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Run-DMC were the first rappers to go gold, first to go platinum, first on the cover of Rolling Stone. There was no rap group bigger in the ’80s, so when they made their ’90s comeback with Down with the King, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels struggled to understand why he was feeling at his lowest. On the latest episode of Going There with Dr. Mike, the hip-hop icon opens up about the depression that shadowed his greatest successes, why he hid it for so long, and who finally helped him through. Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts, and watch the full episode on YouTube.
The comeback was real. The single “Down with the King” “Made people literally start bowing,” McDaniels says, noting that the track put them back on tour and back on MTV. But his experience with the renewed fame wasn’t elation: “It was almost like my spirit went, ‘Here we go again,’” he recalls, describing a stretch when he thought, “I want to leave this earth.” He says it’s hard for people to understand how one could still be depressed despite success and fame – “None of that stuff means anything,” he says — and Dr. Mike notes how you never see the same response with physical illness: “You have a great life. Why do you have diabetes?”
McDaniels explains how he spent years keeping it to himself, hiding behind drinking and secrecy rather than arguing with bandmates or bothering his parents. It was only after rehab and therapy identified “suppressed emotions” and a habit of people-pleasing that McDaniels began to pull himself out of the depths. “I was DMC. I had it all, but I didn’t even know where to go,” he says, crediting other people for pulling him out: “I got saved by other people.” That includes Sarah McLachlan, who’s song “Angle” had a particular impact on him – which was only emphasized when a chance meeting with the singer gave him the drive to keep getting better.
Today, he sees it as his “responsibility to speak up about” mental health, as he did with his book, Ten Ways Not to Commit Suicide: A Memoir – The Run D.M.C. Legend on Depression, Addiction, and Hope. “I’m more powerful talking about how weak I am than screaming out, ‘I’m the King of Rock! There is none higher!’” McDaniels says.
Listen to Darryl “DMC” McDaniels’ full conversation on Going There with Dr. Mike above or wherever you get your podcasts, and watch the convo on YouTube.
Coming from the Consequence Podcast Network, Season 7 of Going There is presented by Johnson & Johnson, who believes that health is everything. Their strength in healthcare innovation empowers them to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through their expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, they are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at www.jnj.com, and @JanssenUS and @JNJInnovMed on X.
This November, new episodes of Going There are also presented by Generation Fine, a global initiative from Johnson & Johnson designed to challenge the idea that “fine” is good enough in depression care. Developed in collaboration with leading mental health advocates, Generation Fine highlights the real experiences of people living with depression and provides valuable resources to support more productive conversations about their care — including the possibility of remission.