Down with the King | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 4, 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1992 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 49:27 | |||
Label | Profile | |||
Producer |
| |||
Run-D.M.C. chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Down with the King | ||||
|
Down with the King is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on May 4, 1993, by Profile Records. The album was produced by Pete Rock, Q-Tip, EPMD, DJ Kay Gee of Naughty by Nature, Jam Master Jay, The Bomb Squad, Daniel Shulman, Run-D.M.C., Chyskills, Jermaine Dupri and Clifton "Specialist" Dillon.
Showcasing their evolving style, this innovative album boasted invited guests, including reggae star Mad Cobra and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello. The album features guest appearances from rappers Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Q-Tip, EPMD and Onyx. Down with the King was generally received more favorably by fans and critics than the group's previous album, Back from Hell .
Thanks to the title track, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA after only two months, July 20, 1993. Down with the King peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard 200, and number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart.
The album features three Billboard singles: "Down with the King", "Ooh, Whatcha Gonna Do" and "Can I Get It, Yo". The title track also hit the UK Singles Chart. [1]
The album was reissued by Arista Records in 1999 and 2003.
With the release of the new album, Run-D.M.C. created a new look: All black Walker Wear outfits, black Timberlands and bald heads. DMC replaced traditional glasses with contact lenses and began to wear around his neck a large black wooden cross. Run started wearing sunglasses. Jay began to wear a designer ski hat by April Walker to cover his own bald head. [2]
The album was recorded and mixed at 9 studios in New York City and at 1 studio in Atlanta ("Can I Get A Witness").
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Calgary Herald | B+ [4] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | B+ [5] |
Entertainment Weekly | B [6] |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 6/10 [8] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
RapReviews | 7/10 [10] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Select | 3/5 [12] |
The Source | 3.5/5 [13] |
The album received positive reviews. Jason Lymangrover from AllMusic said "The new sound is decidedly more fashionable, and their fedoras and Adidas are abandoned here for bald heads and baggy black hoodies to match their new gangsta musical direction; which takes an obvious cue from Onyx (signed to Jam Master Jay's label), whose "Slam" was a platinum hit earlier in 1993." [14]
Rolling Stone gave Down with the King three and a half stars out of five, saying "...straight-faced and ultraconfident, funky and forthright...[the album has] the same infectious enthusiasm and the same in-your-face attitude as Run-DMC's raw earlier classics..." [15]
Entertainment Weekly gave the album "B", saying "...they still manage to sound young, lean, and hungry after 10 years in the rap game...." [16]
Gil Griffin from The Washington Post praised the album by saying:
On "In the House", Run and DMC rap references to their old hits, including "My Adidas", while the rock guitar-powered "Big Willie" makes one long for the power chords and tag-team shouts of 1985's classic cut "King of Rock". But looking forward and taking a cue from Naughty by Nature, Run often raps in a style and speed similar to that group's Treach, with DMC joining him to shout the choruses of "Come On Everybody" and "Can I Get It, Yo", something young hip-hoppers from Das EFX to Fu-Schnickens are doing. And the tempo and chorus of "3 in the Head" make it a dead ringer for the Cypress Hill song "Hand on the Pump". Be it mimicry or tribute to the current hip-hop styles, "Down With the King" boasts expert production, and its consistently up-tempo pace makes it the perfect soundtrack for summer parties". [17]
Two video clips were released on songs from the album: "Down With The King" and "Ooh, Whatcha Gonna Do". The video on the title track, which was directed by Marcus Raboy, many other rappers made cameos, including Eazy-E, Redman, Kris Kross, Jermaine Dupri, Phife Dawg, Onyx, Salt-n-Pepa, KRS-One, EPMD, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, MC Lyte, Kid Capri, Das EFX, P.M. Dawn and Naughty by Nature. [18] Onyx also appeared in the video for the song "Ooh, Whatcha Gonna Do".
The information about samples was taken from WhoSampled. [19]
# | Title | Featuring | Producer(s) | Samples | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Down With The King" | Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth | Pete Rock |
| 5:00 |
2 | "Come On Everybody" | Q-Tip | Q-Tip |
| 4:30 |
3 | "Can I Get It, Yo" | EPMD | EPMD Mr. Bozack (co-producer) |
| 3:30 |
4 | "Hit 'Em Hard" | KayGee |
| 2:52 | |
5 | "To The Maker" | Jam Master Jay | 0:24 | ||
6 | "3 In The Head" | The Bomb Squad |
| 3:29 | |
7 | "Ooh, Whatcha Gonna Do" | The Bomb Squad |
| 3:06 | |
8 | "Big Willie" | Tom Morello | Daniel Shulman and Run-D.M.C. |
| 4:28 |
9 | "Three Little Indians" | Jam Master Jay, Randy Allen, and Chyskills |
| 3:07 | |
10 | "In The House" | Pete Rock |
| 3:37 | |
11 | "Can I Get A Witness" | Jermaine Dupri |
| 3:36 | |
12 | "Get Open" | Onyx | Jam Master Jay and Chyskills |
| 3:52 |
13 | "What's Next" | Mad Cobra | Clifton "Specialist" Dillon | 4:03 | |
14 | "Wreck Shop" | Pete Rock |
| 3:14 | |
15 | "For 10 Years" | Jam Master Jay |
| 0:39 |
Chart (1993) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 [20] | 7 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [21] | 1 |
UK Albums Chart [22] | 44 |
Canadian RPM Albums Chart [23] | 29 |
Year | Single | Chart positions | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [24] | US R&B [25] | US Rap [26] | US Dance Sales [27] | US R-mic [28] | CAN [29] | UK [30] | ||
1993 | "Down with the King" | 21 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 33 | 80 | 69 |
"Ooh, Whatcha Gonna Do" | – | 78 | 21 | 31 | – | – | – | |
"Can I Get It, Yo" | – | – | – | 23 | – | – | – | |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [31] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [32] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Raising Hell is the third studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on May 15, 1986, by Profile Records. The album was produced by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Raising Hell is notable for being the first Platinum and multi-Platinum hip hop record. The album was first certified Platinum on July 15, 1986, before it was certified as 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 24, 1987. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most important albums in the history of hip hop music and culture.
Naughty by Nature is an American hip hop trio from East Orange, New Jersey, consisting of Treach, Vin Rock, and DJ Kay Gee.
"Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album Toys in the Attic (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1977, part of a string of successful hit singles for the band in the 1970s. In addition to being one of the songs that helped break Aerosmith into the mainstream in the 1970s, it also helped revitalize their career in the 1980s when it was covered by hip hop group Run-D.M.C. on their 1986 album Raising Hell. This cover was a touchstone for the new musical subgenre of rap rock, or the melding of rock and hip hop. It became an international hit, reaching number 4 on the Billboard charts and becoming the first hip hop single to reach the top five on the charts, and won both groups a Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap Single in 1987 Soul Train Music Awards. Both versions are in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Onyx is an American hardcore hip hop group from South Jamaica, Queens, New York City, formed in 1988 by Fredro Starr, Suavé and the late Big DS. Sticky Fingaz joined the group in 1991.
Bacdafucup is the debut album by American hip hop group Onyx, released on March 30, 1993, by JMJ Records, Rush Associated Labels and Chaos Recordings. The album was produced by Randy Allen, Chyskillz, Jam Master Jay and Kool Tee.
Tougher Than Leather is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on May 17, 1988, by Profile Records. The album was produced by the group members themselves, Davy D. and Rick Rubin.
Crown Royal is the seventh and final studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on April 3, 2001, by Arista Records. It is the group's only album with a Parental Advisory label, though previous Run-D.M.C albums, such as 1986’s Raising Hell, had included explicit lyrics. All songs except the title track featured guest artists, including Fred Durst, Stephan Jenkins, Sugar Ray, Everlast, Kid Rock, Nas, Prodigy, Fat Joe and Method Man.
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, and re-issued by Arista Records. The album was primarily produced by Russell Simmons and Larry Smith.
The Lords of the Underground (L.O.T.U.G.) is an American hip-hop trio based in Newark, New Jersey. The group is composed of Dupré Kelly, Al'Terik Wardrick and Bruce A. Colston.
King of Rock is the second studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on January 21, 1985, by Profile Records. The album was produced by Russell Simmons and Larry Smith. King of Rock became the first rap album to be released on in CD format, and was the third rap album to be certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album saw the group adopting a more rock-influenced sound, with several tracks prominently featuring heavy guitar riffs. The song "Roots, Rap, Reggae" features Yellowman, and was one of the first hybrids of rap and dancehall.
Back from Hell is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on October 16, 1990, by Profile Records. The album was produced by the group members themselves.
"Hip Hop Hooray" is a song by American hip hop group, Naughty by Nature, released in December 1992 by Tommy Boy Records as the first single from their third album, 19 Naughty III (1993). The song spent one week at number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. It contains samples from "Funky President" by James Brown, "Don't Change Your Love" by Five Stairsteps, "Make Me Say it Again, Girl" by Isley Brothers, "You Can't Turn Me Away" by Sylvia Striplin and "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel. Pete Rock made a remix that samples Cannonball Adderley's "74 Miles Away". It was certified Platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 1,100,000 copies in the United States. The music video for "Hip Hop Hooray" was directed by Spike Lee and filmed in Brooklyn, New York City.
"It's Tricky" is the fourth single released from Run-DMC's third album, Raising Hell. It was released early in 1987 through Profile Records and was co-produced by Rick Rubin and the group themselves. The song peaked at No. 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 21 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In the UK, the song reached No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart.
One is the third solo album by jazz keyboardist Bob James. It was an important album in the early smooth jazz genre and is famous for its end track, "Nautilus", which became important to hip hop as one of the most sampled tracks in American music.
"Down with the King" is the first single from Run-DMC's sixth studio album of the same name. It featured artists Pete Rock & CL Smooth, with Pete Rock producing the song.
"Ooh, Whatcha Gonna Do" is the second single released from Run–D.M.C.'s sixth studio album, Down with the King. It was produced by legendary production team, The Bomb Squad. In the United States, the song peaked at number 78 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 21 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
American hip hop group Naughty by Nature have released seven studio albums, two compilation albums and eighteen singles.
"Slam" is a song by American hip hop group Onyx. It was released on May 11, 1993 by JMJ Records and Rush Associated Labels as the second single from Onyx's debut album, Bacdafucup. The song introduced slamdancing into hip-hop.
The following is a comprehensive discography of Run-DMC, an American hip hop group.
Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens New York City, formed in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip hop music and helped usher in the golden age of hip hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.