10 Best Hip-Hop Albums Of The 1980s - Ranked

Run DMC is one of the most recognizable brands in hip-hop history, having some of the most legendary iconography with their culture-changing use of edgy fashion and genre-bending sounds. Made up of Jam Master Jay, Joseph "Run" Simmons, and Darryl "DMC" Daniels, the group stared the norms of the genre in the face and decided to blaze their own trail of leather, Adidas, and proud lyricism.

At a time in which the consensus was that hip-hop was a fad, critics were taken off guard with this instant-smash hit that is has one of the most important tracks of musical history with "Walk This Way" which featured rock band Aerosmith and had a prototypical genre-clashing music video that showcased the two groups on stage together for a fan-unifying affair.

Making rounds as a truly spectacular group, the three did not just make music that creatively sufficed, but they also made socially conscious statements on the last two tracks "Son of Byford" and "Proud To Be Black", boasting their intellectual enlightenment and self-awareness of the social injustice and reciprocated self-segregation of the negative urban cultures of the time.

Songs like "It's Tricky" and "My Adidas" were shining examples of how they were able to blend the sounds of rock and rap, and naturally make the two go hand-in-hand with explosive delivery and smooth dialect.

This is them at their best, and upon reaching this level of greatness the three forever etched their name in the annals of hip-hop history with this universally celebrated album.