Since Run The Jewels emerged in 2013, Killer Mike’s politicised aggression has slammed against El-P’s intergalactic production to craft something pretty special. Even the remix album they did full of cat noises was quite good.
‘RTJ3’ - no prizes for guessing it’s the duo’s third album - is fat like a wad of dollars, greasy like a biker’s crotch and at times streamlined to the point of being blasted into space just to see how far it goes. The LP features production contributions from Little Shalimar, Wilder Zoby and BOOTS, but as always it’s El-P’s cold, industrial take on hip-hop that solidifies the beats and brings that luscious instrumentation to the fore.
And it would’ve been a shame to let the music dwell in the background on this occasion. Run The Jewels’ mouthpieces are brilliant – more on them later – but the compositions and swell of sounds presented are just as interesting.
There’s that reggae moment on Hey Kids (Bumaye), or the choral work on Don’t Get Captured that plays off the trippy video game sounds El-P refuses to let die.
Then there’s BOOTS’ Thom Yorke-esque vocal on 2100, and they just about get away with that turntable on Talk To Me. And is that a xylophone on Legend Has It? A sax on Thursday In The Danger Room? And how about those horns on Mama’s escalating chorus? This is overload. This is madness.
El-P’s nerdy little noises are sprinkled throughout the entire record, tying the whole thing together in an instrumental sense. Even though the instantaneous sugar-rush is left at the door during the album’s second act, Panther Like A Panther boasts ridiculous bongo/whatever and that hook delivered by Trina: “I’m the shit, bitch.” Obnoxious, yes. But very fun. And very angry.
And that’s what ‘RTJ3’ does so well: it shimmies between ludicrous and revolutionary. Even though the opening track, Down, is a tiny, er, downer in terms of quality, it’s still got those quips from El-P (“You’re gonna need a bigger boat, boys”) and he still brags about his shaft an awful lot. At one point on Legend Has It he’s even told to stop while claiming he’s “got a unicorn horn for a…”.
El-P’s phallic fantasies juxtapose with Killer Mike’s politicised rants, which are more potent than ever. Given the absolute state of the planet in 2016, hearing him say “Born black, that's dead on arrival. My job is to fight for survival in spite of these #AllLivesMatter-ass white folk” on Talk To Me is a genuine jaw-dropping-to-the-centre-of-the-earth moment, as is his “Fuckin’ fascist, who the fuck are you to give fifty lashes?” on Hey Kids (Bumaye). Danny Brown’s feature on the latter will split opinion depending on what you make of him, but he doesn’t detract one bit from Killer Mike’s sentiments.
‘RTJ3’ is not perfect, though. At 51 minutes, it’s a bit of a stretch compared to the last two records, with songs from the second half like Stay Calm and Oh Mama testing the patience a tad. But as A Report To The Stockholders: Kill Your Masters ends with Zach de la Rocha squirting out some lethal truth juice, it’s obvious that Run The Jewels will keep doing whatever they want to do because they’re just punk as fuck, really.
Tiny qualms aside, ‘RTJ3’ is the outfit’s most consistently great record and, in an age when Green Day are considered political experts, these guys are bringing the discourse to you. El-P and Killer Mike’s seamless trade-offs find them less passing the torch to one another than throwing it like a fucking javelin. Pay attention.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
