Run-D.M.C.

Without question the single most important group in hip-hop's colorful history, Queens trio Run-D.M.C. have influenced practically everyone who came after them. Breaking barriers in both sound and sales, their charismatic flows and ground-breaking production took the music industry by storm, turning an entire generation on to the magic of rap music. From their first single in 1983, "It's Like That" b/w "Sucker MC's," their distinctive style put them in high regard with fans and fellow artists alike. Jam Master Jay sets the pace with raw, in-your-face drum beats and fierce scratching, while Run and D.M.C. unleashed aggressive and boastful tag-team rhymes destined to become classic. They truly were "kings from Queens," taking hip-hop to MTV and international stadium tours at a time when many critics still fronted on the genre's validity. Between 1984 and 1990 they released six full albums, appeared in two major films, and churned out a slew of incredible singles. "Peter Piper," "It's Tricky," and "My Adidas" continue to move crowds to this day, while the tracks "Rock Box," "King of Rock," and "Walk This Way" were the first to combine Hard Rock and rap, predating today's chart-topping Rapcore acts. They took a few years off and came back hard with Down With The King (1993). In 1999, they released their seventh and final LP Crown Royal. Three years later, on October 30th, 2002, Jam Master Jay was shot and killed in his Queens recording studio, and like Biggie, Tupac, Big L, etc. the murderer has never been caught. In the fall of 2005, Run released his first ever solo album Distortion, and launched an MTV reality show called Run's House.