Pantheon
Live
Pantheon launches April 2026 — Hip Hop Top 100 voting opens now.·Pantheon launches April 2026 — Hip Hop Top 100 voting opens now.·
← Back to Top 50 Hip Hop Artists of All Time
Music1981– · 3 Members

Run-DMC

Hollis, Queens trio who brought hip-hop into the mainstream with rock-rap fusion, the Adidas deal, and Walk This Way — making them the first rap group on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Origin
Hollis, Queens, New York
Genre
Hip-HopRap
Run-DMC

The Collective

3 Members · Founded 1981 · Hollis, Queens, New York

NameRoleYears ActiveProfile
DJ RunFounding MemberMC1981–PresentView →
DMCFounding MemberMC1981–PresentView →
Jam Master JayFounding MemberDJ1981–2002View →

Members with individual Pantheon profiles are linked above.

Pantheon Standing

List NameRankCombined
Top 50 Hip Hop Artists of All Time#1862.3

The Cultural Record

Discography

C
Crown Royal2001
Peter Piper / Walk This Way / My Adidas / Christmas In Hollis
Peter Piper / Walk This Way / My Adidas / Christmas In Hollis1987
EP & Mixtape
T
Tougher Than Leather1988
D
Down With the King1993
H
Hard Times2009
EP & Mixtape

Rank History

Voting Active

Ranking history for Run-DMC will appear here as votes are cast and positions shift over time.

Often Compared To

RZA

#2

Hip-Hop / Rap — Staten Island, New York · 1992–present

Staten Island MC, producer, and architect of the Wu-Tang Clan whose dusty soul samples and martial arts mythology created one of hip-hop's most distinctive sonic universes.

Salt

#3

Hip-Hop / Rap — Brooklyn, New York · 1985–present

Co-founder of Salt-N-Pepa whose commanding delivery helped pioneer female-led hip-hop and push conversations about female sexuality into the mainstream.