Which artist were you a fan of first? Write the story of the song that made you a fan.

It will always be Run DMC.

It was the spring of fourth grade. I got Raising Hell and King of Rock on cassette, both purchased at Ames department store with birthday money I received from my relatives. The first albums I ever bought with my own money. I played the shit out of those tapes — so much so, Raising Hell broke and I had to get a new copy.

Of course this was just the start: my friends and I soon put together our own rap group. Each day after school we rapped along with every track. (I still know all of the words.) Our rap group culminated in a hallway performance (of an original song) for the 5th grade student teacher we were enamored with — it couldn’t have been any more cringe, but she was kind enough not to laugh.