Run-D.M.C.
"Crash through walls / Cut through floors / Bust through ceilings and knock down doors." That's exactly what Run-D.M.C. did. Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell turned their lo-tech approach into a dominant cultural force soon after debuting in 1981, ultimately warranting the title of the most influential rap/hip-hop artists of all time. The trio from Queens, New York, became the first rap act ever played on MTV, the first to land on the cover of Rolling Stone, the second inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the first to earn a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
"In 1984, Lou Reed fell in love with us. So he had us open one of his shows in New York City, downtown in the Village somewhere. So we go out onstage -- and we only had (the single) 'Rock Box'; 'King of Rock' wasn't even made. We had 'Here We Go,' 'It's Like That' and 'Sucker M.C.'s.' So we just want to rock, and we go out there and start this show. For the 20-minute set that we had, I would say 20 percent of the crowd was booing. I'm talking, 'BOOOOOO.' Middle fingers up. 'Boo. Boo. Boo.'
"Once the boos started, we was about to walk offstage. But then we thought we'd just try to have some fun. It was very miserable being up there. We finish the show, dejected. Lou Reed takes the stage and says, 'Before I start my show, I would like to address all you people who was booing.'
"Then he goes into this dialogue about, 'You booing these guys, you might as well boo me. Because outside of all these Hollywood pop disco people, whatever, I see myself as them.'
"Then he started explaining, 'Why do you think Blondie made "Rapture?" Why do you think Afrika Bambaataa can come down? Why do you think hip-hop can go to Europe right now?'
"It was almost like he was scolding his own people for booing us. He saw our attitude, our confidence. 'I'm the king of the world.' The mashup of all the music we was using. He basically said, 'This is what I was when I first started playing this guitar. Why you going to boo? This is rock and roll.'
"Ever since that day, it was a badge of honor I wore: 'Lou Reed defended me one day.' When we used to do our first early shows, The Ramones showed up at every show. Lou Reed showed up at every show. All the punk rockers in the CBGB scene showed up at every show. Recently, I was with Chuck D when he got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There was Dave Grohl, John Fogerty, Chris Cornell and all these guys. Grohl was like, 'Yo, me and Kurt (Cobain) never missed a PE or Run-D.M.C. show when it came to Seattle. I was like, 'Wow.'"
- Daryl DMC McDaniels, Run-D.M.C.