RTJ4
Released in June 2020 as American cities were rupturing in response to police brutality, the fourth album by rap duo Run The Jewels uses the righteous indignation of hip-hop\'s past to confront a combustible present. Returning with a meaner boom and pound than ever before, rappers Killer Mike and EL-P speak venom to power, taking aim at killer cops, warmongers, the surveillance state, the prison-industrial complex, and the rungs of modern capitalism. The duo has always been loyal to hip-hop\'s core tenets while forging its noisy cutting edge, but *RTJ4* is especially lithe in a way that should appeal to vintage heads—full of hyperkinetic braggadocio and beats that sound like sci-fi remakes of Public Enemy\'s *Apocalypse 91*. Until the final two tracks there\'s no turn-down, no mercy, and nothing that sounds like any rap being made today. The only guest hook comes from Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Mavis Staples on \"pulling the pin,\" a reflective song that connects the depression prevalent in modern rap to the structural forces that cause it. Until then, it’s all a tires-squealing, middle-fingers-blazing rhymefest. Single \"ooh la la\" flips Nice & Smooth\'s Greg Nice from the 1992 Gang Starr classic \"DWYCK\" into a stomp closed out by a DJ Premier scratch solo. \"out of sight\" rewrites the groove of The D.O.C.\'s 1989 hit \"It\'s Funky Enough\" until it treadmills sideways, and guest 2 Chainz spits like he just went on a Big Daddy Kane bender. A churning sample from lefty post-punks Gang of Four (\"the ground below\") is perfectly on the nose for an album brimming with funk and fury, as is the unexpected team-up between Pharrell and Zack de la Rocha (\"JU$T\"). Most significant, however, is \"walking in the snow,\" where Mike lays out a visceral rumination on police violence: \"And you so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me/Until my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, \'I can\'t breathe.\'\"
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 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
'RTJ4' is the perfect soundtrack to the revolution, especially the one not televised
As Run the Jewels prepared for the release of their fourth album, the rap duo should have been doing radio station and magazine interviews, answering questions about their powerful music and unlikely route to success: giving every album away for free with an option of paying.
Killer Mike and El-P's fourth LP as Run the Jewels feels perfectly timed for 2020 America
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 fourth album from rappers Killer Mike and El-P is the soundtrack to 2020's unrest. Read The Forty-Five review.
Arriving earlier than expected as both a global pandemic and a nationwide movement against police brutality gripped the United States, RTJ4 distills the anger and frustration of the people through Run the Jewels' hard-hitting, no-nonsense revolution anthems.
Before the gruesome murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police, before civil unrest boiled over in America, and before Ki...
It would be easy to see hip hop duo Run the Jewels as prophets. Each release has seemed to land at seminal moments, most recently Run The Jewels 3 in the wake of the 2016 election. Run the Jewels 4 (aka RTJ4)reads as similarly prescient, dealing with them
“Back at it like a crack addict, / Mr. Black Magic” announces Killer Mike, kicking off the album with ‘Yankee And The Brave (Ep.
Run the Jewels’ inventive beats and political bite are more evident than ever on their major label debut
Killer Mike and El-P drop their latest Run The Jewels record at a particularly poignant time – politicized and visceral as ever, they don't disappoint
When Killer Mike and El-P decided to put their solo careers on hiatus for each other, I didn't imagine them going on a seven-year-run that dramatically...
Run The Jewels 4 by Run The Jewels album review by Adam Williams. The duo's full-length is out today via Jewel Runners and streaming services