Run-DMC

Run DMC are a famous rap group. Sucker MC's (1983) was the first hip hop track that relied on electronic beats and nothing else. Peter Piper (1986) was the first rap record in which the DJ (in this case Jam Master Jay) cut up a record (in this case, "Mardi Gras" by Bob James). Run DMC crossovered into the pop market with their version of Walk This Way that also featured original artists Aerosmith. Note however that Jam Master Jay and other hip hop dj's used rock records anyway.

Jam Master Jay was shot and killed in a recording studio in Queens, New York on 31st October 2002.