Tougher Than Leather

★结合重金属与Rap的先驱嬉哈团体，1988年第四张录音室专辑

★与Run DMC主演之同名电影一同製作，嘻哈界经典专辑之一

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由纽约皇后区Hollis三名黑人小伙子于80年代初组成的Run DMC。他们获誉为首支Hardcore Rap组合，是25年来最重要的Hip Hop/Rap艺人之一，他们是最早著手灌录专辑(1986年的《Raising Hell》不仅是首张登上R&B榜冠军的Rap专辑，还曾一度是史上最畅销的Hip Hop/Rap专辑，Run DMC之于二十多年来Hip Hop发展进程的重要性地位可见一斑。更值得一提的是，1986年时他们与Aerosmith合作的一曲Walk This Way，更被重视为后世风行之Rap-Rock的开山蓝本之一。

At the end of 1986, Raising Hell was rap's best-selling album up to that point, though it would soon be outsold by the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill. Profile Records hoped that Run-D.M.C.'s fourth album, Tougher Than Leather, would exceed the Beastie Boys' quintuple-platinum status, but unfortunately, the group's popularity had decreased by 1988. One of Run-D.M.C.'s strong points -- its love of rock & roll -- was also its undoing in hip-hop circles. Any type of crossover success tends to be viewed suspiciously in the hood, and hardcore hip-hoppers weren't overly receptive to "Miss Elaine," "Papa Crazy," "Mary, Mary," and other rap-rock delights found on the album. Thanks largely to rock fans, this album did go platinum for sales exceeding one million copies -- which ironically, Profile considered a disappointment. But the fact is that while Tougher Than Leather isn't quite as strong as Run-D.M.C.'s first three albums, it was one of 1988's best rap releases.