Run-D.M.C. “Tougher Than Leather” 1988. Profile Records. If you need a pick-me-up, throw Run-D.M.C.’s fourth LP on and get ready to dance your a** off. Classic 80’s hip hop with a rock edge and a who’s who of samples; it went to #9 in the US and to #13 in the UK. What I did not know: producer Rick Rubin directed the band in the ’88 “crime” film (also titled Tougher Than Leather) in which “Run-D.M.C. must find and punish the evil drug lord-record company executive who murdered their friend. Along the way, they encounter racist bikers, blonde bimbos, and the Beastie Boys.” (Wiki) Apparently it is not good – you can watch it in its entirety here (maybe I will at some point, not now). The record, however, is fantastic. I love it all but if I had to choose, my top pick is “Mary, Mary,” a Monkees cover (not released as a single but rather included as a cereal box prize in 1969) which changes the lyrics – Run DMC’s version samples the original so much that the song’s credits go solely to Michael Nesmith. It’s ridiculously infectious and ass-shaking and went to #75 in the US and #86 in the UK. I also love the album opener “Run’s House” (also the name of Rev. Run’s reality tv show) which samples The Soul Searchers and James Brown, and the funky “Papa Crazy” which samples The Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.” The title track “Tougher Than Leather” combines serious 70’s funk with heavy metal guitar shredding, as does “Miss Elaine.” The only track I don’t love is the album closer, “Ragtime,” mostly because it is, indeed, ragtime and it’s not a style I’m fond of and rap over ragtime doesn’t improve on it.