RTJ4

Pitchfork 8.3/10 On their fourth installment, Killer Mike and El-P are back to tune up the ruling class and the racist police state, this time streamlining the process and settling into their most natural rhythm.

The Needle Drop 8/10 RTJ4 is a vital soundtrack to our rotten, rotten world.

NME 5/5 The righteous rap duo take on police brutality and the fear-mongering media. If a hip-hop album alone could change the world, this might do it.

The Line of Best Fit 10/10 RTJ4 is Killer Mike & El-P’s masterstroke. This is musical evolution for moral, social and political revolution, the group now creating anthems in the pursuit of tolerance, respect and unity.

Evening Standard 4/5 Mostly they sound disturbingly prescient. “You so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me,” Mike raps on Walking in the Snow. It’s the sound of this precise moment, much as it must pain them to know it.

Rolling Stone 4/5 The agit-rap duo’s fourth LP was recorded before America was ignited in protest, but it still feels perfectly apt for 2020 America.

Dork 5/5 Their most laser-focused, high-intensity record yet.

DIY 5/5 ‘RTJ4’ is by far Killer Mike and El-P’s most accomplished chapter, wrought with rage but injected with a humour and wisdom that offers razor-sharp clarity and, with that, an unapologetically raw and sobering take on our times.

The Independent 4/5 Killer Mike and El-P have long-since learnt how to turn their words into ammunition, but this is a distillation of all their anger and elation, hurt and love.

The Forty Five 4/5 Unwavering, powerful and exactly the standard we expect from the rap duo.

All Music 4.5/5 Much like reality, the raw and unflinching RTJ4 is a lot to take in, both a balm for the rage and fuel to keep the fire burning. Although eerily prescient, RTJ4 is less prophetic and more a case of deja vu, addressing the endemic issues of a broken country that sadly continue.

Under The Radar 9.0/10 The album is truly Run the Jewels’ best album to date, without a weak performance or lackluster track to be found. Moreover, it is an explosive call for unity against systemic injustice, and a riveting work of righteous fury.

Clash 9/10 ‘RTJ4’ is a must listen. It is diverse enough to appeal to even the hardest crowds.

The Observer 5/5 Killer Mike and El-P have always traded dazzlingly intricate verses, all alliteration and propulsive rhymes, over inventive, nonlinear productions, and RTJ4 supersizes their outsider aesthetic without squandering any hard-won authenticity.

Loud and Quiet 8/10 There’s a dichotomy at the heart of records like this. RTJ4 is a stark reminder that the consumption of art as either entertainment or cultural document are two inseparable actions.

Slant 4.5/5 The album advances the thesis that the nature of modern life is inherently carceral.

Pop Matters 8/10 RTJ4 is exactly what you'd expect from two guys who have been down this road three times before without ever missing the mark.

Spectrum Culture 85% It’s hard to gauge the “importance” of an album as new and fresh in the mind as RTJ4, but even if the day comes when its themes won’t be socially relevant anymore, one can imagine that its power as a work of art will not dissipate over time.

Beats Per Minute 78% Right off the bat, RTJ4 is the most mature effort for the group, as it does away with a lot of what made the previous efforts unbearable for those few left unassimilated: sophomoric dick jokes and chest pumping.

Uncut 8/10 Their fourth self-titled LP crackles with a wisecracking energy, the pair ricocheting between righteous state-of-the-nation address and the sort of goofy mischief the Beastie Boys dealt in circa III Communication.

RapReviews.com 8.5/10 Because of the themes it addresses, “RTJ4” is indeed a hip-hop album chaotically reflective of the modern times and much needed for the same reason.