Raising Hell

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Music videos Official videos via YouTube

Raising Hell is the third album by Hollis, Queens trio Run-DMC, released by Profile Records in May 1986 and produced by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. It is the record that proved hip hop could sell like rock and roll, and it still sits near the top of every list of essential rap albums.

The story

Run, DMC and Jam Master Jay cut the album at Chung King Studios in New York, finishing it in roughly three months from material they had sharpened on the road. The singles tell the story of its reach: “My Adidas” turned a sneaker into an anthem, “It’s Tricky” and “You Be Illin'” kept the humor sharp, and the remake of “Walk This Way” with Aerosmith became the first rap-rock crossover to land big on the charts and on MTV.

Sound and production

The production is famously lean: booming drum machine patterns, Jam Master Jay’s cuts and hard rock guitar, with the three voices trading lines like a live show. DMC has said the group drove most of the creative work even though Simmons and Rubin carry the production credit.

Charts and certifications

Raising Hell peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and became the first hip hop album to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart. It went platinum about two months after release and is certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA.

Legacy

The Library of Congress added Raising Hell to the National Recording Registry in 2017, the “Walk This Way” single entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014, and Rolling Stone ranked the album No. 209 on its 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.