RTJ4 - Run the Jewels
“Their latest project is as raw as it is polished, with no shortage of bitter candor about the current state of the world.”
From “Best of June 2020”
In 2013, two rappers with nothing in common but their unabashed commitment to social activism and their veteran status in the hip-hop underground wrote and produced an album together. Eponymously titled Run The Jewels, this album and duo would later be known as one of the greatest late-career moves in hip-hop history. Seven years later, Atlanta native Michael Render (better known as Killer Mike) and his brother-in-arms Jaime Meline (better known as El-P) are mounting the pulpit for the fourth time, with the aptly titled RTJ4. Their latest project is as raw as it is polished, with no shortage of bitter candor about the current state of the world. The album was released on June 2, 2020, three days ahead of its original release date, along with the message “Fuck it, why wait? The world is infested with bullshit so here’s something raw to listen to while you deal with it all.” The word ‘raw’ may be an understatement, but in the midst of the current national outrage at the treatment of Black lives by American police, the unapologetic revolutionary politics of RTJ4 could not be more welcome. This record is, all at once, a blast from the past, a protest of the present, and an ominous warning from the future. Killer Mike’s pummeling honesty and El-P’s dizzying lyrical acrobatics come together with a synergy that would make Ye and Jay jealous. With a clever concept to tie it all together, RTJ4 comes out to be an absolute triumph.
“...in the midst of the current national outrage at the treatment of Black lives by American police, the unapologetic revolutionary politics of RTJ4 could not be more welcome.”
As the album opens, the first thing you hear is a fictional announcer introducing the record - “this week, on ‘Yankee and the Brave’” - followed by a relentless flurry of snare drums and Killer Mike shouting in your ears – in other words, everything you want in an RTJ song. The announcer establishes the loose concept of the album, which portrays Mike and El as protagonists in an old-school cops’n’robbers style cartoon. In the first leg of the album, Mike and El effortlessly glide between the anthemic outlaw story on “yankee and the brave,” the playful party bangers “ooh la la” and “out of sight,” and the vengeful, larger-than-life “holy calamafuck,” all while maintaining a sense of narrative. As the album continues, the care that was put into each song’s infrastructure becomes evident. With no blueprint in sight, each track features elements that aren’t present anywhere else on the album, and in some cases, in the group’s whole discography. Dance breaks on “goonies vs. E.T.,” trap music flirtations on “JU$T,” Josh Homme’s blood-curdling guitar leads on “pulling the pin,” and the genre-breaking masterpiece “a few words for the firing squad (radiation)” – it’s this careful creativity that makes Run The Jewels stand distinct from other hip-hop groups and pushes this album from great to masterful.
“...with no blueprint in sight, each track features elements that aren’t present anywhere else on the album...”
It takes all of one minute into the album to realize that El-P’s production has stepped up a notch, a fact which becomes more apparent with each successive track. He’s upgraded from his catchy but slightly cursory beats on the first RTJ album to new heights of soundscape construction, adding seldom-before-seen layers of nuance to each song. The beats on RTJ4 provide so much more to the listener than a mere backing track for the rappers – El-P creates settings, conjures up new worlds that give new meaning to the songs’ lyrics. Much like his rapping style, El-P’s production is an esoteric, ever-unfolding labyrinth of sound that rewards listeners with an acute attention to detail and keeps fans playing his albums on repeat. He has always carved his own path in the production world, but with RTJ4, El-P has situated himself as one of the best producers in modern hip-hop.
“El-P’s production is an esoteric, ever-unfolding labyrinth of sound that rewards listeners with an acute attention to detail”
In terms of lyrics, many of these songs are expectedly laden with the duo’s trademark cartoonish arrogance, but when it comes to real-world justice crises, this album is more urgent and less cryptic than any previous one. El-P spits white-hot fire at hypocritical evangelicals, history revisionists, and climate change apologists, but when it comes to the raw, in-your-face belligerence that RTJ is known for, Killer Mike owns the stage. Mike has never been one to mince his words, but his bars on songs like “JU$T”, “pulling the pin”, and “walking in the snow” are enough to make you pick up a brick and a riot shield. He delivers spine-chilling wisdom with his signature no-nonsense attitude, especially at the end of “walking in the snow” where he compels listeners to ‘never forget in the story of Jesus the hero was killed by the state.’ Full stop.
RTJ4 throws its weight around, and it has every right to do so. With two near-perfect albums and an impressive debut behind them, the odds of Run the Jewels hitting their stride with their fourth album were slim to none. And yet, RTJ4 checks off all the boxes. The lyrics, the beats, the concept, even the features are all more polished and expressive than on any previous RTJ project. Mike and El are and will continue to be harbingers of truth and enemies of propaganda. They’re like the Mythbusters, only they aren’t here to prove that gummy bears can be used as rocket fuel – they’re here to pull back the curtain on the ugliness in the world. Killer Mike mentions a coming revolution multiple times on the album, and all I can say is, when it gets here, it’ll have a kickass soundtrack.
For Fans Of: Killer Mike, JPEGMAFIA, Aesop Rock
Listen to: “yankee and the brave (ep. 4),” “walking in the snow,” “pulling the pin (feat. Mavis Staples & Josh Homme)”
