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50 free Run-DMC trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Run-DMC took hip-hop out of the park jam and into the stadium, wearing black fedoras, gold chains and unlaced Adidas. This quiz covers the whole run: three friends from Hollis, Queens, Russell Simmons and Profile Records, the stripped-down beats of Rock Box and Sucker M.C.s, the first gold and platinum rap records, King of Rock, and the Rick Rubin sessions that produced Raising Hell. It also covers the crossover and the tragedy: My Adidas and the million-dollar endorsement, the Walk This Way cover that revived Aerosmith and broke rap onto MTV and the pop charts, Live Aid and Krush Groove, Christmas in Hollis, DMC's adoption and Sarah McLachlan, Rev Run's ministry, Jam Master Jay's JMJ Records and 50 Cent, his 2002 murder and the convictions that finally came in 2024, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Easy questions ask where they were from and what shoes they wore; the expert tier asks for producers, chart positions and dates. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on Run-DMC, Raising Hell, Walk This Way, Jam Master Jay and related pages, and the supporting sentence is attached to each question. If you like this, try our quizzes on hip-hop, Aerosmith and the 1980s.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which New York City neighbourhood was Run-DMC formed?
Hollis, Queens
All three members grew up there and named a Christmas song after it.
Q 02In which year was Run-DMC formed?
1983
They signed with Profile Records and released their debut single that year.
Q 03Which member of Run-DMC handled the turntables?
Jason Mizell
Better known as Jam Master Jay, he shaped the sound of most of their records and was murdered in 2002.
Q 04Which promoter, elder brother of one member, managed Run-DMC and co-founded Def Jam?
Russell Simmons
He marketed the group as Run-D.M.C., a name the trio hated at first.
Q 05As a teenager, the future Run worked the turntables onstage for which older rapper?
Kurtis Blow
He billed himself as 'DJ Run, Son of Kurtis Blow'.
Q 06With which record label did Run-DMC sign?
Profile Records
A common myth is that they were on Def Jam, but they only shared its management and producer.
Q 07What was the A-side of Run-DMC's debut single, released in late 1983?
It's Like That
Backed with 'Sucker M.C.s', it peaked at number 15 on the R&B chart.
Q 08Their 1984 debut album made Run-DMC the first hip-hop group to achieve what?
A gold record
The follow-up then made them the first hip-hop group to go platinum.
Q 09Which 1984 single fused raw hip-hop with blazing electric guitar?
Rock Box
Its video was the first hip-hop clip broadcast on MTV.
Q 10Their 1985 album King of Rock made Run-DMC the first hip-hop group to do what?
Go platinum
It spent 56 weeks on the Billboard album chart.
Q 11Which 1986 album, their third, hit number three on the Billboard 200?
Raising Hell
It was the first hip-hop record to go multi-platinum.
Q 12Who produced the group's third album alongside their manager?
Rick Rubin
He had just produced LL Cool J's debut album Radio.
Q 13With which rock band did Run-DMC record their crossover hit 'Walk This Way'?
Aerosmith
It reached number four on the Hot 100 and revived the band's career.
Q 14Which duo wrote the original 1975 version of 'Walk This Way'?
Q 21Which 1985 film, a fictionalised account of their manager's rise, featured Run-DMC?
Krush Groove
It also featured the Fat Boys, LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys.
Q 22At which 1985 benefit concert did Run-DMC perform?
Live Aid
They appeared shortly after 'Rock Box' was released.
Q 23Which magazine put Run-DMC on its cover, a first for a hip-hop act?
Rolling Stone
They were also the first to have videos on MTV and to be nominated for a Grammy.
Q 24Which Clarence Carter holiday song is sampled on 'Christmas in Hollis'?
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry
It first appeared on the album Toys in the Attic.
Q 15What does Steven Tyler famously do in the 'Walk This Way' video?
Breaks through a wall between two studios
The clip stages a musical duel between the two acts before uniting them.
Q 16What was the group's original plan for 'Walk This Way' before it became a full cover?
Just rap over a sample of it
The producer and Jam Master Jay insisted on a complete version with the rock band's own members.
Q 17How much was the landmark Adidas endorsement deal that followed 'My Adidas'?
$1,600,000
It was the first endorsement deal between a musical act and an athletic company.
Q 18At which venue did fans hold their Adidas aloft, clinching the shoe deal?
Madison Square Garden
An Adidas executive was in the audience on 19 July 1986.
Q 19How did Run-DMC famously wear their Adidas sneakers?
Without laces
DMC linked the style to jail, where inmates were not allowed laces.
Q 20What hat became part of Run-DMC's trademark look?
The black fedora
With Cazal glasses and leather jackets it defined a new street aesthetic.
Back Door Santa
The track also throws in an Acme siren and bits of Frosty the Snowman and Jingle Bells.
Q 25Which cause did the 1987 charity album carrying 'Christmas in Hollis' support?
Special Olympics
Run-DMC first refused, then agreed once publicist Bill Adler suggested a Hollis theme.
Q 26Which band sued Run-DMC two decades on for sampling 'My Sharona' on 'It's Tricky'?
The Knack
The case was settled out of court in 2005.
Q 27Which act joined Run-DMC on the 1987 Together Forever Tour?
The Beastie Boys
Both acts were managed by Russell Simmons's Rush Management.
Q 28Which 1988 Run-DMC album swapped rap-rock for a grittier, more sample-heavy sound?
Tougher Than Leather
A crime-caper film of the same name flopped the same year.
Q 29Which Letterman sidekick appears in the 'King of Rock' video?
Calvert DeForest
Better known as Larry 'Bud' Melman, he plays a museum guard.
Q 30Which 1990 Run-DMC album, widely seen as their worst, dabbled in new jack swing?
Back from Hell
Its singles 'Pause' and 'The Ave' flopped and the group began to look outdated.