Run the Jewels - "RTJ4" (2020)

I've known of the hip-hop duo Run the Jewels (comprised of Atlanta rapper, Killer Mike, and New York rapper and Producer, El-P) for a while by their political activism and the critical acclaim that met their previous 3 self-titled records. This is my first time ever listening to them however, and wow I wish I dived in when I first was made aware of them. This record is 40 minutes of intense, charismatic, political hip hop; paired with equally colourful and powerful instrumentals. The record just pops, it commands your attention and will not lose it at all in the whole runtime.

The duo have always made political music, yet the context surrounding the release of RTJ4 brings so much significance to this record, and is why I gave it a listen myself. Following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests across the globe, and an emotional and powerful speech by Killer Mike himself, the duo decided to release the album two days early on the 3rd of June, and for free via a download on their website. This record feels like the soundtrack to the moment, like they have captured the zeitgeist, but still stands on it's own as an excellent release outside of the current context.

I think what's really special about this album is not just that the production and beats are imaginative and varied, and the lyrics and flows are technically impressive and strikingly poignant; it's the way they all wind together and interplay off each other. Beat switch-ups and visceral sonic moments are paired with every statement of intent or punchline Killer Mike or EL-P raps, with elements introduced into these songs just for one time to match up with the lyrics at that precise moment and then done away with in favour of something more appropriate for the next mic drop moment. Most of the tracks are fairly short (10 out of the 11 are under 4 mins), and they roll up one after another without a single moment of silence inbetween. It never lets you breathe, almost as if it's telling you to think about it after the record is finished, in it's entirety, not piecemeal track by track.

Despite the serious subject matter, the record is still a very fun listen. The album is very loosely framed by the opening and closing tracks as a sort of 'duo on the run from the cops' TV show, which gives the album a slight sense of separation from reality which aids in making some of the more humorous bars work. The first few tracks focus more as an introduction to Killer Mike and El-P themselves, while still referencing the broader themes of the record. yankee and the brave (ep. 4) opens the album with an introduction to these two characters who are on the run, before ooh la la follows it up with an incredibly catchy woozy piano sample and the earworm-y hook of "ooh la la, are we wee". The flows on this track ebb and flow just like instrumental. It's easily the most chilled out of the tracks, with throwback record scratches closing it out.

As the record moves on, it dives further into the political themes, and by the time goonies vs. E.T. closes out it is fully immersed. Killer Mike's final verse on this track sees him call out the preformative activism of 'woke twitter' and the counter-productiveness of internet tribalism. Following this is the hardest hitting and probably the best track on the album, walking in the snow. Mike and guest Gangsta Boo roll out bar after bar, calling out the treatment of children at the Mexico-US border, how cages aren't built for just one group, institutional racism and police brutality, and the public's general apathy to the injustices of the world. The lyrics "And you so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me, Until my voice goes from a shriek to a whisper "I can't breathe"" feels like a gut punch considering how George Floyd was killed. This song was written back in November, and yet feels like it could've been last week. It's genuinely moving.

It's one of a few tracks which feature really heavy, grimy guitar samples. ground below samples post punk band Gang of Four, and pulling the pin features guitar work and ethereal, psychedelic backing vocals from Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme. The track also features vocals from Mavis Staples, which gives the track a real sense of weight and urgency. It feels like the internal gut-wrench of an individual who is finally standing up against the injustices facing them and others. The back half of the record really feels oppressive and smothering, as opposed to the bounciness and stomp of the first half. JU$T rages against the systematic oppression of minorities, America's prison-industrial complex, the political elite's links to child sex trafficking and the general public's perpetuation of these systems by their willingness to play along and 'be a slave to the system'. Rage Against The Machine's Zack de la Rocha roars "Look at all these slave masters posing on your dollar" in the most direct chorus on the record.

The final track, a few words for the firing squad (radiation), switches back to the yankee and the brave characters from the start of the record, about to be gunned down police, making their last stand. The track builds and builds until its final moments, where it all comes crashing down in a crescendo of dissonant strings and wailing saxophone before the hidden title theme plays letting you know it is all over (and supposed to be a TV show fantasy, but unfortunately is the reality we live in).

This record is relentless. It is relentlessly fun and listenable, yet relentlessly heavy and profound. This record is 2020, and also can be set apart from the context and still stand on its own. The first thing I did after finishing is pop on Run The Jewels 2 because I just wanted more of this. This record is absolutely fantastic.

Top Tracks: yankee and the brave (ep.4), ooh la la, out of sight, goonies vs. E.T., walking in the snow, JU$T, ground below, pulling the pin, a few words for the firing squad (radiation)

9/10