Run-DMC's Darryl 'DMC' McDaniels
Run-DMC's Darryl 'DMC' McDaniels insists old school hip hop "blows away" anything around today.
The 49-year-old rapper believes De La Soul, LL Cool J and his own group - also made up of his rapping partner Joseph 'Run' Simmons - produced far better records in the 1980s than any of the music around nowadays because the industry wasn't so focused on adhering to commercialisation back then.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "Hip hop was always about the relationship to the listener, regardless of where you come from, where you live, how old you are. People say, 'Man, I can play these old school records right now. De La Soul, Run-DMC, LL Cool J, it blows away all this new stuff.'
"Because what we did is we never let the feeling of what we represented be diluted by the commercialisation of the culture."
The 'It's Tricky' hitmaker believes many of his group's tracks remain "relevant" in today's industry and he particularly found that when he recently collaborated with DJ A-Trak on a new version of the group's 1986 hit 'My Adidas'.
He added: "It was awesome working with A-Trak. It was crazy cus he is one of the best DJs of this era. The funny thing is, A-Track said what he felt from the record, as a DJ, is still relevant from the first day that he heard it.
"We made that record over 26 years ago but the sound, the delivery, the elements of that record are still relevant to this generation."
Run-DMC and A-Trak collide for a new global adidas Originals campaign #Unitealloriginals which includes a remix of Run DMC's 'My Adidas' track www.adidas.com/unite
Tagged in LL Cool J