| "Rock Box" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Run-D.M.C. | ||||||||||
| from the album Run-D.M.C. | ||||||||||
| Released | April 16, 1984 | |||||||||
| Format | Cassette single | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||||||||
| Genre | Hip hop, rap rock | |||||||||
| Length | 5:33 | |||||||||
| Label | Profile | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Darryl McDaniels Joseph Simmons Jason Mizell |
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| Producer | Jam Master Jay Eddie Martinez Russell Simmons Larry Smith |
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| Run-D.M.C. singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Rock Box" is a 1984 hit single by Run-D.M.C.. It is the third single from their self-titled debut album, originally released through Profile Records, Inc. The heavy rock guitar riff and solos are original compositions performed by Eddie Martinez, also seen playing the electric guitar in the music video. DJ Jam-Master Jay programmed the song's hip-hop beat. The single reached #26 on the Hot Dance Club Songs[1]
"Rock Box" was the first rap video to be aired on MTV, premiering in 1984.
The video features a nonsensical monologue at the beginning by Professor Irwin Corey, supposedly giving a history of Rap Music. The rest of the video consists of the group performing at Danceteria, a famous New York punk club.
"Rock Box" was also the first video produced by the group.
The song was featured on the fictional pirate radio station Wildstyle on the "Vice City" chapter of the Grand Theft Auto series. Satirizing R&B's use of old rap beats, its instrumental was used in Chris Rock's song "Champagne." "Rock Box" was also used in an episode of Everybody Hates Chris, in which the main character and his principal are snowed in at school. The song appears in Shaun White Snowboarding. Rapper Mac Dre uses a similar bassline on his track "Let's All Get Down" from The Best of Mac Dre II. The beginning words "Run, Run" have been sampled by many artists, including The Pharcyde's "Runnin." Run-D.M.C. also samples the line in many of their later albums. It was also used in a 1984 episode of Soul Train.
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