Run DMC ‘Tougher Than Leather’ 30th Anniversary
Release date: 17th May 1988
Label: Profile
Producers: Run DMC, Davy DMX, Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons
Profile (courtesy of Wikipedia):
“Tougher Than Leather is the fourth studio album from American hip hop group Run–D.M.C., released on May 17, 1988. While the new record did not maintain the same popularity as its predecessor, it obtained platinum status and spawned the favorites “Run’s House” and “Mary, Mary”. Despite being given a mixed reception at the time of its release, it is now hailed as a seminal classic in hip-hop and many see it as an underrated album. In response to albums such as Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid In Full, Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, and Boogie Down Productions’ Criminal Minded and By All Means Necessary, the group made a distinct departure from their earlier work, as Jam-Master Jay used a heavier amount of sampling. Run and DMC also made changes in their rapping style (heavily influenced by Rakim) as techniques such as alliteration, polysyllabic rhyming, and internal rhyme are found in songs like “I’m Not Going Out Like That,” “Radio Station,” and the title track. The group also introduces storytelling to their arsenal in “Ragtime.” Despite this, Run-D.M.C. do not abandon their formula of combining hip-hop beats with hard rock guitar riffs, using it in “Miss Elaine,” the title track, “Soul To Rock And Roll,” and “Mary, Mary.”“
Additional info:
- The album comes in at #12 on Ego Trip’s Top 25 Rap Albums of 1988.
- The single ‘Run’s House / Beats to the Rhyme’ comes in at #5 on Ego Trip’s Top 40 Rap Singles of 1988.
- The track ‘Beats to the Rhyme’ appears on our 1988 Rap Megamix.
- Listen to samples used in the making of the album on WhoSampled.
Purchase: Discogs