RUN DMC — Christmas In Hollis

JUL 01 1987 · 12:00

RUN DMC — Christmas In Hollis (1987) Director: Michael Holman Era: Golden Age Hip-Hop (1987) - Peak of Run-DMC's cultural dominance post-Raising Hell; hip-hop's crossover into mainstream pop culture via charity compilations and holiday programming Tier-1 archival priority. One of fewer than a dozen music videos from 1987 with confirmed Rolling Stone Best Video of the Year recognition. A primary document of Golden Age hip-hop visual culture, NYU-student film production aesthetics, and the genre's first successful holiday mainstream crossover. Essential reference for any study of hip-hop's late-80s cultural ascent, the career of Michael Holman, and the semiotics of Run-DMC's visual identity. Context: Released in 1987 at the apex of Run-DMC's commercial and critical dominance following Raising Hell, 'Christmas in Hollis' represented hip-hop's first successful integration into the mainstream holiday charity economy via A Very Special Christmas (A&M), benefiting the Special Olympics. The video translated Hollis, Queens street identity into a nationally broadcast holiday spectacle, normalizing hip-hop aesthetics for audiences who had never encountered the genre. Its Rolling Stone Best Video of the Year win over Michael Jackson's 'Bad' signaled a seismic cultural shift in music video prestige. The track sampled Clarence Carter's 1968 'Back Door Santa,' embedding hip-hop within a broader Black musical continuum and legitimizing sampling as a compositional practice to mainstream audiences. Director notes: Holman was an NYU graduate film student at the time of production. Cinematography was by Mark Richardson, also an NYU film student. The video was shot during Run-DMC's 1987 tour. It takes place across two settings: a constructed North Pole set and on-location in Hollis, Queens, New York. The video employs a comedic narrative in which a mischievous elf manipulates Santa's Naughty/Nice list and travels to Hollis. At the video's conclusion, Santa departs with his sled pulled by a dog. The video won Rolling Stone's Best Video of the Year award in 1987, beating out Michael Jackson's 'Bad' directed by Martin Scorsese. Holman's prior relationship with Run-DMC included directing their 'My Adidas' commercial in 1986, stemming from his earlier work booking the group on Graffiti Rock in 1984.