Fans of classic hip hop have good reason to celebrate, with the surviving members of the legendary crew, Run DMC announcing they’ll be breaking their decade-long hiatus to reunite for an American Music Festival.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, best known for classic tunes like “It’s Like That”, “It’s Tricky” and arguably the first rap/rock crossover hit with Aerosmith in “Walk This Way”, will be performing live under the Run DMC live for the first time in ten years.
Gawker reveals that Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels will be coming together once again this November for the annual Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas, in a lineup that thus far includes Against Me!, Lagwagon and Mike Patton’s Tomahawk.
Simmons and McDaniels originally retired the Run DMC name in 2002 after Jam Master Jay, aka Jason William Mizell – the group’s DJ since their formation in the early 80s, was shot and murdered in a recording studio in Queens, New York on October 30, 2002.
Jam Master Jay was tragically shot in the head and killed in the recording studio by an unknown assailant, and much like the cases of Tupac and Biggie, it remains a homicide case that – ten years on – has yet to be solved.
Shortly after his death, Simmons and McDaniels announced they’ d be retiring the Run DMC moniker and that they’d ‘never perform again under that name’ without their friend and DJ. Turns out they ended up eating those words (but they’re not the first).
The duo’s reunion show will also contain solo tracks from DMC’s upcoming solo album, while festival organisers for Fun Fun Fun Fest say they plan to donate some of the proceeds from ticket sales to the JMJ Foundation For Music, which enables youth access to music and arts initiatives.
