King of Rock Established Hip-Hop’s Modern Blueprint and Mainstream Currency: 1985 Run-D.M.C. Album Bristles with Purpose, Energy, and Intensity

Run-D.M.C. leaves no doubt about its intent on King of Rock. The trio’s hard-hitting sophomore album begins with a statement of purpose (“Rock the House”) that serves as a stereophonic primer for the title track: a hybrid warning-anthem-theme song that swarms with justified boasts, heavy metal riffs, booming beats, cowbell accents, and dance-worthy grooves. The back-to-back tunes set the tone for a 1985 record that largely established the blueprint for the hip-hop that would follow for the next two decades — and which helped make rap a mainstream currency. “It’s not Michael Jackson/ And this is not Thriller,” the group broadcasts early on in the record. Truer words — and music recorded with such honesty, pride, rawness, and integrity — have seldom been committed to tape.

Sourced from the original master tapes and featuring insightful new liner notes, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g SuperVinyl 33RPM LP and hybrid SACD are the definitive-sounding versions of this monumental recording. These reissues represent the first time this platinum album has been presented in audiophile quality. Benefitting from superb definition and open dynamics, King of Rock now plays with a clarity, immediacy, punchiness, and directness on a visceral level that matches the artistry, urgency, and intellect of the trio’s material. These collectible editions invite you to turn up the volume and experience the dynamic, raw, and invigorating sound that took hip-hop’s streetwise aesthetic to the charts without making any compromises. All hail the king.