Run-D.M.C. were at the forefront of the first phase of hip-hop's mainstream invasion. Comprising MCs Reverend Run and D.M.C. and DJ Jam Master Jay, the trio was perhaps the earliest indication of hip-hop's cool factor. They popularized shell-toe Adidas and sported leather jackets that would make the Fonz envious. Their 1986 game-changing LP, Raising Hell, was hip-hop's first blockbuster release—it was certified triple platinum. Their remake of Aerosmith's “Walk This Way,” which also featured the rock group, is definitive rock-rap. Jam Master Jay was murdered in his Jamaica, Queens, recording studio in 2001. He was 37. Sadly, Jay didn't get to see Run-D.M.C. inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.