"DMC" has been added to your list of bookmarked artists
close
DMC
Biography
He's one-half of the pioneering Run-D.M.C., a trio who broke nearly every boundary for hip-hop and sold millions of records along the way. Born May 31, 1964, in Harlem but raised in Hollis, Queens, Darryl "D.M.C." Matthews McDaniels became fascinated with hip-hop the moment he heard Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. He first learned to DJ and went through a couple different monikers (Grandmaster Get High, Easy D) before he settled on DMC. His childhood friend Joseph "Run" Simmons convinced him to switch to rapping since mutual friend Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell was already proving himself behind the turntables. The three formed Run-D.M.C. in 1982, released their self-titled, debut album in 1984, landed the first hip-hop track on Billboard's Top Ten singles charts with their Aerosmith collaboration "Walk This Way," and maintained a dedicated following well into the '90s.

It was during a 1997 tour that DMC became unglued, going as far as to consider suicide. Run-D.M.C. was going through creative differences and DMC was dealing with spasmodic dysphonia, a voice disorder characterized by involuntary movements of the larynx's muscles. A song he heard on the radio, Sarah McLachlan's "Angel," saved him.
Selected Discography