Retro Review / Run D.M.C.’s Proud to be Black: A Groundbreaking Hip Hop Track from the 80s.

One of the most socially activist hip hop records ever made was Public Enemy’s 1988 record It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. However, in 1986 Run D.M.C. was bringing issues of race to the masses with Proud to be Black off of the largely pop friendly Raising Hell. It’s hard to believe that in the 80s you cold get a hip hop record with Aerosmith and a track about racial justice on the same album. I think Proud to be Black is a largely overlooked track from that record and one of the most important hip hop tracks of the 80s.

Musically, Proud to be Black follows the rest of the record, which is largely heavy scratching with drum machine. This was the era of the DJ and the impeccable and iconic Jam Master Jay was the one behind the wax leading this track. Modern hip hop relies more on sampling and the wall of sound in post-production, as opposed to the DIY style and art of the DJ. Jam Master Jay was one of the best of his time and influenced a number of bands due to his use of twin record decks. The DJ is largely a lost art in modern hip hop, save for Questlove, and it’s great to hear Jam Master Jay do his thing.

Lyrically is where this track breaks new ground. In a record that is largely tight hooks, pop influenced bars and boppin’ 4/4 beats Proud to Be Black jumps out in its overt social messages. Joseph “Run” Simmons and Daryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels drop bars about Harriet Tubman, Malcom X, MLK and George Washington Carver in a hip hop Black History lesson. Moreover, there are bars about “not bein’ no slave,” being proud of their names and proud to be Black. It is also one of the few tracks on this record that drops fuck on it and raps about how they are tired of justifying their worth due to their race. This is when rap was starting to crossover into white audiences, to overtly calling out systemic white racism throughout history is a bold move.

This is a well written and passionately delivered track that paved the way for other artists like Chuck D who would kick the door down on white supremacy in America. Moreover, only a few years later groups like N.W.A. would turn the vibe of Proud to be Black up to 11 as they took police brutality and racially biased justice systems head on. Proud to be Black is not only a historically important track, but one that continues to be important to this day.

Listen to Proud to be Black