Run-DMC's Darryl McDaniels Drank a 'Case of Old English a Day’ During Battle With Depression

Run-DMC member Darryl "DMC" McDaniels opened up about once experiencing alcoholism last Friday on new Wondery and Audible podcast Class of '88. On the show, hosted by Will Smith, McDaniels, 59, shared that he began drinking heavily when the rap trio began altering their sound and look at the tailend of the 1980s.

"Jay got me wearing a green, yellow, purple and green suit doing the running man," McDaniels said, referring to the late Jam Master Jay. "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."

McDaniels recalled his discomfort with the sudden changes as the group, also consisting of Joseph "Run" Simmons, was at the pinnacle of hip-hop's golden age.

"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. This is during the day, Will," McDaniels continued. "From 11 a.m. to 8:30 a.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...."

McDaniels added that alcohol became a detriment to his health as he experienced vocal spasms. The discovery came after the "My Adidas" rapper said he was previously turned away by doctors for Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz.

"Somebody tells me to go get a Botox shot directly into the vocal cords to stop the spasms," McDaniels detailed. "The fucking needle was this long. They put this thing down in my throat and as they started, I faint. I wake up, my wife's over there crying because she thought I died. Whatever, it didn't work."

After the faulty procedure didn't result in McDaniels recovering his original voice, the rapper said he had 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," he expressed. "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."

Despite McDaniels' heartbreaking revelation, the rap legend has taken part in numerous Hip-Hop 50 performances in 2023, including spots at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards and 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.

On Oct. 26, the full eight-episode first season of Class of '88 was released to Amazon Music and Audible. Additional guests on the podcast include Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Rakim, Fab 5 Freddy, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Chuck D, J.J. Fad, and DJ Red Alert.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or visit 988lifeline.org.