March 27, 1984: Run-D.M.C. release their self-titled debut album. Officially, the album title has the periods. Usually, the groups name is printed without them: "Run-DMC."
The album was recorded at Greene Street Recording, at 112 Greene Street in Manhattan's SoHo. (A clothing store is now on the site.) It has 9 songs, most of them written, or at least co-written, by the group's members: Joseph Simmons, a.k.a. "Run"; Darryl McDaniels, a.k.a. "DMC"; and the rappers' disc jockey, or "deejay"/"DJ," Jason Mizell, a.k.a. "Jam Master Jay." All of them were 19 years old at the time of the album’s release. Run's brother, Russell Simmons, and Larry Smith produced the album.
Three of the songs would be included in the film Krush Groove. One was "Hollis Crew," named for the group's neighborhood in Queens, New York City. One was "Sucker M.C.'s," meaning a reference to a rapper, or "Master of Ceremonies," who believes himself to be considerably better than he is. It's considered one of the earliest "diss tracks" (short for "disrespect") in hip-hop music.
The other song in the movie, performed in it by the group themselves, was their 1st single, "It's Like That." Not only did the phrase enter the larger cultural lexicon, but the song is regarded by rap fans as the demarcation line between "old school" and "new school" rap. (Terms that, after 40 years, would seem to have lost their meaning.)
Two of the songs' titles referenced Jay: "Jam-Master Jay" and "Jay's Game." The album also included "Rock Box," "Wake Up," "30 Days," and a cover of Kurtis Blow's "Hard Times."
Run-D.M.C. becomes the 1st rap album to sell over 500,000 copies, making it the 1st rap release -- single or album -- to be certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with a Gold Record.
Rapper-turned-actor Ice-T has said, "It's the first rap album that broke big, which paved the way for everybody into being able to make rap albums, not just singles." It routinely ends up on lists of Top Albums of the 1980s, and Top Rap Albums of All Time. And Run-DMC became the rap act in New York, the one against whom all to follow would measure themselves, from LL Cool J to the Notorious B.I.G. to Wu-Tang Clan.
In 2007, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five became the 1st rap act elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2009, Run-DMC became the 2nd. Sadly, Jam Master Jay was unable to enjoy it: He was murdered in 2002. It would take until 2020 for anyone to be arrested for it. (UPDATE: In 2024, convictions were finally reached.)
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March 27, 1984 was a Tuesday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 10 games played in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks beat the Dallas Mavericks, 97-88 at Madison Square Garden. Bill Cartwright led all scorers on the night with 38 points.
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 106-103 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Washington Bullets, 106-93 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 97-78 at The Omni in Atlanta.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls, 111-83 at the Chicago Stadium.
* The Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets, 140-137 at The Summit in Houston. (It has been converted into the "Central Campus" of Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.
* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors, 117-116 in overtime at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the San Diego Rockets, 116-109 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
* The Utah Jazz beat the Kansas City Kings, 110-106 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.
* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat their arch-rivals, the Seattle SuperSonics, 93-87 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.
And there were 5 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Islanders beat the Montreal Canadiens, 7-0 at the Nassau Coliseum. Brent Sutter was the only Islander to score 2 goals.
* The Boston Bruins beat the Quebec Nordiques, 6-4 at the Colisée de Québec.
* The Hartford Whalers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).
* The Edmonton Oilers beat their arch-rivals, the Calgary Flames, 9-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary. Wayne Gretzky had 2 goals and 2 assists, Mark Messier had 2 goals, and Jari Kurri and Kevin McClelland each had a goal and 2 assists.
* And the Winnipeg Jets and the Los Angeles Kings played to a 3-3 tie at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
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