"Run-DMC had the same kind of impact on the hip-hop generation that Meet the Beatles had on the rock generation," writes Bill Adler in his liner notes for the new expanded reissue of Run-DMC's 1984 debut. "It announced a new group, a new sound, a new look, and a new attitude all at once. From that moment on, the history of hip-hop has been divided into pre-Run-DMC and post-Run-DMC." That might sound hyperbolic, but the thing is, it's almost an understatement.

The impact of that album, and the three that followed it - 1985's King of Rock, 1986's Raising Hell, and 1988's Tougher Than Leather, all rereleased with a handful of live tracks and demos - was not limited to the hip-hop generation, though the hip-hop generation may have benefited the most. Prior to 1984, before Run, D.M.C., and Jam Master Jay started performing in their street clothes, most rappers dressed like exiles from Rick James's backing band or extras from the original Battlestar Galactica. (Admittedly, this is pretty much the same thing.) Radio finally started playing Run-DMC and their fellow travelers; so did the previously rock-oriented MTV. Hip-hop artists were at long last able to tour all over the country, not just all over New York City.

In short, Run-DMC was the group that started hip-hop on its path toward world domination. Specifically, their cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" brought rap into suburban households previously thought unreachable. An example: Theirs was the first tape I bought to play on the Walkman I received for Christmas 1986, and I lived in a town that was 30 minutes away from anything resembling a city. It didn't matter; "Walk This Way" was undeniable. Soon enough, Run-DMC and King of Rock joined it in rotation, as I learned their own songs were even better: "Rock Box," "Sucker M.C.'s," "My Adidas," and "Can You Rock It Like This?" to name just a few.