Run-D.M.C.-Peter Piper

I can't let 80's week go by without some Run-D.M.C...

Early hip hop took its cues from disco and funk. The on-stage costumes (fur vests, rhinestones and big boots) were just as funny as the stuff the glam rockers were wearing. That all changed when Run-D.M.C. came along in their black hats and laceless Adidas (a nod to prison inmates who aren't allowed laces). More importantly, their beats and lyrics were head and shoulders above anything being put out by Africka Bambaataa, Gandmaster Flash, etc. They took the cheese out of the backing tracks and made record scratching sound heavy.

Raising Hell was one my favorite albums in elementary school. Its success obviously had a lot to do with MTV and videos for Walk This Way and It's Tricky, but this song was, and still is, the standout track for me. The lyrics play off of nursery rhymes, which was probably what first drew me in as a little kid. The sparse beats are what make it though. I love those bells and Jam Master J's scratch breaks are just awesome.