After a four-year gestation period from Run The Jewels’ last album, Hip Hop’s supreme tag team Killer Mike and El-P reemerge from their figurative cocoon and soar for their most ambitious and crucial release to date, Run The Jewels 4.
RTJ4 is bare bones with no filler skits, interludes (or dick jokes) and sports purposeful guest appearances without seeming like Hollywood red carpet cameos. It’s a rabbit hole descent filled with echo chambers, athletic cadences, countless obscure and blatant odes to ’80s and ’90s rap. Wall-rippling 808 bass decidedly makes this offering more militant than Run The Jewels 3 and the project’s timeliness is equally as important as the product itself.
The album’s opening track and first single “yankee and the brave (ep. 4)” is an incendiary takeoff, wasting zero time to underscore the necessary sense of urgency through a compacted sonic boom. El-P and Mike represent their respective MLB city team’s nicknames, paralleling Main Source’s 1991 anti-police brutality allegory “Just A Friendly Game Of Baseball.” But Mike is staunch in his give-me-liberty-or-give-me-death declaration (“I got one round left, a hunnid cops outside/I could shoot at them or put one between my eyes/Chose the latter, it don’t matter, it ain’t suicide/And if the news say it was that’s a god damn lie”).
On the Gang Starr-sampled “ooh la la,” RTJ’s most danceable record to date, the backdrop is a syncopated low octave piano loop. Veteran MC Greg Nice updates his wop dance-swaying lyric from “DWYCK” for the RTJ’s hook, while DJ Premier adds his signature chops to play clean-up. There are other homages by RTJ to their musical influences, including “out of sight” featuring a stellar verse by 2 Chainz, containing a semi-inverted reworking of The D.O.C.’s “It’s Funky Enough” instrumental.
Killer Mike & El-P Release 'RTJ4' Album Stream & Download Early Because, Of Course
Disruptive lyricism aimed at modern-day slave masters is constantly deployed. On “walking in the snow,” Mike delivers his hardest verse, demanding his “Radio Raheem respect,” attacking America’s prison-grooming education system while speaking to the conditions that are burning America this very second: “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’/And you sit there in house on couch and watch it on TV/The most you give’s a Twitter rant and call it ‘a tragedy.'”
The bouncy “JU$T” featuring Pharrell Williams and frequent RTJ collaborator Zach de la Rocha examines the global panopticon’s virtual imprisonment and the veil of democratization within government-regulated social media, a concept predicted by George Orwell in his prescient dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The Rage Against The Machine frontman blitzes with show-stealing swagger on the song’s final verse with his trademark teeth-gnashing vocal style.
Instead of a calculated airstrike that renders an explosive, cohesive soundscape to fade into the sunset, RTJ4‘s final three tracks have the most mellow vibes. “pulling the pin” featuring Queens of The Stone Age singer Josh Homme and R&B luminary Mavis Staples has an eerie yet alluring performance from Staples about the sorrow and anger spurred by powers that be. Meanwhile, “never look back” takes on a subdued, electronica bop.
Run The Jewels Post Up At Rick Rubin's Studio To Work On "RTJ4" Album
Album anchor “a few words from the firing squad” is the most personal and introspective. It displays El-P’s love for his wife Emily Panic, waking up to watch her sleep while cherishing his time alive with her and pondering uncertainty about the future.
Mike opens up about his own political persona as a beacon of hope in his hometown of Atlanta, much like he did in his tearful speech last month when he begged fellow city residents to not “burn your own house down for anger with an enemy” as protests and riots erupted across the country. (“Friends tell her, ‘He could be another Malcolm, he could be another Martin’/She told her partner, ‘I need a husband more than the world need another martyr,'” he raps.)
Run The Jewels' 'RTJ4' Debuts In Billboard 200 Top 10 — A 1st For The Duo
RTJ4’s theme is reminiscent of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s evocative line in the classic sci-film action thriller Terminator 2: Judgement Day: “It’s in your nature to destroy yourselves,” in response to the protagonist character John Connor’s question, “We’re not gonna make it, are we? People, I mean?”
The duo has mastered the ability to commandeer the morale of the disenfranchised, refusing to be subjected to bondage on Amerikkka’s plantation and all its present poisons; Führer 45 and his supporters’ profiteering on systemic racism; the COVID-19 pandemic; sharp economic downturns and America’s unemployment rate being the worst since The Great Depression.
Rap has supplied the history of recorded music with some dynamite one-two punches including Run-DMC, Outkast, EPMD, the late Phife Dawg and Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest and Posdnous and Dave of De La Soul. RTJ4 cements Killer Mike and El-P’s right to be mentioned amongst the greats, especially in the realm of politically charged Hip Hop.
Best album of 2020, fight me. Kill your masters!
Forgot to rate, dope ass album!
Not bad … powerful lyrics … but the production is way to busy with random loud noises that do nothing to really elevate the song … I wonder if this had drop 3 months ago if this would be received the same … I think there other offerings are better
There is nothing random about El’s production. it is a proverbial sonic punch to the face and every grimy sound or strange bleep is intentional.
Yeah he intentionally put them there … the randomness comment was towards the noise itself and not their placement but they are appealing as repetitive air horn noises
Good album, but don’t think we haven’t forgot your assessment of RTJ3 where you said it was a pointless sequel… yet you’re all over the 4th instalment because everyone else is? Hypocritical if you ask me
How is it hypocritical when they rated the ofher two albums pretty high as well? Maybe RTJ 3 just wasn’t that good? Shocking I know ???
Wah wah, you can’t like their new album if you didnt like the last one! Ha. Yonabout ya dopey nod?
1. I never said it was a “pointless sequel” on my RTJ3 review. 2. I’m Isiah Thomas to you acting like RTJ’s discography is The Last Dance, and that’s cool haha, so I’m glad you read my reviews and that you do remember the last one I wrote. “Stan” in the place where you live like Eminem and R.E.M. had a baby. 3. Last time that I checked, you can enjoy aspects of an album and be critical of other parts of it and still be a fan of the artists work over the span of their career. 4. Being hypocritical as you say I’m on it because everyone else is? If that was the case, I would’ve been “all over” RTJ3 like many of others were. That’s an obtuse statement. The body of work on RTJ4 speaks for itself. We appreciate your passion.
Killer Mike and El-P delivered one of the best, most incredible project from start to finish.
Its a dope album lyrically, production wise the first half was dope but those last couple songs towards the end the beats started sounding the same. Maybe I need a couple more listens to feel different.
I really enjoyed this album but I don’t agree with it almost being a 5. Production was great at some times other times a bit much I enjoyed some of the beat break downs on holy calamafuck. Def a solid listen that will go HARD at the gym or in the whip. It’s a timely release they dropped it at the right time for the most play which is very smart but doesn’t make the album better. Killer Mikes rapping is passionate and heartfelt. With a bit more balanced production we have a classic here.
Great album.. took a while to grow on me but once it did it grew on me with a vengeance.. it also great when you read the lyrics as your listening as it might fly over your head if your not used to listening to music with deep content
I don’t care about the message but the energy is there and Producto’s beats are crazy as usual, and that is all it takes for me to like this album a lot.
I’m giving it 100% a five outta five… The production value is outta this world. And lyrically I might be the most socially relevant album since the hippie movement in Vietnam. Mike and el-p both snap lyrically, in the best way possible. This album isnt about gold chains, diamond watches, fancy cars, and hoes.. Its about poverty. Its about the social injustices that have become so prevalent in our world. Its about racism and the police brutality that has been going on for far too long. Mike and el-p have sincerely out done themselves. As a true hip hop head since I can remember they have legitimately put themselves with the likes of outkast, gangstar, and the wu tang clan as far as great hip hop groups go. Its exactly what we needed in this world when it dropped.
Pure fire. Possibly the best RTJ. Production top notch. Where else do you get the perfect blend of breaks with 808s? Lyrical delivery is dope af. Really happy to hear how this turned out. Every RTJ is dope but this is better than 3.
This album brings the party AND the protest in a progressive fashion.
Powerful album. Perfectly executed. Lyrics mean so much and are very relative to the times we’re living in. Thanks El-P and Killer Mike, another classic. 5/5 AOTY right next to KA Descendants of Cain
Top 5 album of the year.
I’m still digesting. I plan to dig deeper into the lyrics for a better understanding. AOTY so far for me. Revolutionary hip hop without the flash, fillers, and nonsense
Dooooope Album
This is really good shit.
Now please review SOS by Jon Connor. Those 2 and Alfredo are dominating my ears right now.
Huge RTJ fan,not blown away by it after a few listens,but holy calamafuck is a fucking banger.
This is revolution music. Music that makes you think, music that inspires you ton act. These two bounce rhymes off each other like no other duo in the game right now. This album will make hip-hop junkies and casual hip-hop listeners smile, frown, laugh, and bob their head.
Instant Classic
This might be there best one yet. It really goes hard
Imagine saying to somebody in late 90s that El-P would team up with Killer Mike and they will release multiple albums together and they will be incredible each time.
These guys are cool and make great anthems… Also these guys have a cult following of casual rap fans, and that’s evident in how they make their music. I really wish this album was a 4.8 but it’s more like a 3.8. They will never be considered great untill they become more versatile. It becomes boring real quick.
As a fan but not ‘stan’ of RTJ (i was a big fan of EL P in the cannibal ox days and killer mike when id hear the odd feature (like The WHole World’ then heard his ElP produced ‘RAP Music’ album and was sold on the duo) but regardless – if they do something different people complain its not what they listen to RTJ for, if they change too little people complain its just more of the same – i think theyve found a small but notable aount of change/evolution and frankly love them for it, heres my reason…
they’ve evolved if slightly from one album to the next, as a fan thats EXACTLY what i want artists to do – i dont wanna buy in on a style then they reinvent themselves and im left hanging (i loved gambino as a rapper, then he stopped rapping and i hated it, the thing that lured me in – his rapping – was forgotten….same with eminem, lured me in young as a lyrical genius with great beats and then realized he had a tin ear for beats without dre by his side and his over-focus on lyrics over content etc so he changed over time and people hated it)
It sounds like the only way to make you happy is for artists to make music thats different enough that YOU like it and its different but NOT so different that you lose the ‘essense’ of the group that you liked (first of, as a rapper for 15yrs/5yrs full time now, i make 90% of my music for me, not for fans, ill make the odd single for fans or recently tracks about equality/racism i didn do em for me i wrote em to help a movement i believe in – thats literally EXACTLY what RTJ did with RTJ4 – ill be honest, i figured it’d be the usual 8/10 real good not classic album like the last 3 – but this ones a classic – if you listen to RTJ1-4 you can hear the evolution as well as the synchronicities that make them so great…and im saying this as more a fan of dope music than of RTJ in particular, they’re just the catalyst for this convo…
BTW if anyone wants to read the lyrics of the G.Floyd track ‘BREATHE’ i wrote/am goingn to record just add me on Fbook, Danny Bars (Danny Bars Raps is the fan page)
Some excellent production from El-P as usual, and maybe the best work lyrically Killer Mike has done, makes this my pick for album of the year. Powerful and fun at the same time. This is revolution music, and it fits with the attitude of the world currently.