Walk This Way: Aerosmith And Run DMC

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(Walk this way – Aerosmith & Run DMC) “Walk This Way” written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry from the album Toys in the Attic and released on August 28th, 1975. The track was produced by Jack Douglas and was released under Columbia Records; Aerosmith received high acclaim for the track creating a clear hard rock and funk rock avenue for the band. In 1985, Rick Rubin was producing Run DMC’s Raising Hell album and approached the final stages with a thought of Run DMC re-visiting writing a rap over a rock influenced beat to possibly open up new opportunities for a wider audience and sound. After Aerosmith coming up on Rick Rubin’s creative radar, Run DMC replied with not knowing or wanting to know about the bands influences, achievements and…show more content…
With a typical garage rehearsal space and an underground basement where Steven Tyler against all odds breaks through the wall that separates them eliminating all the ideological barriers that were creating a void between the two genres and artists. “I loved the video's metaphor—that the wall between rock and rap was coming down and that the two music styles actually worked well together. It was glitter meets gold. Everyone who watched MTV then—rock and rap fans—got the message. For me, it was validation. "Walk This Way" was recognized for being funky—the heart and soul of what we had intended from the start”.…show more content…
The outfits they were wearing coincide with the dress code Black African American’s apart of the Hip Hop scene were wearing on the streets. The MC (DJ) is operating turntables and a drum machine, which reflects their method of creation in regards to music, to conflict with the method and resources Aerosmith used to create their music. The layout of the room and the way the beginning of the video exploits Run DMC ties in with the stereotypes that they faced during their career; urban, criminated, niche and dark. By beginning the video like this also showed the similarities of the two artist’s and that what they are known for, to create, inspire and to entertain their audience and to further pursue the idea of collaboration between two separate identities of music. When Steven Tyler broke through the wall, it symbolized collaboration which was erasing the cultural divide between rock and rap in the 80’s, broadening possibilities and audiences for the two

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