Run-DMC - self-titled CD

Run-D.M.C. is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on March 27, 1984, by Profile Records, and re-issued by Arista Records. The album was primarily produced by Russell Simmons and Larry Smith. The album was considered groundbreaking for its time, presenting a tougher, more hardcore form of rap. The album's sparse beats and aggressive rhymes were in sharp contrast with the light, party-oriented sound that was popular in contemporary hip hop. With the album, Run-D.M.C. came to be regarded by music critics as pioneering the movement of new school hip hop of the mid-1980s. Five singles were released in support of it: "It's Like That", "Hard Times", "Rock Box", "30 Days" and "Hollis Crew". The first single from the album, "It's Like That", released on August 10, 1983, expanded lyrical boundaries in rap with its tone of social protest (unemployment, inflation). "It's Like That" is considered by many to be the first hardcore hip hop song, and the first new-school hip hop recording. "Sucker M.C.'s" is one of the first diss tracks, and "Rock Box" is the first song in the rap rock genre.