Forty years ago tonight, the Raising Hell Tour pulled into Rochester Community War Memorial — Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and Whodini — and hip-hop officially graduated to the arena circuit. ‘Walk This Way’ had dropped weeks earlier and was already remaking American radio. Run, DMC, and Jam Master Jay tore through ‘My Adidas,’ ‘It’s Tricky,’ and the Aerosmith collab in matching black fedoras. LL was 18, hungry, riding ‘Radio,’ working the crowd from a single boombox. Whodini opened with ‘Friends’ and ‘Five Minutes of Funk.’ Rochester got hip-hop history that night.
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