Run-D.M.C.

Released in '88, Run-D.M.C.'s fourth album continues in the same tradition of their earlier work, with rock-fused production, hard-hitting beats, and full-throttle rhymes. Also the title of a movie they did with the Beastie Boys, Tougher Than Leather features hits like "Mary Mary," "Run's House," and my personal favorite "Beats To The Rhyme."

Times may no longer be hard for Run-D.M.C., the world's best-known rap group, but these
days guys can't afford to rest on their Adidas. In the hectic hip-hop world, where the
names and faces change faster than you can say "rock the house," the members of
Run-D.M.C. have got half the kids in the streets dogging them for teaming up with shaggy
museum pieces like Aero-smith and for taking two years to produce a follow-up... More >

Coming off their sophomore jinx and out to prove their mastery, they ended up celebrating it as well; coming off their triumph and feeling too damn big for their minor label, they merely demonstrate it. Technically, the kings are nonpareils--not a duff beat or a forced rhyme. But for the moment they lack desire. I'll enjoy the genre-busting side-closers anywhere, the original-metal title tune and anticrime message on the radio, and the rest later. (Grade - B+)