Run the Jewels 2

Pitchfork 9.0/10 Sounding like nothing else and answering to nobody but its creators, Run the Jewels 2 is in a class by itself.

A.V. Club A- Run The Jewels 2 is concussive. The sequel takes the simplistic thrills of the debut and expands the duo’s natural chemistry. With Killer Mike grounded at the album’s emotional core, El-P is free to indulge in his intrepid production tendencies.

The Needle Drop 8/10 El-P and Killer Mike team up for an even more ambitious Run the Jewels record!

NME 4.5/5 Cranking the urgency and confrontation of last year's self-titled debut to neck-breaking levels of intensity, 'RTJ2' is an urgent, paranoid album for a violent, panicked time.

The Line of Best Fit 9/10 This is the best relationship in rap music right now; more than producer/rapper, Render and Meline truly are brothers in arms and they’re here to give us all the push we need to take on the world.

Rolling Stone 4/5 On their second album as Run the Jewels, noise-loving Brooklyn rapper-producer El-P and Atlanta's Killer Mike make the most explosive hip-hop you'll hear all year.

DIY 4/5 Lording up on a gross lack of restraint, it’s a killer blow that keeps on killing, a reminder of just how mad music can be without drowning in self-indulgence.

All Music 5/5 If the first album was the supernova, RTJ2 is the RTJ universe forming, proving that Mike and El-P's one-off can be a going, and ever growing, concern.

Under The Radar 9.0/10 Whether it's rage or just two guys trying to make each other laugh with dark humor, RTJ2 stands tall in a year of weak hip-hop.

Clash 8/10 Run The Jewels has again pushed rap away from regular rhythms and rhymes and into territories that they’re still calculating the dimensions of.

Slant 5/5 RTJ2 is a steamroller of an album, packed with enough assonance and alliteration to school an AP English literature class.

Pop Matters 9/10 RTJ2 is filled with such thoughtful, penetrating moments, tightly wound up in 11 bona fide bangers. It’s a rare collaborative effort that works just as well for newcomers to either contributor as for longtime fans tracking their artistic progress.

The Guardian 4/5 Their style is also a fusion – of El-P’s abrasive, experimental New York styling with Mike’s smooth, almost laconic, Atlanta flow.

Spectrum Culture 90% From the moment Mike ushers in the album with a boisterous “I’m finna bang this bitch out!” yelled from what sounds like a tunnel, RTJ2 announces two independent artists at their respective peaks fully fused as one of the best duos of their time.

The Irish Times 4/5 As statements of intents go, Run the Jewels 2 is a state of the nation address you should not ignore.

RapReviews.com 9.0/10 The non-bonus track version clocks in at 11 songs and just under 40 minutes, El-P and Killer Mike not wasting a minute of it.