The Big Picture
- Kings From Queens: A Run DMC Story is emotionally satisfying and provides a vulnerable look into the lives of Rev. Run and DMC.
- The documentary highlights fascinating stories of Run DMC's rise to fame, including their opportunity to perform at Live Aid in 1985.
- Compared to other music documentaries, Kings From Queens feels more honest and less sanitized, offering a refreshing perspective on the iconic hip-hop group.
For anybody who is even remotely familiar with the world of hip-hop, RUN DMC is a name that needs no introduction. Not only did Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, and Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mitzell help bring hip-hop to the mainstream, but they became one of the most influential names in music, period. The rock doc has always been a successful medium, from innovative concert movies like The Last Waltz and Stop Making Sense, to more recent but still ever-innovative documentaries like Cobain: Montage of Heck and The Beatles: Get Back. In fact, with the success of streaming services, the genre has arguably become more popular than ever.
It's shocking that it took so long for RUN DMC to get an official documentary of their very own, especially considering their influence, but now, a year after their emotional reunion at the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop celebration, they are getting to tell their story, through their eyes. Kings From Queens: The RUN DMC Story promises to be an in-depth look at the rap group's meteoric rise, and how their success debunked the media's myth of hip-hop being "just a fad."
Kings From Queens: The Run DMC Story
- Release Date
- February 1, 2024
- Cast
- Joseph Simmons AKA Rev Run , Darryl McDaniels
- Main Genre
- Documentary
- Seasons
- 1
- Number of Episodes
- 3
- Directors
- Kirk Fraser
'Kings From Queens: The Run DMC Story' Is Refreshingly Unsanitized, To a Point
When it comes to official and fully authorized documentaries recounting icons in music, the storytelling and structure can often feel too clean, hoping to wash away any kind of tension between a music group or only hint at their flaws, instead of being open and vulnerable. For the most part, Kings From Queens: The RUN DMC Storyavoids that, particularly with the interviews involving McDaniels, who is willing to be open about his humble beginnings. He reflects on his love for comic books, how his classmates bullied him, and how his rise to fame took a toll on his mental health in unexpected ways. While some have criticized other hip-hop artists for exuding "toxic masculinity," this feels like the exact opposite. It also doesn't try to be too progressive or sanitized. Instead, this aspect feels like a therapy session and one that is easy to become emotionally drawn into. Simmons also shares many of his unfiltered feelings on-screen, comparing how his upbringing was much different than McDaniels, despite living in the same neighborhood, and later opening up about his Christian faith and becoming a practicing minister (he's not called Rev. Run just because it sounds cool).
The three-episode docuseries also includes an impressive number of familiar faces, including the likes of Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Questlove, Salt, Eminem, Beastie Boys, Ice-T, and Chuck D, all of whom get to share their entertaining commentary and stories about their experiences with Run DMC and how their music influenced them. At the same time, as amusing as these interviews are, they don't offer too much outside of being your typical "talking heads". While it will inevitably bring a smile to your face to see icons like Ice Cube and Eminem reminiscing about their first experiences with RUN DMC's music, they also feel like an afterthought compared to some of the rest. These sections aren't bad or unneeded, but, compared to how emotional both Simmons and McDaniels get, they're secondary.
As open as the documentary gets, the presence of Russell Simmons, who is interviewed heavily throughout the three episodes, does feel like an elephant in the room. One can argue that it makes sense why he's there; after all, he is Rev. Run's older brother, but it also leaves a bitter aftertaste compared to the rest of the series. While Simmons is a pivotal figure in RUN DMC's history, his frequent interviews feel much more sanitized than the rest, glossing over all the allegations that have come against him. That's not to say that this docuseries should have covered that, especially since this isn't his story, but considering how much screentime Simmons gets, it does leave you feeling uncomfortable, taking out some of the joy that the rest of the docuseries brings.
'Kings From Queens' Will Feel Emotionally Fulfilling for RUN DMC Fans
The first two episodes of Kings From Queens do offer some interesting, inspirational, and moving stories, including how the rap group got the opportunity to perform at Live Aid in 1985 after the lineup received backlash for a lack of black artists. The third and final episode has the biggest emotional impact, not only discussing the tragic murder of Jam Master Jay and his loved ones' grief but also talking about what led to the end of RUN DMC. It's never overly dramatized or sugar-coated, but instead poignantly covers where Simmons and McDaniels were in their lives, and how they felt that the end was a sad inevitability.
McDaniels also discusses his battles with addiction which ultimately culminated in a suicide attempt; it's this kind of openness that makes this docuseries stand out from similar fare. While some of it may feel a bit too glossed over and conventional in terms of filmmaking, it's the emotions that leave the biggest impact. One of the final moments of Kings From Queens is an interview with McDaniels' son, Darryl M. McDaniels Jr., who talks about how his father can be comfortable in his own skin, and how he feels at home attending comic conventions, with those who share the passion for superheroes as he does.
There is likely a good chunk of Kings From Queens: The Run DMC Story that mega-fans will already have known about. It's not like this documentary is some eye-opener that's going to change the way the world looks at RUN DMC. Nor is it trying to be that. This is a series that is meant for Simmons and McDaniels to tell their story, their way, and not through some unauthorized tabloid fodder. There are some areas where fans will be left wanting more than they'll get, but at the end of the day, Kings From Queens is an emotionally satisfying trip down memory lane.
Kings From Queens: The Run DMC Story
REVIEW
Kings From Queens: The Run DMC Story provides fans of the hip-hop group an emotionally satisfying trip down memory lane.
- Both Rev. Run and DMC are willing to be vulnerable in their interviews, and don't hold back how they feel.
- Provides some fascinating stories about Run DMC's rise to fame, including how they ended up performing at Live Aid.
- Compared to other music documentaries, Kings From Queens isn't as sanitized and feels more honest.
- Russell Simmons' large presence throughout the documentary feels more distracting than insightful.
All three episodes of Kings From Queens: The RUN DMC Story will stream on Peacock on February 1.
Watch on Peacock
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