The entertainment industry is full of stories about artists who have difficulty maintaining their careers after their popularity fades. Darryl “DMC” McDaniels found himself in this position when Run-DMC’s stranglehold on rap music began to waver. As younger artists with a new sound began to take over the genre, McDaniels didn’t know where the group stood. His late bandmate Jam Master Jay tried to keep up with the changing times, but it didn’t sit well with DMC. During an appearance on Will Smith’s Class of ‘88 podcast, he revealed how bad things got, telling the Oscar winner that he fell into a deep depression.
“Jay got me wearing a green, yellow, purple and green suit doing the running man,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with Jay bringing New Jack Swing into Run-DMC. It just wasn’t for me, but I did it anyway, not realizing it was going to affect me mentally later.”
The stress of these major changes led Darryl to spiral into alcoholism. He told the King Richard star about his dangerously heavy drinking habits, which were essentially around the clock.
“I was drinking a case of Olde English a day—not one or two 40s—a case. I was so alcoholic, I put a freezer in my monster truck so I didn’t have to stop at the grocery store,” he said. “This is during the day. From 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Now, we’re going out at night and it’s Courvoisier and Hennessy and all of that. So I’m doing all of that all through the night. So I’m just drinking, drinking, drinking.”
His issues worsened when he began having vocal spasms that affected his ability to perform. This led him to feel like he had nothing left and he began having suicidal thoughts.
“After nothing worked, now I’m thinking of killing myself. Because I’m thinking, I can’t do the thing that I was put here to do. So I don’t want to disappoint Run and Jay, I don’t want to go tell them I can’t do this no more, so let me just kill myself. My life ended, so I thought, when the Run-DMC thing quieted down and I lost myself. So now, I’m really gonna kill myself. I have to kill myself.”
Thankfully, he was able to get help and turn things around. This isn’t the first time he’s spoken so openly about his depression and addiction issues, but every time he does, he reaches someone new. It’s vitally important that Black people, especially men, feel comfortable discussing their mental health. We’re in an extremely traumatic time right now, so Darryl’s story is a welcome reminder to take care of ourselves, and be open to accepting help.