Later that year in 1978, McDaniels sold his DJ equipment, after his friend
Joseph "Run" Simmons acquired his own turntables and mixer. After
Jam Master Jay – who had a reputation as the best young DJ in Hollis – joined the group, Run encouraged McDaniels to rap rather than DJ. Gradually, McDaniels came to prefer rapping to mixing records, and adopted the nickname of "Easy D". In 1981, he dropped the "Easy D" moniker in favor of "DMcD", the way he signed his work in school, and then to the shorter "D.M.C." This new nickname alternately stood for "Devastating Mic Control" or "Darryl Mac", his nickname since childhood as referenced in the lyrics of the song "King of Rock". In 1984, the trio released their
self-titled debut album. Their third album
Raising Hell, went to No. 6 on the
Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making Run-D.M.C. the most popular hip-hop group at the time. During this time, McDaniels became a heavy drinker. He was known to drink up to eight 40-ounce bottles of
malt liquor a day and was arrested twice for
public intoxication and
driving while intoxicated. in 1999 in Seattle. In 1997, McDaniels began to develop a deep
depression. He became extremely unhappy with the routine of touring and performing, and with being away from his wife and newborn son. He began to rely heavily on
prescription drugs and alcohol to ease the pain. While on tour, McDaniels noticed his voice was giving out. He was later diagnosed with
spasmodic dysphonia, a vocal disorder which causes involuntary spasms of the
larynx muscles. He believes it was caused by the aggressive way in which he performs his lyrics compounded with the years of heavy drinking. Meanwhile, McDaniels began to have creative differences with his bandmates in Run-D.M.C., which by then, was past its prime as a commercially successful hip-hop group. A longtime fan of artists such as
The Beatles,
Bob Dylan, and
Harry Chapin, McDaniels wanted to move towards a slower, softer sound which suited his now troubled voice. Run wanted to continue with the aggressive,
hard rock-edged, sound that the group was known for. These disagreements caused McDaniels to sit out most of the recording of
Crown Royal (2001). With a new outlook on life, McDaniels decided to write his autobiography. While researching his early years, his mother, Bannah, revealed a secret: Darryl had been placed for adoption when he was three months old. According to Bannah, his birth mother was a woman of
Dominican descent named Bernada Lovelace. He also learned that he was born in
Harlem, Manhattan, not
Hollis, Queens, as he had always believed. The news inspired him to search for his birth mother. He began working with the
VH1 network on a documentary chronicling his quest. features an interpolation of Harry Chapin's "
Cat's in the Cradle" (1974) performed by McDaniels' musical savior, Sarah McLachlan. During a recording session, McLachlan revealed to McDaniels that she, too, had been adopted. As a New York-born adoptee, however, McDaniels did not have access to his own original birth record; he hired a private investigator to help find his birth family in New York. McDaniels is featured in the video game
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (2008) singing Run-D.M.C.'s singles "
King of Rock" and "
Walk This Way". He is also an unlockable guitarist in the game. In 2009, McDaniels performed in
The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian
Howard Zinn's nonfiction book ''
A People's History of the United States'' (1980). McDaniels' second solo album, the more rock oriented
The Origins Of Block Music, was due out in mid-2010 but was delayed. In December 2010, McDaniels appeared with
Talib Kweli,
Mix Master Mike, and
Ahmet Zappa on a cover of
Frank Zappa's "
Willie the Pimp" for
The Frank Zappa AAAFNRAAAA Birthday Bundle 2010. In 2011, McDaniels joined forces with producer Wade Martin to open the record label IME Records. in Manhattan. In 2014, McDaniels ventured into the comics industry with his own publishing imprint, Darryl Makes Comics. McDaniels explains his lifelong love of the medium thus: Darryl Makes Comics' first book is
DMC, a 90-page anthology
graphic novel set in 1985 that features McDaniels as a superhero who confronts both criminals and other superheroes whose recklessness threatens innocent lives. The comic's version of DMC wears McDaniels' signature
Adidas sneakers, fedora and
rope chain, along with an elongated turtleneck that masks his face. The book is written by McDaniels and
Damion Scott, and edited by Darryl Makes Comics' Editor-in-Chief,
Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez and Senior Editor
Rigo "Riggs" Morales. Each chapter in the anthology is illustrated by a different artist, because, as McDaniels explained, "If DMC was really running around and bumped into four different people, they'd have four different descriptions of what he was like. We wanted each artist's work to relate to each character's view of DMC. If you saw him, you might say, "He came out of a spaceship and had all these things flying around him!" But then another dude is like, "No! He had a sword and shield!" We thought, if so many people saw something different in DMC, we'd have to have different artwork to represent their opinions on him or their interpretation on him." In addition, graffiti writers such as MARE 139 were hired to give the shots of 1985 New York City graffiti a sense of authenticity. The book features an introduction by
Greg Pak, a cover by
Sal Buscema and
Bob Wiacek and interior pinups by
Carlos Pacheco,
Chris Burnham,
ChrisCross,
Dexter Vines, and Shelby Robertson, some of which are homages to iconic comics covers that influenced the creative staff as children.
DMC debuted at the
New York Comic Con October 9–12, and was subsequently released in comics shops October 29. The book received a four out of five stars rating by Tony Guerrero of Comic Vine, who lauded the charm and authenticity of the art. As of January 2015, McDaniels was working with the band
Generation Kill on a project,
DMC Generation Kill, to be produced by former
Guns N' Roses guitarist
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal. On the December 17, 2016 Christmas episode of
Saturday Night Live, DMC made a cameo appearance during a parody of Run DMC's "Christmas in Hollis." During the sketch, he was portrayed by musical guest
Chance the Rapper. On February 17, 2016, heavy metal band
Solus Deus released their EP titled
The Plague. The song titled "Anacrime" features DMC on guest vocals. Starting in 2017 and continuing on an ongoing basis, DMC has joined the rock cover supergroup Royal Machines as a guest at their occasional concerts. Joining a revolving cast of celebrities in each lineup, including
Dave Navarro,
Billy Morrison,
Sebastian Bach,
Macy Gray,
Fred Durst, DMC has performed covers of songs such as "Walk This Way", "Sweet Emotion", and "Black Betty" with the band. On September 15, 2017, Italian rapper
Caparezza released his studio album,
Prisoner 709, which includes the track "Forever Jung" that features DMC on guest vocals. American rapper DeLiverance's 2018 single "Slave To The Rhythm" also features DMC on guest vocals. On August 13, 2018, DMC performed an encore with
O.A.R., playing "
Walk This Way". In February 2021, McDaniels released a song and animated video, "Let's All Get the Vaccine," to encourage the
COVID-19 vaccination. In January 2022, McDaniels released his picture book, ''Darryl's Dream'', published by Random House. In January 2024, McDaniels released a cookie brand DMC Cookies. In June 2024, a music video for
Fantastic Cat's "So Glad You Made It" features McDaniels acting in the role of a music producer. ==Charity work==