In his pre-“NCIS: LA” existence, LL Cool J once rhymed in the persona of a struggling rapper on “Cheesy Rat Blues.” Times got so hard that Mr. Smith implored the crowd to engage in a classic B-Boy approval gesture of waving their hands in the air. Then he relieved them of their trinkets by calmly asking them to keep their hands up and commanding, “Run the jewels.” Between their respective, indie imprints, Definitive Jux and Grind Time Official, El-P and Killer Mike aren’t hurting for paper like LL’s fictional character. But they’ve teamed up again to create an album that combines the B-boy classicism of a “Throw your hands in the air” chant with the brashness of a stickup at gunpoint.
About a year ago, most of us weren’t even aware Killer Mike and El-P knew each other. Then they dropped one of 2012’s best albums. And in a non-good kid, m.A.A.d city year, they likely would’ve outright taken the title of Best Hip Hop Album with R.A.P. Music. While there will be inevitable comparisons between both projects, the most obvious differences between R.A.P. Music and Run The Jewels are more microphone time for El-P and production that is more in line with El Producto’s work as a member of Company Flow.
A continual undercurrent of dissonance is present throughout the entire project. El-P layers digital blips, synths and live guitars (courtesy of Little Shalimar and Matt Sweeney) over cymbal clashes, classic 808-drums and jabbing, sometimes-staccato snares. It’s a harsh listen that’s likely more obscure to casual, Top-40 listeners than R.A.P. Music. That’s too bad for them, because Mike and El-P seemingly unleash every item in their B-boy tool kit this time around.
“Cowering like cowards cowering on concrete showers in Rikers Island / Victims, we the wolves that’s whylin’ / We often smile at sights of violence,” Mike barks on the opening title track. Aside from the alliteration, assonance and internal rhyme cadences, Mike also murks some old woman’s poodle and threatens to rob Prince William. This is conceptual Hip Hop of the highest order. And El-P matches Killer Mike bar for bar in what essentially becomes a friendly, rhyming competition. Producto compares his own behavior to maneuvering on a wayward water vessel, on “Sea Legs” with the following:
“Maybe should’ve never started this path / Every time I get a chance to advance it’s backwards / No thanks to my very own actions / Get a couple good drinks in the kid I can flip on a friend, take a drug fuck a chick that I shouldn’t / Oh god I am one of those mad men…”
The dark humor and friendly competition are really unexpected bonus elements. In between warning us about drones (“DDFH”), and Mike and a stripper tripping on ‘shrooms and reenacting the mythological union of Isis and Osiris (“No Come Down”) there’s plenty to like. Some of the above will likely be lost on the dumbed-down, “turn up” crowd. But it’s difficult not to give the stamp of approval to any album featuring Prince Paul in vintage De La Soul album skit mode. Paul appears on “Twin Hype Back” as “Chest Rockwell” with overtures for some wholesome anal sex after dropping a half a molly in his date’s Mountain Dew. All the while, Mike and El-P are one-upping each other with boasts of respectively getting their bellies squeezed like bagpipes and rocking church socks during sex.
If there’s a knock on Run The Jewels, it’s that it won’t be particularly accessible to those who have been desensitized by hours of dumbed-down radio and television programming. This is especially true during the summer months when most singles feature heavy doses of molly, Ciroc and bullshit lyrics. If anything, Killer Mike and El-P may have raised standards (and expectations) incredibly high last time around. Either way, one has to think the pair will once again find themselves on more than a few Album of the Year lists with Run The Jewels.
RELATED: Killer Mike & El-P “Run The Jewels” Release Date, Tracklist & Album Download
this was 5* album to me. kicked yeezus ass but yeezus is good
RTJ > Yeezus, no doubt about it
Rip The Jacker > Yeezus
yeezus is below every record ever released in music history.
fuck canibus.. fuck rip the jacker.. i’m sick of you chino xl canibus ras kass loving nerds
and why do you geeks always feel the need to compare everything
phenomenal album all the way through, straight fire
you dirty muslim must be joking with this rating. it’s the best album this year next to yeezus and i doubt that anybody can record something better than this in 2013.
no need for the dirty muslim comment, keep hate to yourself!
RT /\
This album is fire!
it was cool.
raw ass album, 5 stars all day every track is dope af
soooooo sick
EL-P ruined this album with his rapping, that dude is waaaack!!!! Killer Mike is killing shit as always…
El is dope!
yourie in idiot, el-p has bars
youngvito isn’t vito jr the goth fagot son of gay vito from sopranos that shit and stepped on it in the shower? sweet namesake bro
Great album, best of the year so far
This album is even better than R.A.P. Music. Mike & El are some hungry MFers.
This is definitely my front-runner for album of the year, El-Producto & Killer Mike are at the peak of their powers on this one. I can’t single out a weak bar let alone a weak track. This is some straight up TURN THAT SHIT UP, SHUT THE FUCK UP AND JUST LISTEN…Damn!
I love the chemistry on this record between these 2 and of course the amazing production. So far one of my favorites
This album is off the fuckin charts. Two collest doods in hip-hop by far. Masterpiece.
WHOA, this album is a BEAST.
Might be project of the year…fuck that hov album btw..yet ANOTHER disappointment
Werd. I only got thru half that J shit.
Can’t Sleep On Killer Mike
R.A.P. ate this shit’s lunch, comparitively. Yet this eats all 2013 albums lunch.
I respectfully disagree. R.A.P. was obviously a gem and was the superior album but I dont think there’s as big a disparity as you say. But to each his own, tough album regardless.
I also respectfully disagree with nah son sentra.
This leans a little closer to C4C sonically and thereby differs from what El-P was doing *for* Mike on R.A.P. and not *with* Mike here. Get it?
Shit’s dope. Especially for being free.
the real shit is free nowadays. free albums > retail shit.
some nice beats but lyrically there was nothing that hard about this LP
um…what?!
he means conceptually/subject-matter wise. Most people don’t know what “lyrical” means.
sea legs & the last track (i forget the name of it), = pretty nice social commentary and
subject matter
THIS IS THE BEST ALBUM I’VE HEARD ALL YEAR!
THIS IS FUCKING DOPE better than any of these hot albums right now, yeezus magna carta, born sinner, mac miller. and its free. Great rap duo
THAT is a GREAT point! This album was free, and is easily far more superior than Mac Miller or J.Cole’s albums. And although maybe not by as much as those two, it definitely surpasses Yeezus and MCHG as well.
Hats off to [adultswim] for introducing these two, whoulda thought? Killer Mike is also FANTASTIC live, Ive seen him twice here in LA and he’s hands down one of the best performing rappers Ive ever seen.
Killer Mic keep eating Emcees and dropping classics. Thanx Mike
These two are a match made in rap heaven. 5 Stars.
if you dont have MANGNA CARTA HOLY GRAIL yet i suggest you go get it 10/10
www. hiphopgood .com has it along with all the albums from this past year
Hell no, fuck Jay-Z. The Black Album is the only good one.
what? the blueprint, reasonable doubt? hard knock life?
As expected. An Elite hip-hop duo, you favorite producers favorite producer El-P, your favorite rappers favorite rapper Killer Mike; these two create a sound that is nothing short of immaculate. Run The Jewels is the product of a an extremely artistic and creative synergy that redefines genre. The only words that come to my head with an El-P/Killer Mike Collaboration is an absolute perfect collaboration, a sound that will survive through the ages. Run The Jewels embodies the essence of Hip-Hop. Every track is a stand-out. This album is worth a listen to anybody with musical-taste. So far, my favorite album of 2013.
Finally some real rap, it’s been a while.
Couldnt be better
Absolutely best album of the year so far.
there will be no mercy me’s/There will be no reprieve for the thieves/
there will be no Respect for Thrones/ no masta masta these bones/ your idols all of my rivals/ I rival all of your idols/ I stand on towers like Eiffel/I rifle, down all your idols/ Niggas will perish in Paris/ Niggas is nothin but parrots/ I write for the writers that write for the liars that impress you and your parents/……..You missed these lines from Killer Mike in your review, hope not on purpose hahahaha
“We the villains, we antagonist bad guys” – Killer Mike on “Banana Clipper”
That line describes this album perfectly. Both are monsters with the raps and El-P (and Little Shalimar) are beasts with the beats. Every track is dope. It’s hard to get away from this album (who would want to anyway?) It’s also impossible not to listen to the entire album in one sitting. Once you listen to one track you have to listen to them all.
One of the best albums this year. Thank you Run The Jewels
Dope shit!
Killa!!!!!For sure!!!!!!!!1
HipHop We breathn still no Life Support Weaklings……..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eetOO7Z1Dfk
I kinda disgusted me that Burgess shelved RAP Music behind gkmc like the latter was it’s superior, but decent review. I really enjoyed this album.
good album though
these both ar god’s at the rap game
I liked the production a lot, verses are on point too. Hooks are pretty weak on most of the songs. My favorite songs are probably “DDFN” and “No Come Down”.
I give it a 4. Nothing more, nothing less.
So this doesn’t get a higher rating..because mainstream listeners wouldn’t get it? If anything, that’s MORE of a reason for this to have 4.5X compared to 4. Actually liked this project more than R.A.P. Music, largely because the production is more in tune with EL-P’s style. Already can’t wait for their next release!
This album bangs. Definitely in my top 3 albums of the year discussion.
Album of the Year so far.
Killer Mike and EL-P are the next Kobe and Shaq. Great Album.
This is the best album of 2013 by a huge margin in my honest opinion. El-P is so underrated as a rapper. People sleep on his emceeing abilities because of how dope a producer he is.
“Not only do I bite but I’m rabid, try to pet my fucking head again and I’mma put a tooth through the flesh of the palm that you jack with!” El-P is fucking bananas! Killer Mike is one of the best rappers walking on planet Earth. The beats bang and the lyrics are crazy, good contrast between the complex lyrics and flows of El-P and the straight forward in your face aggressive style of Killer Mike. REAL BAD GUY SHIT!
This album has good production. Mostly I just hate El-P’s beats, but this and R.A.P. Music have some actually good beats.
Killer Mike is the realest rapper in the game and El-P is a crazy fucking genius. Of course this shit is good.
good album but i expected better
where magna carta doesn’t really get in gear until FUTW (I mean, can Rick Ross just /talk/ instead of starting a lame rhyme at the beginning of every bar), this shit jumps off like inspectah deck igniting a wu track and it doesn’t let up, get lazy or take itself for granted.
you can hear these two invoking all the ancestral lyrical duos on this joint, going back through heltah skeltah, smif n wessun, MOP, EPMD, Run DMC.
mike is utterly merciless, crystal clear, and demonstrating ongoing dedication to the craft.
as for el-p’s beats, this is some orbital strip club shit where he spins for chicks with three butt cheeks and that’s a good thing. where some cats make beats that “sound like the future,” (looking at you timbo, no hate but real talk: u actually repurposing 5 year old british riddims) only P’s are actually from the fucked up blasted out drowned future most of us will live in — sent to the present to murder your ass in order to stop you from listening to bullshit later.
you have to be steeped in dub music, a lickle bristol sound, and have really felt the 11-bit bang of a late 80s rap record to appreciate what’s going on here. and that’s just too much homework for the generic rap fan.
Sick album that has me asking for more. “Run the Jewels” and “Banana Clippers” are the standout tracks.
5/5 easily.
4/5. dope album. 2 of the best easily in the rap world but album is too short(almost or maybe more realistically an EP) and 2 of the songs are a bit lacking as far as the hooks go and those 2 beats are a bit too stripped down and under produced for el-p(best producer easily). important album though.
Put a plastic shopping bag over your head and shit your pants
Bang
It definitely deserves 4.9/5, very good album, my only issue is the length as a lot of people are saying, so good to listen to in the gym too.
Outstanding…best duo in the business!
Grizzly
4/5
Killer Mike at it again!
I love underrated records like this! If I could only buy 1 album this july, it’d be this one, allll daaaayyyyyyy
.
wack
Whats unfair is that albums such as Born Sinner has 500+ ratings, and it still got 4.39/5, which is amazing. However, albums like this which wasn’t on the same level as Born Sinner gets a wayyy higher user rating with only 50 odd people rating it! WTF?!?!?!
It’s actually pretty simple: this album is a force of pure awesome and a higher percentage of those who listened to it enjoyed it more thoroughly.
Nothing but good reviews here. Im Glad some people still know good music. Best album of ’13 thus far
First album of 2013 which better than fidel.
1.So run the jewels
2.Fidel
Killer Mike is punching me in the face with his incisive rhymmin’ and then he just keeps going like an elegant elephant. This shit is so intense that it’s abbreviated length is novel and appropriate, after first listen on a killer sound system when P’s beats hit hard, real hard; now I can only appreciate the tracks in doses. First listen to ‘No come down’ was a relative understanding on the phrase . . . . You know.
5/5
Garbage
fuck outta here wid dat
Dope
I enjoyed it. The harshly pleasing sounds and abrasive lyrics complement with those of King Remembered in Time, another one of my favorites this year. Easily could have been 9.99 in stores.
too presh
Saw them play live together, one of the best concerts I’ve been to.
Classic Album, not a wasted Verse. Too bad more ears wont hear this.
5/5 so good
Maybe the best album ive heard since R.A.P. music. So good
Modern day classic and I don’t say that often. Anyone hating on this, kill yourself.
It’s been a long time since I’ve heart an album with a lyrical slaughterfest on every track. Run the Jewels is an instant classic for anyone who appreciates hip-hop for the right reasons.
this album is AMAZING Ive been an EL-P fan for years and he keeps being a GREAT innovative producer and MC. I appreciate the exposure to Killer Mike since I wasnt an avid listener of him before “R.A.P> Music”. Real recognize Real (Y) ALBUM OF THE YEAR FLAWLESS AHRDCORE RAP=FIRE BArs and GREAT BEATS
TOP ALBUM OF 2013 HANDS DOWN
Original, raw, excellent.
THIS ALBUMS RUNS ABOUT 30 MINUTES, AND IT TOOK ME LIKE 4 HOURS TO FINISH IT ON FIRST PLAY-THROUGH. HAD TO KEEP REWINDING SHIT.
Best album of 2013… and 2014 probably.
RUN THE MOTHERFUCKING JEWELS!
one of the best releases of 2013 and its for free.. el-p & KM are the definition of realness.. makes me proud to be a hip hop head
One of the best albums I’ve heard this year. Fucking amazing!
Steeped in hip hop history but totally forward looking. Brutal production, sensational performances. Classic shit right there.
Jesus Christ, this review sounds like it was written by some angst-ridden hipster. I actually like Run The Jewels less now knowing that someone as needlessly butthurt about the mainstream as Omar Burgess likes it too.
big step down from r.a.p. music
Fantastic album. can’t wait for Run the Jewels 2
Great album but the best was yet to come. RTJ2 is even better.