"Rock Box" is a 1984

1984 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.-Janury-March:*January 21 – "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite being banned by the BBC; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40.*January 27 – Michael Jackson's...

 hit single

Hit single

A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

 by Run-D.M.C.

Run-D.M.C.

Run–D.M.C. was an American hip hop group from Hollis, in the Queens borough of New York City. Founded by Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell, the group is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture.Run–D.M.C...

. It is the third single from their self-titled debut album

Run-D.M.C. (album)

Run–D.M.C. is the debut album of American hip hop group Run–D.M.C.. Produced in 1984, it was considered groundbreaking for its time, presenting a harder, more aggressive form of hip hop. The album's sparse beats and aggressive rhymes were in sharp contrast with the light, funky sound that was...

, originally released through Profile Records

Profile Records

Profile Records was a record label that specialized in many types of urban-oriented music, such as hip hop, active until 1996..- History :In 1980, at 23 years old, after working briefly for MCA, Cory Robbins was looking to start a record label. He invited his songwriter friend Steve Plotnicki to be...

, Inc. The heavy rock guitar riff

RIFF

The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....

 and solos

Guitar solo

In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...

 are original compositions performed by Eddie Martinez

Eddie Martinez

Eddie Martinez is an American guitarist, born and raised in New York City, who mainly functions as a session musician. He has worked with David Lee Roth , Run-D.M.C. , Robert Palmer , Meat Loaf , several Jim Steinman projects, and many others...

, also seen playing the electric guitar in the music video. DJ Jam-Master Jay

Jam-Master Jay

Jason William Mizell , better known by his stage name Jam Master Jay, was an American musician and rapper. He was the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-D.M.C. and helped define the sound of the band, the style of the black hats and Adidas shoes that came to be the band's trademark. During the...

 programmed the song's hip-hop beat. The single reached #26 on the Hot Dance Club Songs

Music video

"Rock Box" was the first rap video to be aired on MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

, premiering in 1984.

The video features a nonsensical monologue at the beginning by Professor Irwin Corey, supposedly giving a history of Rap Music. The rest of the video consists of the group performing at Danceteria

Danceteria

Danceteria was a well-known four-floor nightclub located in New York City which operated from 1980 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. Throughout its history, the club had seven different locations, three in NYC and four in the Hamptons...

, a famous New York punk club.

"Rock Box" was also the first video produced by the group.

Other uses

The song was featured on the fictional pirate radio

Pirate radio

Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...

 station Wildstyle on the "Vice City

Vice City

Vice City is a fictional city in the Grand Theft Auto series, based on Miami, Florida. Two versions of the city have appeared in different generations of the series: The Grand Theft Auto rendition is geographically very similar to Miami...

" chapter of the Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto (series)

Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...

 series. Satirizing R&B

Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

's use of old rap beats, its instrumental was used in Chris Rock

Chris Rock

Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...

's song "Champagne." "Rock Box" was also used in an episode of Everybody Hates Chris

Everybody Hates Chris

Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...

, in which the main character and his principal are snowed in at school. The song appears in Shaun White Snowboarding

Shaun White Snowboarding

Shaun White Snowboarding is a sports video game for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Nintendo DS, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 systems. It was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released on November 14, 2008...

. Rapper Mac Dre

Mac Dre

Andre Hicks , better known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper.-Biography:Andre Hicks was born in Oakland, California but moved to Vallejo while still a child...

 uses a similar bassline

Bassline

A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...

 on his track "Let's All Get Down" from The Best of Mac Dre II

The Best of Mac Dre II

The Best of Mac Dre 2 is a 2004 two-disc compilation album by hyphy San Francisco Bay Area rapper Mac Dre.-Disc 1:#Can't No Nigga#Miss You#The Coldest MC#If You#Stupid #Outrages#All It Takes#Feel Me Cuddie#Game 4 Sale#Got Me Crazy...

. The beginning words "Run, Run" have been sampled by many artists, including The Pharcyde's "Runnin." Run-D.M.C. also samples the line in many of their later albums. It was also used in a 1984 episode of Soul Train

Soul Train

Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...

.