Shoutout to Hollis, Queens
The New York natives liked to shout out to their hometown every chance they got. The lyrics to a lot of their hits, like It’s Christmas in Hollis, pay homage to their New York City district. All three of them grew up in the middle-class, Black neighborhood of Hollis, Queens, and it was there that they formed their hip hop trio in 1981.
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Joseph Simmons, aka Run, was a DJ and beat-boxer who joined his childhood friend Darryl McDaniels, aka D.M.C., to start creating rhymes. Once the pair were in college, and their rhymes were ready to be rapped, they recruited their DJ.