Legendary Hip-Hop icons Run DMC are teaming up with 12on12 to release a special limited-edition vinyl in tribute their late bandmate DJ Jam Master Jay. The 12on12 deluxe, double disc package is limited to 500 hand-numbered editions.
The ceremonial vinyl will be released on December 8. It contains tracks from all corners of the storied Run DMC discography that helped shape today’s biggest genre. It will focus on songs that inspired, affected and changed the groups groundbreaking music. The release offers a fascinating insight into RUN DMC, one of the most influential groups of all time. Alongside tracks by early rap trailblazers The Sugarhill Gang and Afrika Bambaataa, the group have also highlighted songs that helped form the sonic foundations of the nascent hip hop sound as it emerged and evolved in New York in the early 1980s. The entire tracklist is available to view below, and its worth mentioning that MFSB’s “Love is the Message” and Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express” are both tunes that are rarely licensed for any compilation.
This project has also served as a jumping off point for new and exciting artwork possibilities inspired by the legacy of Run DMC. The unique work of art for the record has been designed by one of the most exciting names on the LA art scene, Reena Tolentino. A visual artist and actor, RT’s work rose to prominence after her acclaimed mural of late basketball icon Kobe Bryant. In addition to providing artwork and portraits of RUN DMC for the project she has also reinterpreted one of the most iconic hip-hop logos of all time with a rework of the classic RUN DMC logo.
To read about the passing of DJ Jam Master Jay, the event that directly inspired this release, read our recent coverage on the two men arrested in connection with the 2002 murder. And in other Run DMC news, they just released a never before heard song with Kobe Bryant earlier this year.
12on12 RUN DMC Limited Edition Vinyl:
Side A
Superrappin’ by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
Seven Minutes of Funk by The Whole Darn Family
Side B
Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force
Trans Europe Express by Kraftwerk
Walk This Way by Aerosmith
Rock Box by RUN DMC
Side C
Apache (Jump On It) by The Sugarhill Gang
Brand Nubian by Brand Nubian
Good Times by Chic
Side D
Love Is the Message by MFSB
The Look Of Love by Kenny G
You Bring Me Joy by Anita Baker