(AllHipHop News) Run-DMC is considered one of (if not the) greatest Hip-Hop groups of all time and is often credited as the foundation of rap music crossing over to a larger audience. When you have those credentials on your résumé, your voice on the culture is seen as valuable.
Founding member Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels spoke with Access Atlanta, and the Hip-Hop icon provided his thoughts about where the culture is now.
“What bugs me about Hip-Hop is that we created it to go against everything that is on MTV and BET today,” said DMC. “The real gangsta rap told a story and said, ‘Shorty, you can do something better than that’.”
When asked about recent deaths and health scares involving Hip-Hop artists, DMC points out that the culture has 40 years of experience to look back on for guidance but does not do so.
“The problem is this, we don’t learn from the lessons that have been put forth to us from the generations preceding. We are not being responsible, and the people who want to be responsible are afraid because they don’t get no support,” stated the 48-year-old veteran.
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DMC also addressed what he felt was a lack of respect by the Hip-Hop media when fellow legendary group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five became the first Hip-Hop act to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.
“I was kind of disappointed in the culture of Hip-Hop. Grandmaster Flash was the first group to be inducted into the Rock Hall, and people did not celebrate it,” said the Rock Hall of Famer. “When the press came knocking [for our induction], I said, ‘Before you come talk to me, you need to talk to Grandmaster Flash.’ Magazines like the Source, XXL … they should have been the front cover. I’m happy that we’re in, but I’m not happy about how my people handled them.”
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