Run-D.M.C. is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on March 27, 1984, by Profile Records. The album was produced by Russell Simmons and Larry Smith. It was considered groundbreaking for its time, presenting a tougher, more hardcore form of hip-hop. The album's sparse beats and aggressive rhymes were in sharp contrast with the light sound that was popular in hip hop at the time. Run-D.M.C. peaked at number 53 on the Billboard 200, and number 14 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. The album became the first rap album which was certified as Gold by the RIAA (December 17, 1984). The album features five the Billboard singles: "It's Like That", "Hard Times", "Rock Box", "30 Days" and "Hollis Crew". The first single from this album, "It's Like That", released on August 10, 1983, opened a new page in the history of hip-hop with a tone of social protest (unemployment, inflation). "It's Like That" is judged by many to be the first hardcore rap song, and the first new school hip-hop recording. "Sucker M.C.'s" is one of the first diss tracks, and "Rock Box" is the first song in the rap rock genre. With Run-D.M.C., Run-D.M.C. came to be regarded by music critics as pioneering the movement of new school hip hop of the mid-1980s. In 1989, the album was ranked number 51 on Rolling Stone'''s list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s. In 2003, the album was ranked number 240 on Rolling Stones list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, with the ranking changing to numbers 242 and 378 in the 2012 and 2020 updates of the list, respectively. The album was reissued by Arista Records in 1999 and 2003. An expanded and remastered edition was released in 2005 and contained 4 previously unreleased songs. Background The music on the album was created by Larry Smith's group Orange Krush using the drum machine Oberheim DMX and Jam Master Jay's scratches mixed in a guitar riff. The album is dedicated to the memory of DJ June Bug (1958 - 1983) - one of the greatest DJs in the world who worked as a DJ in the Bronx at the club Disco Fever, selling drugs at the same time. Impact of "Rock Box"Run-D.M.C.'s second listed track, "Rock Box", which was released as the album's third single on April 16, 1984, is credited