Source: Rob Kim / Getty
As Hip-Hop pioneers, Run-DMC’s legacy is undeniable and New York City is cementing it further by giving the group its own day.
Through a press release, it was announced that New York City Mayor Eric Adams bestowed Rev. Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels with a proclamation declaring an official “Run-DMC Day”, which will forever be celebrated on August 9th. The news comes as the Hollis, Queens group was feted with the Run-DMC Pop-Up Celebration by Adidas Originals. The group made the news public through their Instagram page.
“Coinciding with the group’s Friday (August 11th) return to headline the Hip Hop 50 Live Concert, the pop-up gives fans access to merchandise from Barriers Worldwide and the Crate NY in addition to coolers in partnership with Igloo and other Run-DMC novelty merchandise items,” the press release also stated, taking time to acknowledge the group’s longstanding partnership with Adidas. The pop-up will run through August 12th at Bleecker Street Trading in Manhttan.
The honor comes as the group is fresh off of their sensational performance at the Rock The Bells Festival at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York last Saturday. They will also be performing at the Hip Hop 50 Live concert to be held at Yankee Stadium, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the culture since the first jam held by DJ Kool Herc at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in The Bronx in 1973. It adds to a run some believed to be their final one, as DMC had stated before in an interview with Rock The Bells that the group would take its final onstage bow this past April.
“Run-DMC is over,” he said at the time. “The only way Run-DMC gets back together is if The Beatles get back together. Can that happen?” He continued: “The final show that we are ever going to do is going to be at Madison Square Garden in April. It’s going to be the last episode of the documentary we’re doing. Run-DMC’s last show ever. ‘Cause it’s time for Run to go be Paul McCartney and me to be John Lennon. We done did what we could do.”
McDaniels and Simmons, along with the late Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell, forever shaped Hip-Hop culture with their debut album in 1983. Attaining superstardom, the group was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award from the Grammy Awards in 2016.
