Run the Jewels

Run the Jewels is honestly a Cinderella story. You have Atlanta's Killer Mike, a well respected artist who was well connected with other tremendously successful artists: Outkast (whom he shares a Grammy with for their collaboration The Whole World) and T.I. are two examples. Despite the respect, connections, and obvious talent, it seemed like the hip-hop masses, whether it be the record labels or the audience, wouldn't give him the time of day as a solo artist. Then you have New York's El-P, also a very well respected artist and producer who experienced a great deal of success in the underground, but seemed to be brick walled from rap's upper echelon. At a moment where the spirits of the two late thirty-somethings were not particularly at their highest, Adult Swim executive Jason DeMarco implored the two to get in a room and just "see what happens." The result was Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music, his most successful and critically acclaimed album to date. Based on the success of that album, a successful collaborative tour, and their growing friendship, the duo decided to solidify their partnership by making more music together as Run the Jewels. Their music hit, and launched them to a rap stage that neither of them (unfortunately) could reach on their own.

The first instalment as Run the Jewels sees the duo testing the waters so to speak, in that I would guess that there was not a lot of energy spent on developing a well conceived plan or direction for the record. Run the Jewels has the air of a record made entirely for the love of the art-form. Therefore, there's an emphasis on the beats and the rhymes, not so much on crafting fully realized songs. Now rapping for rap's sake does lead to some fantastic moments. Even with four albums in their catalogue now, the album's opener still serves as a perfect introduction to the duo's music. The beat is grimy and menacing with touches of campy film noir and both Killer Mike and El-P are intimidating to the max. Banana Clipper continues with the slick rhymes while displaying to an even greater extent just how much chemistry the two MCs have as they trade stanzas in the first verse. Big Boi, of Outkast fame, closes this song out with a brag-filled verse that fits in perfectly. The very last line about "sitting on commas" even after his divorced wife takes half is a flex that puts a nice exclamation point on the track.

The rapping is generally stellar all throughout. I don't have many complaints. The drawback though is that attention to choruses and hooks on this record is a little lacking when they try to implement them. The hooks on 36" Chain, Ddfh, and No Come Down are particularly weak. I also thought the chorus on Job Well Done, supplied by Until the Ribbon Breaks, was a bit of a miscalculation as their style didn't quite fit Killer Mike's super aggressive and animated verses. I can't help but feel a great loss of momentum and energy. Now on the other hand, I think they nailed the chorus on Sea Legs. Lyrically, it provides a little more food for thought than an ad-lib and a tagline and I also like how the instrumentation drops out in the first half and returns with an epic rush. As far as fully realized songs go, I think this one is the strongest of the bunch.

Other minor grievances I have with the debut is that the production can feel a little one-dimensional at times. While I enjoy the alien-like, mutated instrumentals of songs like Banana Clipper and Ddfh, I feel like there's quite a few songs that have a similar vibe. I also find the Chest Rockwell character on Twin Hype Back to be pretty cringe. Despite the minor issues though, I still really enjoy this record and it wound up connecting with a lot of people. The power in the duo's words and performances was too much to ignore. This was all with minimal effort too. Over the course of the following year, Killer Mike and El-P would really buckle down, and create a record that no one would forget for a long time to come.

7.2

Standouts: Run the Jewels, Banana Clipper, Sea Legs

Hip-Hop (2013) Fool's Gold. Reviewed February 1^st, 2023

Run the Jewels 2

Run the Jewels

Around the release of the duo's follow-up, Killer Mike and El-P stated that they were going darker, bolder, and more aggressive, and Run the Jewels 2 certainly lives up to that promise. More importantly though, the duo made a stronger effort on their songwriting, implementing stronger hooks, catchier choruses, and focused, timely, relevant song topics. In an attempt to prove to people that the unlikely tag-team of Killer Mike and El-P are a legitimate, bonafide duo, they felt it pertinent in press to hammer home the fact that there was no progress on the album unless the two were physically in the same room together. And it shows, because the chemistry on RTJ2 is off the charts; getting to the point where they are finishing each others sentences or performing two-pronged attacks that call back to the likes of Run-D.M.C. They were shooting for the top of the list as far as iconic rap groups go, and there is no doubt in my mind that they achieved that here.

It all kicks off with the suspenseful Jeopardy. Well actually, it kicks off with a powerful and prophetic statement from Killer Mike claiming that "history is being made." The source of course is biased, but he says this with his entire chest; I can't help but believe him. I love the progression of this first track. The two MCs spit lengthy and isolated verses that begin pretty subdued, but grow in intensity surrounded by crashing cymbals, booming industrial snares, and a smoky saxophone. Following this we have one of my all-time favourite Run the Jewels tracks Oh My Darling Don't Cry. It has a super nocturnal and bass heavy beat and a very ear-grabbing alien vocal sample. Killer Mike and El-P put on a masterclass, constantly switching up flows and inflections keeping me engaged throughout. Killer Mike's bars are a direct gut punch while El-P sneaks in a few references to hip-hop greats and some hilarious one-liners like "you can all run naked backwards through a field of dicks." The beat switch-up towards the end is also quite devastating with all these skittering, metallic artifacts that bust in unexpectedly. Every element is perfectly crafted, performed, and assembled leaving no room for a dull moment.

Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck) is also an aggressive banger full of righteous, rebellious energy. Both MCs incite riots and acts of violence against the police and prison states with their words set against distorted bass riffs and high-pitched metallic snares. Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine fame gets to throw a molotov cocktail at the end, and is scathingly poetic. As you would expect from the charismatic and socially conscious performer. Pardon the pun, but lines like "my battle status is burnin' mansions from Dallas to Malibu, check my résumé, your residence is residue," are actually fire. All My Life offers a much needed cool down moment, but just because it's not coming out as aggressive doesn't mean this track is any less cool. I really like the dancing, chiptune bassline, the vocal hook, the swagger that Killer Mike brings to his verse, and the overall cool sizzle that surrounds the track. After this though, we are right back to the heavy bangers with Lie, Cheat, Steal. El-P delivers possibly his best verse on the record, connecting references to his sharp skills, American Psycho, and New York among others with his dizzying wordplay. I'm equally impressed with Killer Mike's penmanship on this one, especially towards the end of the verse where he posits that there are people behind "the Donalds" of the world pulling the strings behind the stage. Not to mention that the instrumental in the chorus is absolutely insane. It is so cacophonous with all the clashing elements. It's a mess, but it's an exhilarating mess.

Beyond this point in the record, the songwriting becomes topically focused. On Early, Killer Mike tells a very real tale of a police interaction turned tragically violent. El-P's verse flips the script as he plays the role of apathetic citizen who goes about their day, cold and numb to the violence and injustices they are witness to. Boots' contribution on the chorus is great and I especially like the overwhelming rush of layers that close out the tune. Crown has similarly dichotomous verses that makes for a really interesting juxtaposition. The overall theme of the track is to afford ourselves grace and relinquish our burdens in order to move on and grow. To that end, Killer Mike delivers an all-too-real-to-be-fiction, regretful tale in which he sells cocaine to a pregnant woman. This weighs heavy on him but after a chance encounter with the woman many years removed, who absolves him of his guilt, Killer Mike learns that he is not beholden to his decisions of the past. El-P on the other hand tackles the topic from a very different angle, assuming the role of a military commander who encourages his soldiers to release their burdens in order to become hollow, unfeeling, perpetrators of death for the state. The message is the same, but used to reach two very different ends. It's pretty heavy. Thankfully,Love Again (Akinyele Back) offers another reprieve from the gloom and doom of the two previously mentioned tracks with its steamy and incredibly raunchy verses. I love hearing the late Gangsta Boo represent for the women on this track with her dominant energy.

This record is amazing; I have very few issues. Honestly, the biggest complaint I have is that the Travis Barker feature on All Due Respect sounds like it was recorded on a primitive flip phone. It doesn't really add all that much power to the track and that is exactly the opposite of what a Travis Barker feature should do. Maybe a few songs pale in comparison to others in the tracklist, but there isn't a single bad song in the bunch. For me, it's easy to see Run the Jewels 2 as the duo's best.

9.0

Standouts: Oh My Darling (Don't Cry), Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck), Lie, Cheat, Steal, Early, Love Again (Akinyele Back)

Hip-Hop (2014) Mass Appeal. Reviewed February 1^st, 2023

Run the Jewels 3

Run the Jewels

Following up Run the Jewels 2 was going to be a very difficult task, but the unlikely duo of Killer Mike and El-P were certainly up to the challenge. As they did with the previous release, they teased that Run the Jewels 3 was, again, going to be even darker and heavier. I would say that they stepped it up once more in those respective avenues. Did it result in a stronger album though? Sadly, I don't think it did, but I'll talk about that later.

To get the good out of the way first, I should talk about the incredible three track run of Legend Has It, Call Ticketron, and Hey Kids (Bumaye). Legend Has It is one of my all time favourite Run the Jewels tracks, mainly because I really like the incorporation of different auxiliary percussion sounds used to transition the beat into multiple phases. Killer Mike switches between subdued and hype inflections in a really animated way, and the track is packed full of catchy, memorable lines. Call Ticketron has an insane instrumental that sounds like it came from an underground club rave hosted at Area 51. Killer Mike absolutely destroys his parts here; using the extraterrestrial vibe as inspiration for his first verse, making references to ET, ATLiens, and giving us the image of him awaiting the aliens' arrival with a "blunt and a beer." In his last verse, Killer Mike has no business coming in so smooth with the "sama lama doo ma lama" flow. It's one of the quickest flows I think I've ever heard him rap and he pulls it off flawlessly. The instrumental for Hey Kids is similarly nocturnal and extraterrestrial, however, the incorporation of a few guitar licks help make this one stand out. I love this track for Danny Brown's feature, opening and closing with incredibly witty lines. "Word architect, when I arch the tech, I'll part ya' neck," packs so many internal rhymes, and "give up that charm or get harmed, watch too or your time gone, and the rings or your life pawned and we gone" fits perfectly into the Run the Jewels lore.

Some other things going for Run the Jewels 3 is that it continues to bring strong choruses and hooks. I particularly like Don't Get Captured for the epic gospel background vocals and Killer Mike's presentation of the playback for carrying out illicit activities. Panther Like a Panther's hook is incredibly simple yet tremendously effective, and Trina has the perfect voice to deliver those braggadocios lines. One thing I would say Run the Jewels 3 has over its predecessor is that the social commentary does seem more pointed and powerful this time. This is especially the case for Killer Mike's verse on Thursdays In the Danger Room where he talks about strife and violence within underprivileged communities, and the effects it has on families. He finishes his first be addressing directly an unknown assailant who murdered one of his friends. In three lines, he demonstrates a great deal of grace, wishing that this man has since atoned for his wrong-doings and has found a way 'out of the jungle' so that his family won't know the same pain. It's incredibly emotional, rapped eloquently, and his thoughtful approach is very admirable. It's why I enjoy Killer Mike's music so much.

There are a lot of great things about Run the Jewels 3, but as I alluded to in the beginning, it is not one of my favourite projects of theirs for a few reasons. For one, I think this album has one of the weakest beginnings in their discography. Down is an unexpectedly tame opener that doesn't really fill me with much excitement. El-P's contribution begins quite awkwardly with an almost conversational delivery that is difficult to pin down the intent. And the 'eh' ad-libs that he separates each line with is a tad annoying. Run the Jewels 3 is also the duo's longest project, and sadly has the most filler. Tracks like Stay Gold and Oh Mama probably should've been left on the cutting room floor. While I'm complaining, I would say that Tunde Adebimpe's (of TV On the Radio fame) vocal part towards the end of Thieves! (Screamed the Ghost) wasn't all that strong, and I would say the same of Boots for his contributions on 2100.

The last gripe I'll leave off with is that I do feel like the production this time around can run a little one-dimensional. Not so much in the sound department, as there is a lot of variety there, but more so in the vibe. The instrumentals are bass heavy, spacious, and rather foreboding in almost all cases. While this record is not without its issues, I still very much enjoy many of the tracks here. Perhaps you could chalk the duo's slight faltering to how long they continued to grind since R.A.P. Music. Together, they essentially made four records in the span of five years. Thus, keeping things fresh, new, and exciting, especially with limited time between releases, might've become too much of a challenge. Thankfully, the duo would take a much needed break after releasing this record, and bounce back with a much more solid record in 2020.

7.3

Standouts: Legend Has It, Call Ticketron, Hey Kids (Bumaye)

Hip-Hop (2016) Run the Jewels, Inc. Reviewed February 1^st, 2023

RTJ4

Run the Jewels

After the doom and gloom of Run the Jewels 3, I was very happy to see Killer Mike and El-P rise up out of the darkness for RTJ4. Now, I don't mean the duo goes soft, they're just as scathing as ever, which is totally fitting considering the world didn't really get better in the three and half year gap between albums. You can hear allusions to the many high-profile police killings that occurred around this time, as well as the 'school to prison' pipeline phenomenon on walking in the snow. JU$T is a harsh reminder that no matter how much influence, money, or power we have, we're all just playing someone else's game. The elites who are running the show don't merely play by a different set of rules, they make them. It's how they get away with heinous acts or run countries, and how they prevent anyone on the bottom from getting ahead. Therefore, if you look to Run the Jewels for their sharp social commentary, then this album certainly has that.

What makes this record more palatable though, to me anyway, is that it doesn't feel as dire as the last one, and you get that sense right off the bat with yankee and the brave (ep.4). Unlike the last opener, this track definitely brings the excitement you would expect from a Run the Jewels record. I also love hearing the expansion of the Run the Jewels lore in the lyrics; Killer Mike and El-P rapping in character as the unlikely duo on the run from their aggressors. oh la la is super playful in its nihilist tendencies. It's one part a denouncement of all authority and elite figures, and one part a building up of the everyman. This tune is packed with so many memorable lines and has a fantastic, angular piano sample, easily making this tune one of my favourites across their discography.

oh la la isn't the only track with incredible production, in fact, I think RTJ4 is one of their best produced projects. All the influences and sounds the duo is known to bring in are represented on this record, and done so in a way that feels cohesive and true to themselves. You have those shoot-outs to golden era, New York hip-hop on the previously mentioned oh la la. out of sight is a super colourful and somewhat disorienting trip. holy calamafuck and never look back have those more spacious, dark, and cavernous instrumentals that made up a lot of the last record. They even pull in some rock influences; the ground below incorporates some jangly guitar from the Gang of Four, and while not credited, the closing track a few words for the firing squad (radiation) sounds like they are just rapping over a sample of INXS' Never Tear Us Apart. There's even quite a few beat switch-ups that are nicely executed on several tracks, my favourite of which being goonies vs. E.T. which flows between dark ambient passages and a lively, upbeat, boom-bap rhythm.Overall, I'm just happy to hear a record with more sonic variety.

This record is a great improvement over the last collection, but it isn't without a few minor issues. out of sight is generally quite good, but 2 Chains' verse is just awful; weak similes, tacky wordplay, and awkward flows. As much as I appreciated the attempt to ride something different production wise with the more rock-influenced the ground below, I would have to say it's probably my least favourite song of the bunch. And lastly, the closing track drags on for way too long without any serious developments. Even when the squawking saxophones come in for the finale, it's too little too late at that point.

That brings us to today. We are a few years removed from RTJ4, and lot has happened in that time. More police violence, a raging culture war, an actual war, and a global pandemic. I don't know if the duo has anything in the works for RTJ5, but I have no doubt that they have endless material to fuel their fire. When it eventually comes (at least I'm hoping), I know that they will cause a great and significant disruption with their signature witty, antagonistic, and powerful presence on the microphone.