Audiophile Supervinyl

Run-D.M.C. leaves no doubt about its intent on King of Rock. The trio’s hard-hitting sophomore album begins with a statement of purpose (“Rock the House”) that serves as a stereophonic primer for the title track: a hybrid warning-anthem-theme song that swarms with justified boasts, heavy metal riffs, booming beats, cowbell accents, and dance-worthy grooves. The back-to-back tunes set the tone for a 1985 record that largely established the blueprint for the hip-hop that would follow for the next two decades — and which helped make rap a mainstream currency. “It’s not Michael Jackson/ And this is not Thriller,” the group broadcasts early on in the record. Truer words — and music recorded with such honesty, pride, rawness, and integrity — have seldom been committed to tape.