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KEYNOTE: REV RUNInterviewed by Matt PinfieldSeptember 15, Avery Fisher Hall - Lincoln Center: 11 a.m. It has been a long road for Reverend Run. From the basements of his Queens, New York homeland where he once spun records as Kurtis Blow's DJ to performing in front of worldwide audiences as a premier rapper, this pioneer has seen more than most. As one-third of Run-DMC, the hip-hop group that changed the sound of rap by simultaneously being more street and rock 'n' roll than their contemporaries, Run-DMC emerged on the scene with boom box classic single "Sucker MCs" in 1983 and never looked back. Dressed in their trademark black hats, outfits to match and strangely laced Adidas sneakers, Run-DMC swaggered onto the stage of America's collective consciousness, determined to make rap music more than a street soundtrack for folks in the hood. Indeed, the harder the beats and attitude the deadly trio laced in the grooves, the more suburbia wanted to be down with these kings. Managed by Run's brother, Russell Simmons, the awe-inspiring Run-DMC defined a new level of Black cool for the world. With a sonic canon that includes their self-titled debut disc, as well as King of Rock, Raising Hell and Tougher Than Leather, the illustrious group stayed at the top of the pop charts for most of the '80s. Although they stopped recording in 1999 with the release of their last disc, Crown Royal, Run-DMC has never become irrelevant in the eyes of the Hip-Hop Nation. On his new solo album, Distortion he first release on the newly formed Russell Simmons Music Group (RSMG) Run says, "I didn't play anything for Russ until I recorded eight songs. When he did finally hear the tracks, he started sweating and almost fainted. Then he screamed, 'My brother's still got it!' While Run now spends the majority of his time with building the foundations of his church and family, working closely with big bro Rush at Phat Farm and taping his television show, Run's House, he started feeling the urge to once again verbalize in the studio. Producer Whiteboy, a virtual unknown, was recruited to work with Run. "I really wanted to create something hot for a man who was one of my rap heroes," says Whiteboy, who produced the majority of Distortion. "Watching Run work in the studio was an amazing experience. There was not a lot of fooling around because Run knew exactly what he wanted. Run and I would be in the studio from 11 to 4. Run would come in, do his job well, then leave." Dropping textual jewels about his late friend Jam Master Jay on the touching " Home Sweet Home," Run samples the country bumpkin funk of Lynyrd Skynyrd to create a beautiful autobiographical song of their life together. "Jay was the kind of dude who would give you his last dime," Run says. "I was determined to create a song that would enrich the man's legacy." "Run-DMC knocked open the doors to commercial freedom for the rap generation," stated Russell Simmons. "Their very best efforts were big in the streets and were ahead of their time when it came to the mainstream." WWW.REVRUN.COM |
 
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