noi sähkökitarat taustalla?! Aika kova. Mutta miksi he on kaukana mikeistä? Vuorotellen sanotuista sanoista tulee myös vähän koomikkoduo-olo. Mut kai se on vain hyvä.
Not a fan but I don't hate it either. 3 stars or C-.
An important historical document, yes….but maybe not a fun listen. That doesn’t mean it’s not an important listen, though! There’s a couple things that I really latch onto with Run-D.M.C’s debut. Mainly, it’s “Rock Box” and “It’s Like That.” The former’s use of guitar samples is important for the rest of Run-D.M.C.’s career, but also feels very fresh, even today; the latter is just a solid ‘80s rap song, with very distinct and infectious flows that proved influential for the time. I also think Jam Master Jay’s 2 ✨producer tracks✨are fun, if cheesy and dated. I’ll also be honest, “Hard Times” hit me in the face with those 808 cymbal hits, and kind of won me over, and I think “Sucker M.C.’s” flow is important listening for any hip-hop fan. But all that is forced praise. The production on here is *very* dated, with basic 808 drum patterns with little variety, and really weak DJing to add any flair. Meanwhile, the rapping is….laughable now. It is very “Hat Store” [see: Donald Glover]. I think when Run & D.M.C. trade bars, the spark is there, but the rhymes themselves are really, really, really lame. I think this is especially insufferable on “Wake Up,” which is preachy while also feeling like it was written by a 10 year old. The rest of the record is on the same level lyrically. Now, your tolerance to sit through these things may depend on your general tolerance for old-school hip-hop. I have a mild tolerance, so I could hang my hat on enough traits here to just shrug my shoulders and move on. And again, sometimes, historical value does matter more. But I know I’m never going to listen to this again. I’m not even going to listen to the best moments. And that’s because literally the following 3 Run-D.M.C. albums are more important– and more listenable– than this. But it is first in a lot of ways, or at very least, an early synthesis of all hip-hop was building up to at the time. And maybe that should count for something, even if the music is lame and dated in 2025.
Cover 6 Some fun songs. Not King of Rock but good.
3 stars! I definitely remembered how much I liked some of these songs. But I wouldn't revisit it because it definitely feels dated.
A trademark sound. Great vibe. Tempo starts to drag a wee bit after a while.
I can absolutely see why this album mattered. It’s got that no-frills, stripped-back style that clearly kicked a door open somewhere in hip-hop’s early years. The beats are raw and punchy, the rhymes barked rather than delivered, and there’s a sort of punk energy in how aggressive and minimal the whole thing feels. It’s practically anti-funk in places, just hard-edged rhythm and shouty declarations, and I get how that must’ve felt like a shock to the system back then. This is the blueprint, and you can hear echoes of it in about a hundred other albums that came after. That said, for me, it was more interesting than enjoyable. Once the initial thrill of the sound wore off, I started noticing how repetitive it all was. The flows barely change, the beats loop endlessly, and the lyrical content often just feels like variations on the same theme. It’s not bad exactly — there’s a charm in its confidence — but I did find myself zoning out a few tracks in. Songs like Hard Times and It’s Like That still pack a punch, and I liked Rock Box for throwing in that guitar riff out of nowhere, but most of the rest felt like filler to me. I’m glad I listened to it, if only to hear where so much of what came later started, but it’s not something I’m likely to revisit often. I respect it more than I love it, and I think unless you’ve got a real nostalgia for early 80s hip-hop or a deep interest in the genre’s history, it might feel a bit like homework. Interesting homework, but still homework.
Dated but historic.
Like it. Favourite track is Sucker MCs 3/5
Really like their style of rap. Great tunes
It's hard to listen to this in 2025 and imagine this as being ground breaking and new. The beats and rhymes sound so dated and twee, but you cannot underestimate the group's influence.
I know it’s revolutionary but it doesn’t hold its age well.
Great beats.Liked it more than I thought I would
Sounds like one track all the way through with occasional solos
Kind of cheesy but fun. I enjoyed it
Early rap feels like a whole different world compared to today's hits. But they still got it. Great beats, clean lyrics that aren't dry. I can see why people still rock the shirts and stickers still
Good old school fun. More intense than other rap from its era, but really tame for rap standards to come. Decent.
idk
wasnt expecting much but ended up loving it :) hip-hop/rap isnt my thing but i was vibing to this album as if it were taylor swift's hahaha. the thing with rap is that it ends up being a bit repetitive, though i enjoyed it anyway. my favorite ones were Hard Times and Jay's Game. i'd listen to it again!
3 disappointing, i always expect too much of them faves: hard times
Contextually, this album is a force to be reckoned with. No one was rapping like this, in multiple ways. A duo that raps to finish each others sentences, rappers that actively speak about themselves as better than all the other sucker MC's. I'm willing to bet their tone really set a standard for rap culture in the following years. The airy, basic drum instrumentals did a lot to define how east coast hiphop should sound. How is this albums contents, though? Incredibly frontloaded imo. "Hard Times" gets your attention right away and keeps it. Shoutout to Shaun White Snowboarding for getting "Rock Box" stuck in my head essentially forever. So many memorable bars, such a cool crossover hit with that 80's rock electric guitar jamming under the rhymes. Justifies it's 5+ minute length. From here, things get less and less impactful. Two songs about the dj Jay is at least one too many. "It's Like That" is a fair addition to the tracklisting as a socially conscious track. But by "30 Days" I was a bit clocked out, nothing new happens for the last few songs and the 80's instrumental pastiche starts to wear on the ears. Some pioneering work worth celebrating on this album, just dont expect perfection or much variation on a front-to-back listen. Mixed feelings 3/5
Ondanks dat ik geen groot fan van rap ben, vind ik de stemmen van deze mannen heel aangenaam. De beats zijn ook leuk, dus ik kan dit album goed luisteren. ***
Time hasn't been too kind to albums in this genre. The flows are very similar throughout and across songs, and that causes a lot of songs to stay too long and kind of melt together. Good album when it came out (probably), but doesn't hold imo. High 2 - Low 3
another influential album that doesn't really stand out by today's standards if you heard it in a vacuum. side note: more tracks need to use a snore sample, I wish that caught on
6/10 understandably important and influential as a rap album but very stiff and awkward at a lot of points, this is the blueprint for everyone who decides to parody 80s Hip Hop
Iconic, but a little repetitive
Hadn't listened to this one. Some parts are great, but some sound like typical 90's hip hop beats. (34 known/78 new)
3.5
Nice for what it is, an early 80s rap album. 3.5 stars
This is another one of those albums that's here more for impact than anything. Run-D.M.C. really marked a sea change in hip-hop, from the more disco/party style of early hip-hop, to the more street style of east coast hip-hop. I don't think this is the greatest example of that sound, but they did it first and you can definitely hear the influence this album had on artists like the Beastie Boys and L.L. Cool J. The beats and flow are pretty simple by modern standards, but I do think tracks like "Rock Box" and "It's Like That" are deserved classics and hold up well. 3.5 stars.
Must have been groundbreaking at the time, but wished I would have loved it more than 3 stars!
I've never listened to Run-D.M.C. besides "Walk This Way" but had obviously heard of them. This was surprisingly enjoyable even though I'm not usually the biggest fan of 80s hip hop.
so influential but impossible to listen to. not sure why this feels too dated vs. timeless
I don't have the knowledge to explain why this feels outdated and simple, but I understand how this album is considered so important. It feels like a playground rhyme compared to modern artists, especially when they do that thing where they take turns saying each word in a sentence. I can see how this is the prelude to, say, Cardi B, but man is it hard to go back in time. I wish I were able to experience this in its time.
80's rap is so unserious and funny listening to it now. Hearing all these synth beats is pretty cool, Its Like That is the clear winner here. I can imagine how ground breaking this was upon release in its era, but it doesnt have the same bite today. Great for a historical look back and to see what would come later.
Ground breaking at the time. Corny and quaint now. And it’s not even the good version of “It’s Like That”!
Here in the future this is as corny as it was once ground-breaking and influential.
Someone summarized this very old school hip hop perfectly: This is highly influential but too simplistic for modern ears. I appreciate the work and respect it and found it to be solid but it can be a hard listen. 6/10.
I'm a little conflicted on this one. I can appreciate what this was when it was, and a few of the beats/background ambiances are tight, but I don't think the overall sound has aged particularly well 40 years out. It feels a bit too rough... a little too bare bones. Still, this needed to exist for better things to come after, so I'll be middle-of-the-road with my rating.
I wanted to get into this more than I did. It just didn’t land. I still have respect for its legacy.
medium aged
Damn, it's so primitive they don't even swear.
2.5
Less refined than their later music but honest in its' presentation, the debut of hard style instantly changed the burgeoning hip hop atmosphere.
I like them but they have better tracks
It’s ok, but do not love nearly as much as Raising Hell. You can kind of tell that it’s an earlier album. The beats on each track feel the same. Not the variety and dynamism of later albums.
Fun but simple rhyming schemes and big boom bap beats. It’s fun but not as fun as their later record we listened to already. Standout track is: “It’s Like That”
Okay. Kind of boring and repeatative.
Not bad
'Rock Box' and 'It's Like That' are good, but everything else sounds so cheap. It's hilarious to read that this was considered to be groundbreaking back in 1984. I'm shocked. This is incredibly generic hip hop. The beats are cheap. The lyrics sound like they took 10 seconds to write. These guys got good eventually, but you wouldn't be able to tell from this.
Obviously a foundational hip hop album that's very raw, I think id have enjoyed this more if I hadn't played raising hell a million times before listening to this album
Completely mid
It’s Tricky to rate this album.
Fun hip hop album, cool to see how far the genre has come since this
As a lifelong hip hop head I respect the elders but the pre-rakim style of rapping and the pre-the chronic style of beats have always sounded dated to me in a way I never got past. Rock box slaps though.
Rating: 3.5/5 | Favorite Track: It's Like That --- Not bad, but definitely my preferred style of hip-hop/rap. Still a pretty enjoyable listen and a very influential album.
Hip-Hop
Just sounds like the Beasty Boys.
Coming into this, the only thing I know about Run DMC is the reality show that Rev Run had back in the early 2000's. Outside of that, I come in with a little bit of bias against this era of hip-hop because I just feel like the 90s is where the genre really evolved into it's potential. I find a lot of 80's rap to be incredibly corny and a little too "lyrical miracle spiritual" for me. We'll see how it goes though! Great start to the record with "Hard Times" being an incredibly poignant song even in 2025. Prices going up and times are hard, everybody is barely making enough money to skate by and feeling the pain of that right now in particular, that track spoke to me. "Rock Box" has a cool guitar inspired beat that reminds me a lot of Eddie Van Halen's guitar work in Michael Jackson's "Beat It", the song outside of that though falls a little flat for me. "Wake Up" is an interesting song about a dream that one of the rappers had about the world being in a state of utopia where nobody had to worry about bad health, bills, and political strife. I also found this track to be incredibly sad for some reason and it weirdly kind of hit me emotionally. Overall, this was an interesting listen that I don't know if I would come back to very much but I appreciate Run DMC's legacy they left behind for modern Rap/Hip-Hop. Standout tracks are "Hard Times", "It's Like That", and "Wake Up".
Is it their best album? No. However, this is an important album - this albm was pointing the way forward for hip-hop when it was still a fledgling genre. Though it has dated there are still a couple of bangers on here. 100% this should be included. Best Tracks: Rock Box; Sucker M.C.'s (Krush-Groove 1); It's Like That
Solidny album. Styl w hip-hopie, który zainspirował sporo innych zespołów, kiedyś słuchałem mnóstwo Beastie Boys i słyszę silne wpływy tego, co robiło Run-D.M.C. Czegoś mi jednak brakowało na dłuższą metę. Miałem wrażenie, jakby chłopaki dopiero szukali swojego brzmienia i bardziej bawili się dźwiękiem i stylem. "Hard Times" i "It's Like That" to dla mnie najmocniejsze kawałki na albumie, wydaje mi się, że to peak tego, co Run-D.M.C. grało. Najlepszym albumem duetu jest dla mnie "Raising Hell", tam jest "Walk This Way" i "It's Tricky", dwa największe hity. Także ciężko mi dać więcej, niż 3, bo jeśli będę słuchał tego zespołu, to raczej nie tego albumu.
Baby rap - so cute <3. But we have an interesting dilemma here. Do we judge a newborn baby for being weaker than a grown person? Yes. 3/5.
This album turned 40 last year. While the beats and synth are almost hilariously primitive, I feel like this is worth a listen for anyone who is into hip-hop. The message is there and it still hits in a certain way.
This is a tough one to rate. On one hand, it’s an absolutely foundational rap album. On the other hand in 2025 it sounds like something 2 12 year olds made with a drum machine they bought at a garage sale. I’ll go right down the middle with a 3. I still enjoy Dj Run and DMC going back and forth but it was a slog at times
3.2 "Its like that" is a banger and wasn't really expecting the positive message on Hard times, thought that was good too.
2.88
51/100
I was lucky enough to see Run DMC in the 90s. It was chaotic. But this album isn't amazing. Except for one song, obviously.
Gonna break out my cardboard and do some handstand spins. 3.5/5.
A little cheesy and uncomplex, sure, but I tend to like the 80s/90s style of hip-hop. I could’ve been paying closer attention; it didn’t leave much of an impression beyond “this is nice enough.”
I give a lot of credit to Run-DMC. This is not my favorite music from them but these tunes definitely inspired the likes of The Beastie Boys and A Tribe Called Quest, two of my favorites in the genre. Run-DMC’s rhymes will get better, but their blend of hip hop and rock was unparalleled at the time. 6/10
I appreciate their efforts in pioneering the rap genre. We’re not getting to Doggy Style or tons of other cool shit without these guys, but man, them 80’s raps are kind or corny. I guess this was amazing way back in the day, but I’m not in any hurry to hear it again anytime soon. 2.5⭐️ rounding up for laying the foundation of what was to come.
Never been a rap fan but hard to deny the influence that this early album in the genre had. The rhymes are clever, and some are pretty funny. There is still a small element of rock here too. Plus this contains none of the violence and misogyny that would come to dominate rap for many years after.
While this album was undeniably important to the development of popular music it only had a few tracks I could see myself putting on again for fun. The transition from rock to hip-hop can be heard in the beats and backing tracks of this album (Rock Box most obviously) with the rock drums sounding really good under their rapping. I do think most of the good songs were in the first half of the album, so even though it was not too long I was ready for it to be over by the end.
This was definitely worth a listen despite not knowing anything substantial about the Hip Hop/Rap genre. This album set the stage for a lot of what was to come.
Super dated sounding. It's a long way from here to Kendrick Lamar. Largely earns its three on the basis of It's Like That.
Not really my jam - but a good listen from a historical perspective.
I hold so much appreciation for these formative albums. I feel like Raising Hell and eventually their contemporaries in Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J are better musically, but this album comes before all of that in time when Sugar Hill Gang and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were first experimenting with this style, Run DMC shows the very foundation that would change the landscape of hiphop forever. Oh and right from the start with Rock Box sampling the guitar riff we saw what would eventually merge the genres together, which has always been a completion of the circle with rock and hiphops ancestral roots in jazz and blues music mixed with developing technologies of the 70's. Turntablism and sampling was a game changer with music and too many people sleep on just how important these albums are even if musically they may seem a lot more primitive. If we consider NWA's Straight Outta Compton the "Nevermind" of hiphop (in that it's an album that changed the landscape of the genre both artistically and commercially), then this album is closer to The Stooge's Fun House or MC5's Kick Out the Jams where you can link back to it as some of the most important albums that inspired the earliest generations of their styles and were already pioneering the definitive style of hiphop in this album years before most of their contemporaries.
I've only heard Raising Hell before but enjoying this so far, always love the old-school shonky electro-y production where you can see the seams. 30 Days is a banger, production is really good and it changes it up from the rest of the album. A solid 3
Legends of Rap music. The early style is dated by today’s standard. But the attitude and fashion resonated with kids around the world. They’re still fresh. Rock Box is still badass.
It reminds me of the movie Psycho. Logically, you know it’s important. But it’s been built on so much and improved on so much that the original is kind of corny. Not their fault, though.
they weren't the groundbreakers, but they were the path to mainstream hiphop as what is known today as rap. laying the roadway to something greater, RIP to Jam Master Jay.
Neutral
Seeing as this was the debut album from Run-DMC and that this was the early days for hip-hop in general, I have to give this a 3 even though it was a fairly boring listen. Most of the beats sounded the same, but at least the lyrics were good.
Better and more innovative than the Beatles
Influential but dated. Standout songs: Rock box Sucker MCs Its like that
The beat on Hard Times is a little hokey, but I low-key love the stomp-snap beat with the low bass and cheesy ass horns. The fading between the left and right channel is a nice channel and done very effectively. It's Like That is a standout. On one hand it sounds like almost every other popular 80s rap song of this era (e.g., It's Tricky). On the other, something about the instrumental is deeper and more nuanced. 30 Days feels like Thomas Dolby meets hip-hop. Goofy as hell, but the lyrics parody a certain consumerism culture that has all but taken over at this point. A man with a guarantee I would believe you if you told me this was revolutionary for the time. Today, however, it plays like soooo many other of the one-hit wonders spawned from this particular era of hip-hop. I can absolutely get down with a few tracks at a time, but the boom-bap + shouting gets a little tiring after a while. Credit where it's due though, production really shines here. This is a mid-to-high 3 for me.
I know I rated the last DMC album as a 5, but that was like the third album we got and I was excited. That said, I really like the duet style rapping where they alternate who is saying the lines. The beats here are relatively basic sounding that don't get me too excited. I would say that their rapping is kinda cheesy as well for some of the topics they rap about. Thinking about a 2 here, but I went back and listened to some of the start again and that saved me.
I Understand that this is the beginnings of Hip hop and Run DMC needs recognition, but I just found this album to be so repetitive. Raising Hell is a way better album, but like I said this was at the beginning so it's important. I just don't need it in my collection.
This is definitely "boom box" hip hop. Which is cool. Its kind of the evolution are early roots of the genre. You can definitely hear what they're going for and the evolution of the sound. It has fun beats, and cool samples. I think its really cool how they created those sounds and mixed them into music like this. This isn't my favorite RUN album. Its dancey and fun, but it doesn't carry the punch that some of the later albums do. The lyrics are good, but kind of cheesy when matched with the music. I still think its good, and definitely influential for all hip hop. Just not my favorite.
For being a pretty early hip-hop album, Run-D.M.C. does it's job pretty well. This is probably one of the earliest hip-hop albums on this project (I believe it is second only to Malcolm Mclaren's Duck Rock in that regard) so it is a pretty basic album especially in it's first half. There are some pretty good songs here however and some weird ones (I'm looking at you, Wake Up) but the good ones are some pretty solid songs. I guess if there is another issue with this album besides it's overly basic nature, I'd say the weird songs do tend to drag for a bit too long which causes their gimmicks to get a little annoying but other than that, This is actually a pretty good early hip-hop album. Best Song: Rock Box Worst Song: Wake Up
Legends of Rap music. The early style is dated by today’s standard. But the attitude and fashion resonated with kids around the world. They’re still fresh. Rock Box is still badass.
Influential and important, but it doesn’t hold up too well.
#457. It's decent, but early hip hop sounds super cheesy now. 3/5: acceptable
Gear: Fostex TH610 Artwork: 🎩🎩🧱 Production (2000 Remaster): 🎧😘🤌 Music: 🗽🕶️🍼🏛️ Rating: 🏙️🏙️🏙️/5
As hip hop goes, it's excellent. I'm just not a big fan of hip hop.
7/10
Influential, fun, and iconic production. It's unquestionable that this style of rap became outdated and kinda washed as rap evolved throughout the years but regardless the punching beats, heavy bass, and charismatic rhyming with no doubt have you bobbing your head even if it's just for a little. All in all it was a fun listen. Top 3 Favorites: Rock Box, Sucker M.C.'s , and It's Like That No bad songs but some songs here and there get repetitive. 3.50/5
The O.G.s!
Finally a rap album that's shorter than a week and a half! And it's a fun, bouncy album, with the banger "It's Like That" as the highlight. Unfortunately, almost all the tracks sound kinda alike, so it won't get more than 3 stars from me, even though it's enjoyable.
It does sound super old, you gotta start somewhere so gotta hand it to em. Will I listen to again: 5%
It seems the further back I go into a genre’s history, the less interested I become. The only situation I have found where this is not the case is with jazz, because most of the genre’s most iconic and influential albums came out between the 50s and the 70s. It’s especially true with rock music, and I found out today that it’s probably true for hip-hop as well. I haven’t had the best track record with some of the genres earliest hits, many of which are considered to be landmark achievements. Unfortunately that trend continues with the debut from Run-D.M.C. I need to preface my thoughts by saying that it can’t be understated how immeasurable the impact this group had is and will always be. Just because I don’t enjoy it that much doesn’t mean that can be taken away from them. This was the genesis point of a whole new world for hip-hop, and it is largely responsible for many albums which I love dearly. In many ways, hardcore hip-hop started here. But we have been beyond spoiled by the massive amount of really well put together and quality albums in the same genre from modern times. And in my mind, this does not hold up well enough to even really compare to its successors. This isn’t a bad record by any means. But from a production and lyrical standpoint, this isn’t even close. It’s an incredibly stripped back version of what we know today, and my bias and personal tastes don’t allow for me to really enjoy this. The delivery and lyrics are incredibly simple. And this was during a time where the beat and the rappers themselves weren’t so 50/50. So there are good chunks of songs on here that are just the instrumental. Which aren’t really good enough to make those parts worthwhile. I think it’s definitely important to hear something like this, especially as someone who enjoys the history of hip-hop. But this isn’t something I would ever want to revisit on my own time. Rating: 5/10
Very fun album, glad I gave it a listen
Hip hop, we go to the park and shake hands. Go to the park and shoot some hoops, doot doodle oop doot doot doot
Simple by today’s metric but the beats and MC chemistry still stand apart. Jam-Master Jay and It’s Like That are the stand-out tracks.
Yeah it's good, obviously good I probably don't like it as much as I thought and it's probably because of the last track. The known songs are good, album tracks are good. It's good. But it's not AMAZING
I was surprised by how much I didn't think it felt aged. Especially comparing it to NWA though I think on a 5 scale its a 3. High 3 vs a low 3 for NWA. Sucker MCs on notice!
could i write poetry to this? y
Although this album debuted a harder, less disco style of Rap Music, the rhymes and cadence are now viewed as typical for the time. The boasting (i.e. "My name is [insert MC name here], and I'm here to say...") and disses ("Sucker MC's") seem innocent and are now frequently mocked. The lone exception is "Rock Box", which began the crossover of Rap and Rock Music. This concept was explored much further on their next album, "King of Rock", which I think is more important record and more deserving to be on this list.
the writing isn't anything special but the production is what is still fresh to this day.
Not my favorite of the old school hip hop records. Very same-y.
This was fun and their back and forth flow is cool, however I have to say it was very samey. The beats were all similar and the flow was the exact same on each song. I get why it's here though and it is a cool album to listen to
Is OK.
Lots of fun, mostly playful lyrics with a few serious songs. Production is funky but barebones. You can definitely hear the roots of what would explode into hip-hop as a whole. Tempo remains the same throughout, but luckily the album is short. An important record, but ultimately not worth a revisit. Favorite song: Rock Box
classic rap
Corny 80s rap just isn't really my thing.
It's run DMC
This sounds so much like a parody of old school hiphop that you forget that these are the guys they are parodying. And while I think they are able to do a lot with very little in terms of sample, inspiring Beastie Boys don't get you too far in my book.
Not as good as raising hell and kinda repetitive
ta weno pero no se escucha dnvo creo
Fuck I miss MCs rapping about rapping and how to spell their names.
Early genre weirdness
Pioneering and fun. Would I ever put this on to just jam out? Probably not, but it’s still cool.
Good album not their best. Still easy to listen to and good old school type rap
Fine. Decent for early 80s rap
Actually really enjoyed this Not my usual listening
3.5 good
My favourite of this era of hip hop but still not quite my thing.
Very dated but super influential
Non malvagio, ma non bello come 'Raising Hell'
3 - I feel like it's super influential, but after a while dragged a little bit. Enjoyed, but not as much as I was hoping to
This might be one of those albums that I think is a very apt inclusion on the list, but not actually a very good album. Hip Hop has come so far from these basic beginnings. The flow is so painfully predictable, the beats are mostly formulaic (save for the interesting Rock Box), and some tracks are just awkwardly devoid of instrumentation. There’s still moments like the aforementioned Rock Box and the iconic It’s Like That, but not an album I’d dive back into. Fave Tracks: Rock Box, It’s Like That 2.7/5
One of the most impactful groups of early hip-hop, no doubt. While I feel their songs don’t hold up quite as well as those by other legends like Eric B. & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, or De La Soul, this album is undeniably a classic. That said, it comes off a bit bland and repetitive for my taste.
I enjoyed this quite a bit, and I really thought I wouldn't They have a great positivity and message, and you can really see why they and the Beastie Boys collaborated so hard in the 80s. It was nice to hear It's Like That in its pure, un-Jason Nevined form.
I’ve reviewed a couple of other Rap albums for this project already. Rap is not my genre of choice, but I enjoyed listening to this. Based on my limited knowledge of Rap in general, it’s hard for me to assign a rating. I did enjoy listening to it, so I think that warrants a 3.5/5, and ill round up to 4
The beats are pretty stripped down and the rapping definitely sounds dated, but you can hear the hard edge here that would inspire the next gen of hip hop. Rock Box is where it's at though, with its big guitar riff underpinning it. A preview of Walk This Way. The single It's Like That is still good. I'm not in a hurry to listen to all this again, but I respect it.
Cool view of the earlier days of rap. I enjoyed it for the most part, but it's not really my style
I thought this was just ok. I don't think I will seek this out again. There were a couple of point where I enjoyed myself but for the most part I just found it to be too silly. Having trouble choosing a 2 or 3 star review - choosing 3 because it was enjoyable overall.
Gitaarstukjes wel lachen, beter dan Wu Tanf
Una buena base ritmica no es suficiente para sostener un disco. Sin ser anglosajón pierde mucho.
Not my fav type of hip hop but the lyrics were kinda creative in this outing.
Pretty good classic hip-hop.
Rock Box and It’s Like That were great, the rest was rather middling
I mean, it's 80s hip-hop. What do you want me to say? I'm just kidding. Apparently if I start my review like that it ends up being more popular than my other reviews. But yes, I do have things to say about this one. For one, Run-D.M.C. is one of the most iconic hip-hop groups of all time, certainly more iconic than some of the other 80s/early 90s hip-hop groups I've gotten. And with this being their debut, I can see why this is here. Although, I would say Raising Hell makes more sense for inclusion. Fortunately, It's also included on the list, so we'll be seeing how good it is later. As for their self-titled debut, I think it's a solid album. It's not amazing or anything, but it's fun and it does the job. It's quite influential in the development of hip-hop, and I can tell. It still sounds a bit dated, but it's better for an album to be a bit dated in the sound department than for it to have aged poorly in the lyrical department. Speaking of which, the writing is similarly fun. I think my favorite song is "It's Like That," which says some good things about society. Some songs do still do that thing early hip-hop groups do where they rap about themselves and their origin story or whatever, but at least these guys do it pretty well. The beats are decently well made. The actually rapping is entertaining. This album's alright. I like it. High 3/5.
own
A classic but maybe not one that’s stood the test of time.
Not my favourite rap / hip-hop album or artist but I respect the shit out of them. Probably remember this more for saving Adidas than anything else. First time proper listen in years.
Great background party music
I used to love this album, but I don’t think it aged all that well for me.
I’m sure this was super fresh back in ‘84 but it does sound pretty basic and repetitive 40 years later. Better things to come.
Dated as hell, but I understand the importance and this is certainly a must-listen for any genre, especially hip-hop.
Hard Times Rock Box Sucker M.C.'s (Krush-Groove 1) It's Like That
Some of it was very repetitive but there were a couple of tunes that I can imagine listening to again.
Wow, this feels like an 80's time capsule. "Cause Calvin Klein's no friend of mine Don't want nobody's name on my behind" Even that is reminiscent of the 80's "Back to the Future" movie! Hip Hop is not my thing, but I do appreciate this for what it was historically and I can listen to a song or two at a time and enjoy it ironically at least. Mostly this sounds like a few guys having fun. "The C's for cool, cool as can be (And why you wear those glasses?) So I can see".
Enjoyed it a lot for the first 15/20mins, but it got samey, fast. By track 8 I forgot it was even still playing. Select parts are decent, I like the sound itself and it’s a record that definitely defines an era. But it aint all my cuppa tea. 2.5
This definitely falls in the 'groundbreaking and influential but not very good by today's standards' category. The other run DMC album we had is much better, the flow is identical on every track here. I understand why you'd have both on the list though seen as this one changed the game. Again, good lads, no hint of gangster rap, much appreciated. But the whole album is a variation one idea. 2.5.
The simplicity of the beats helps to underscore the straightforward lyrics. A relic - however, very listenable. It's Like That, and Rock Box, are the best tracks. 3.5.
Might have been pretty inspirational and important to the genre, but, as a lot of reviews point out, the rapping style doesn't really hold up or stand the test of time. Come a long way in 40 (!) years. Very simplistic compared to some of the artists we have now and which I prefer It's like that is obviously iconic and the standout track. Won't be rushing back. 2.5
Alright I guess
Favorite Track: Rock Box Almost a 2
Groundbreaking rap but sounding a little dated today.