DMC of Run DMC has garnered a lot of fame and success from his career as a Rap artist. Born Darryl McDaniels, DMC has been an influential character in Hip Hop and most recently was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, one of his latest projects may serve as his most inspirational.
Winning an Emmy Award for his 2007 documentary DMC: My Adoption Journey [click to read], in which DMC finally meets his birth mother, the Hollis-Queens native has recently recorded a song with British singer-songwriter Zara H. Phillips, entitled “I’m Legit.”
The track frames their position on a New Jersey Senate bill from last year, which if passed, will allow state records of adoption papers to be accessible to the public. In essence, this would give children the opportunity to seek out their paternal family.
DMC explained the importance of the bill being passed. “Knowing who you are is about health, happiness — a human right,” he told the The New York Times. Continuing, he stated, “People who aren’t part of the adoption community don’t know about the issues, the pain, the emotions that can come from not knowing where you come from.”
With that said, the bill may not make it, as similar ones were defeated by default in 2004 and 2006. The main concern over the bill is that allowing access to the adoption papers would reveal the identity of the women who gave up their children, which some people consider a moral wrong.
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Phillips, an adopted child herself in England, stated she was disappointed with the 42 states that have decided to keep these records behind closed doors. “Growing up in England, I always saw the United States as being so far ahead, but with this, America is really behind. When I heard how backward things are here, all I could think was, ‘Are you kidding?’”
On “I’m Legit,” DMC’s rhymes are reminiscent of his past, before he had met his real mother, which in turn speaks to the thousands of kids who may never know their own:
“At night I can’t sleep, I toss and turn/My true reality is what I wanna learn/But they are tellin’ me I can’t see the proof/On a little piece of paper that holds the truth/Of who I am and what I be/Yeah I’m living but I’m missin’ a part of me/I have a right to know where I come from/Cause it’s my human right like everyone.”
The duo plan to debut their new single on April 25th at the American Adoption Congress’ annual conference, with a music video of the track to come in the near future.
“We want this song to educate, to advocate, to take on a life of its own,” DMC said.
