Darryl McDaniels Says Run-DMC Will Not Reunite at Roots Picnic

On March 1, Roots drummer Questlove announced the lineup for the group's upcoming Third Annual Roots Picnic. Quest posted a Twitvid revealing that performers at the June 5 show would include the Clipse, Vampire Weekend and Das Racist, in addition to a special reunion performance. "This is a reunion we thought we would never get," Quest said. "We've been waiting to make this reunion happen for the longest, it's so incredible, I don't even want to tell you who it is," he finished, before throwing on a thick gold chain, a black hat and striking a pose, which hinted that Run-DMC would take the stage this summer.

The video sent the blogosphere buzzing with news that the remaining members of the legendary hip-hop group would take the stage this summer, but when The BoomBox caught up with Run-DMC member Darryl Matthew McDaniels -- aka D.M.C. -- in New York City on Thursday, April 15, the emcee squashed all hopes of a reunion in the near future. "That's not gonna happen," McDaniels told The BoomBox. "For me, personally, I'll put it like this...As of now, a reunion is possible, but it's really got to make bigger sense, because a lot of people say Run-DMC was much more than just a rap group to them."

McDaniels went on to explain that a reunion performance would disrespect the legacy of the late Jam Master Jay, who was murdered in a Queens, New York, recording studio in 2002. "People hit me with all the groups that did get back together after death, but I just feel I can't replace my drummer. Do you really want to see me and Run running around without Jay back there? With some other DJ? It'll be disrespectful," McDaniels said. "I didn't get into this for show business, I didn't get into this to be famous, I didn't even get into this to be the best rapper in the world."

"After John Lennon got killed, did the Beatles get back together?" he asked, trying to express the emotional stress that a reunion would trigger. "So if they say Run-DMC are the Beatles of hip-hop, Public Enemy are the Rolling Stones and then you go down the line, with Jay-Z as the Sinatra, etc, we would be doing a disservice to our own legacy if we get back together now," he said. "We can probably get back together, but it's got to be in a different form. So it's not going to happen yet."

McDaniels, who has been an active advocate for children charities in recent years, is currently at work on his second solo album, 'Origins of Block Music,' which is slated for a summer release.