(Run-D.M.C.)
As the first hip-hop group to go platinum, Run-D.M.C. went from playing stadiums to barely filling clubs. To add insult to ego-bruise, McDaniels had a crippling alcohol and Burger King addiction at the time and could barely fit into his Adidas track suit.
This wasn’t just the worst show of my life, but the worst period in my creative and personal life. We called our 1990 album Back from Hell, but I was still in hell. That record came out and nobody cared. We were still getting booked because of the Run-D.M.C. name, so we went on a little tour to promote it. We weren’t playing the big venues anymore. We were playing clubs, and some nights would be five hundred seats. It was just a two-week run, and most of the promoters were booking us because they were fans, not because the demand was there. We rented a van, and with Jam Master Jay’s DJ setup trailing behind in a U-Haul, we were all crammed in that thing. It was me, Run, Jay, our road manager, and a couple homies all packed in together, playing to basically empty clubs. We were Run-D.M.C. man. It was crazy!
From 1990 to 1993, we were playing to fucking empty clubs. Some nights we wouldn’t even go on because the promoter couldn’t pay us. Some nights we’d get the cash up front and play to twelve people. What happened was that instead of us just being us, we were trying to be something else. Hip-hop had changed, and with Jay being the flavor of the group, he started incorporating that New Jack Swing into it. R&B and hip-hop used to be separate. You’d have Keith Sweet and those guys in one corner, holding their own. New Jack melded all that together, and I couldn’t stand it. It got to the point where every R&B record had to have a goddamn guest rapper. It’s my opinion, but that shit is corny. Look at the damn cover of Back from Hell! Look at that shit! I’ve got on fucking checkered pants! We were not a tight unit: Run was a family man, I was running around drinking, and Jay was more concerned with his label JMJ records and trying to stay cool and hip. Jay was able to adapt to trends, but me and Run were clueless. Instead of just being Run-D.M.C., we were trying to conform to the trends, and it ruined us.
I look back at that time, and people will say, “D, it wasn’t that bad.” I say, “Motherfucker, it was worse!” We did a video for the song “Pause.” The song wasn’t that bad because it had that Run-D.M.C. energy. But in that video, Jay had me wearing a green and purple suit, doing the fucking running man dance. The last thing Run-D.M.C. should ever do is dance. It’s fucking embarrassing! It was New Jack Swing, which had stolen hip-hop from us, and I fucking hated it. Motherfuckers wasn’t coming out to check us doing that shit! The Beastie Boys went back to instruments in 1992 with Check Your Head. They evolved, kept making Beastie records, and didn’t let trends influence them. We forgot about our influences and totally bugged out.
We had a song called “The Ave.” It was us trying to tap into gangsta rap. Again, it just wasn’t us. We weren’t the Geto Boys, and it was so phony. I knew shit was going wrong when Jay was telling me what to write about. They had me rhyming about crack and hustling. I don’t do that! It sounded like a bad Chuck D or Ice Cube knockoff. I’m rapping about a 9mm and shit, when I want to rhyme about my new Gazelle shoes.
It was also the height of my alcoholism. During the day, I was drinking a case of forty-ounce Olde English. Not two or three either. I was so alcoholic I was buying that shit by the case. I put a refrigerator in the back of my monster truck so I wouldn’t have to stop at the grocery store when I was drunk. Until I went to rehab and got sober in 2004, all of that drinking was just suppressing how I really felt. On top of my group falling apart, I was fucking depressed. I was drinking so much that I didn’t even know I was depressed. When Down with the King dropped, I wanted to commit suicide! Life was good, the album was pumping, but I didn’t want to do it no more. I was so fucked up that I couldn’t even enjoy it. I was depressed since the ’80s but didn’t know it.
I was drunk and up to 240 pounds. Burger King became my favorite place in the world. I would order three triple cheeseburgers, a large fry, and large onion rings, because Burger King has the best onion rings. Then I’d get a fucking large orange soda and a large vanilla shake, which was all on top of the case of forties I was drinking. I would demolish it all in one sitting, and this was just during the day! At night, I was going out drinking rum and Cokes and fuzzy navels. You can drink that shit forever and not feel anything until later. I hate seeing pictures from that time, because I’m alcohol-bloated and huge.
Our saving grace came in 1993 with Down with the King and Pete Rock, who was killing at the time. With him as producer, we were back as the baddest motherfuckers around. The cool thing about Pete Rock was Down with the King did for Run-D.M.C. what “Walk This Way” did for Aerosmith. It put us back, man! We got back on MTV and the charts. We got back on the road and were opening for A Tribe Called Quest and Naughty by Nature, and back to kicking ass. I love Pete Rock. He saved my life. Funny story about Aerosmith. We were recording “Walk This Way” together. Rick Rubin wanted both of us there at the same time, not laying down separate tracks. When we first showed up to the studio and saw the band, me and Run said, “Oh shit, the Rolling Stones actually showed up!”
The whole thing came together so quick that we didn’t know any better. I didn’t know nothing about Aerosmith. Steven was very nice and said, “No, those are the other guys. We’re Aerosmith.” When the video came out on MTV, our fans were saying, “What the hell is Run-D.M.C. doing with the Rolling Stones?” I didn’t even know their song was called, “Walk This Way.” We’d just tell Jay, “Get out Toys in the Attic and play track four.” We only knew that guitar riff. But those guys were cool in the studio and shooting the video. It was a culture clash, but we all were respectful and got along great. We didn’t see any drug use, even though they’ve said that they fell off the wagon around that time.
When we got back on track, and back to doing what we do, Tupac and Biggie didn’t want to close for us. We were opening, but they felt bad about headlining. The promoter said to us, “Help me out. Tupac doesn’t want to close.” Me, Run, and Jay had to go in the dressing room and tell Pac, “We’re very flattered, but you hear that crowd out there? They’re here for you. This is your time.” Pac said, “The only reason I’m gonna close the show is because Run-D.M.C. told me to.” We did a few shows with Biggie and he said, “Ain’t no way I’m going on after you guys!” Big and Pac wanted their audience to see where hip-hop comes from. It was about respect, and that was very honorable of them.
The moral of my story is stick to what you do. Evolve and innovate, but stay true to who you are.