Tougher Than Leather is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on May 17, 1988, by Profile Records.

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.

& 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.

The album was accompanied by the release of a crime film of the same name by New Line Cinema with Rick Rubin as a director and starring Run-D.M.C.

must find and punish the evil drug lord-record company executive who murdered their friend.