The king ad hoc, Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels, rolls with life’s impromptu flow
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
TEARS OF A CROWN: Darryl "DMC" McDaniels
DMC & friends. Featuring 5150, Almost Kings. $14-$18. 9 p.m. Fri., July 17. Hard Rock Café, 215 Peachtree St. 404-688-7625. www.hardrock.com.
As hip-hop’s first platinum-selling group, Run-DMC’s place in music history is secure. In April, the group became the second rap act to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, after Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The experience was a singular thrill to Darryl McDaniels, better known as DMC, and brought back memories of the group’s 1985 “King of Rock” video.
“Remember at the beginning where Larry ‘Bud’ Melman stops us at the door and says, ‘You can’t come in here, this is a rock ‘n’ roll museum’?” recalls the 45-year-old MC, who was raised in Queens, New York, but now resides in the New Jersey suburbs. “The week of our induction I found out that when we made that video they didn’t even have a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We were prophetic!”
Though he’ll forever be known for helping to integrate rap music into popular culture through such hits as “My Adidas” and “It’s Tricky,” McDaniels’ life has been full of intrigue since the group’s ’80s heyday. He suffered from a near-suicidal bout of depression in the late ’90s, before re-emerging upon being inspired by Sarah McLachlan’s song “Angel.” He proceeded to buy all of her CDs and collaborated with her on a track off of his 2006 solo debut Checks, Thugs and Rock N Roll.
Continue reading “Run-DMC’s beleaguered Darryl McDaniels won’t stop rockin’ till he retires”
(Photo courtesy Rip City Entertainment)
