Videos by According2HipHop
Darryl “DMC” McDaniels has always been a disruptor. As one-third of Run-D.M.C., he helped rewrite the rules of hip-hop, smashing through genre walls with “Walk This Way,” “It’s Tricky,” and “My Adidas.” Now, at 60, he’s channeling that same revolutionary spirit into a new arena: a stage production about addiction, mental health, and survival.
McDaniels is lending his voice and story to Rock Bottom: The Musical, an in-the-works project that fuses music, recovery, and raw testimony. “Rock Bottom is a musical about recovery, addiction and sobriety,” he told WBZ NewsRadio. “I was approached to participate by [Bad Company and Free drummer] Simon Kirke, one of the most incredible drummers and musicians in the history of music.”
The show already boasts an eclectic roster: Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith, Barry Goudreau of Boston, Woody Geissmann of the Del Fuegos, guitarist Stu Kimball (Bob Dylan, Peter Wolf), Boston Red Sox organist Josh Kantor, and comedian Tony V. Together, they’re crafting a production that’s part catharsis, part rock opera, and fully committed to dismantling stigma.
For McDaniels, the story is personal. Even as Run-DMC became the first hip-hop group to go platinum, grace the cover of Rolling Stone, and score a Grammy nomination, he was battling demons few people could see. “I woke up one morning and I was completely depressed,” he recalled. “I looked at my life—‘Walk This Way,’ ‘[My] Adidas,’ MTV, first to go gold, first to go platinum, first on the cover of Rolling Stone with this hip-hop thing. I’m Darryl McDaniels, why do I feel like I don’t want to live anymore?”
At 35, he hit a breaking point. Discovering that he’d been adopted sent him spiraling deeper into depression until a conversation with another adoptee cracked something open. “I knew I wasn’t alone,” he said. “Then I started thinking I might not be the only depressed person in this world.”
That moment led the Run-DMC legend to rehab and therapy—“the most gangster thing” in hip-hop, as he now calls it. Today, he’s two decades sober and intent on using his platform to normalize what so many endure in silence. “If you remove guilt and shame from the situation, you remove the pain of going through it,” he said. “Don’t be ashamed of being on meth. Don’t be ashamed of being abused, ashamed of being an alcoholic. We all been there. There’s a million people like you. You are not alone.”
With Rock Bottom: The Musical, McDaniels is doing what Run-DMC did for music—blowing up old boundaries. This time, the revolution isn’t about rap or rock, but about telling the truth, loudly, and making sure nobody going through it has to feel alone.
