If you type “What is hip-hop?” into Google, an image search will pull up a photo of Run-DMC, the single most influential rap group in music history. The legendary trio — comprised of Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, and the late Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell — trailblazed the mid-‘80s with their groundbreaking rap-rock sound and successfully turned hip-hop mainstream, forever changing a now-billion-dollar global entity. These groundbreaking achievements and more are chronicled in a new Peacock docuseries titled “Kings From Queens: The RUN DMC Story.”

The three-part series, billed as the never-before-told story of hip-hop’s iconic forefathers, recalls Run-DMC’s early days in Hollis, Queens, NY, as well as their epic rise as music titans and abrupt break-up in 2002 following the tragic death of Jam Master Jay. The latter’s murder went unsolved for decades, but as the docuseries acknowledges, three men have since been indicted, with two now standing trial for the crime. The tragedy doesn't overshadow how Jam Master Jay is revered in “Kings From Queens,” though. He appears in the doc through tons of archival footage, and while DMC tells BET.com, “It’s a shame that Jay wasn't there” to participate in it, he says his presence can still be felt today — in the docuseries and real life. 

“Even though Jay's not here with us physically, Jay is here,” he adds. “Look at Ali Shaheed. Look at KG. Look at Eric Sherman. Look at Funkmaster Flex. Look at Red Alert. Look at Chuck Chillout. Look at everybody who's being a DJ. So, we all here.”

Throughout the docuseries, “Kings From Queens" executive producers DMC and Rev Run are featured, along with many of the biggest names in hip-hop, such as LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Eminem, Beastie Boys, MC Lyte, Questlove, Ice-T, Chuck D, Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, Ed Lover, Jermaine Dupri, and more, as talking heads. DMC was almost awestruck by the number of his peers who participated in championing his group’s worldwide impact.

“I'm proud and happy and humbled that everybody who partook in this documentary was able to participate,” he says. “‘Cause all of those guys there, as much as they say I inspire them, they inspire me.” 

“Kings From Queens” arrives on the heels of last year's mass hip-hop 50 celebrations and tributes, a perfect time to remind the world of Run-DMC’s generational influence. Not only does the documentary show how the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers broke barriers with their historical milestones in rap and beyond, but it also reminds us why the group has a legacy that still touches music acts today. “I was at a high school yesterday talking, and I had to tell the kids, don't get it twisted. I didn't just change hip-hop; I changed music through hip-hop,” DMC declares. 

That’s the same hip-hop that critics, who also appear in footage, tried to call a fad to Run-DMC’s faces before the trio went on to legitimize it in the most groundbreaking way. From having multi-platinum albums and Billboard-charting singles to inspiring iconic fashion trends to breaking down doors for rap at the Grammys, Run-DMC left no stone unturned as they climbed to the top. But while “Kings of Queens” highlights the group as the undisputed kings of hip-hop, DMC hopes viewers take away a deeper understanding of how the trio earned such powerful titles.

“I tell kids, I didn't just sell records. I didn't just make videos. We did something that changed the world, brought white people and Black people together,” he explains, referring to crossover records like “Walk This Way” with Aerosmith. “When Steven Tyler takes the mic-stand in the video and knocks down the wall that was separating us, everywhere we’ve gone globally since ‘86, people of all races, creeds, and colors go, ‘That didn't just happen in the video, it happened in the world.’ That's because of what the intent and purpose of hip-hop was. So Run-DMC was like the representatives of the culture that would never let the intent of the culture being created be forgotten.”

The first two parts of “Kings From Queens” fixate on Run-DMC’s glory days and the hurdles they encountered in between, including how crossing over almost lost them their core rap fanbase amid a rapidly changing hip-hop landscape. But the final episode — which follows the end of their prime and reunion at Yankee Stadium’s Hip Hop Live 50 concert last year — is, perhaps, the most heartbreaking chapter of their story. In it, DMC gets candid about his past struggles with alcoholism, depression, and his suicide attempt right before Jam Master Jay’s death, which he also discussed in his 2016 memoir, “Ten Ways Not to Commit Suicide.” DMC kept these matters to himself back then, as rapping felt like the only therapeutic release he could find. “When I spoke to my therapist, he said, ‘You was doing therapy throughout your whole career,’” DMC recalls. “Because even though I was going through all of these things, and these things started when I was very, very young, the thing that was helping me was being able to express myself through hip-hop.”

He continues, “I was an alcoholic, suicidal, metaphysical spiritual wreck who found out he was adopted at age 35. Jam Master Jay gets shot and killed. My father got shot and killed. So, imagine what I was going through. But in the midst of that, my relief was coming through.”

What gives DMC relief these days is knowing how much his story, along with Run-DMC’s, can continue to change people’s lives, the same way his group’s innovative music helped change the world. And now, he hopes “Kings From Queens” can be a part of that movement. “I am a survivor. I am a representation that you can beat and defeat whatever you are struggling with,” he shares. “So hopefully, when you see this documentary, you see that the mighty king of rock, who walked his way in his Adidas to tell the world how tricky life can be, if he could survive, no telling what I could do.”

“Kings From Queens: The RUN DMC Story” hits Peacock on February 1.