Run The Jewels 2
by Run The Jewels
Distributed by Mass Appeal Records
Fuckboys be warned: Run The Jewels are back.
Killer Mike and El-P are rap’s Cheech and Chong. Rap’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Rap’s peanut butter and jelly.
The duo’s collaborations over the past two years (R.A.P. Music and Run the Jewels) have balanced each rapper’s style, and also brought forth a result that neither would be capable on their own. Run the Jewels 2 is the best product of their collaboration so far, and the most unique statement in rap this year.
It would be easy to call Run The Jewels 2 a chaotic album, but that discounts exactly what makes it so much better than the duo’s previous efforts. The release is much more detailed and meticulous in its mayhem than their previous collaborations. The result is a rap album that feels fully formed.
The album begins with a three-song run that defines the duo perfectly: high-energy, aggressive, and a knack for writing songs that progress and evolve in melody and beat.
The focus on songwriting is integral to RTJ—not one verse on the album sounds freestyled or unrehearsed. It is the outcome of meticulously studying both the beat and precisely how the words should exit the duo’s mouths.
Since 2012’s R.A.P. Music Killer Mike has gone from a slow, monologue-like version of rap (that was great in its own right) to a much faster, more versatile flow that weaves around the beat in unexpected ways. The 39-year old has flipped from an Ice Cube soundalike to being capable of lightning-quick verses and subversive storytelling.
El-P also brought his icy, threatening delivery to new heights. His verses are slower but more charged, offering a spaced-out, and aggressive counterpoint to Killer Mike. At his best, El-P’s spit practically flies onto the mic in the studio and out your earphones.
El-P’s beats are more distinct on Run the Jewels 2. He draws up heavily sampled and processed vocals, electric guitar samples, then throws them under a speeding bus of overblown synth and drum tracks.
The result is loud but balanced, drawing to mind everything from the Judgement Night soundtrack to Art of Noise at their best.
With notable improvement in every element of the duo’s music, Run the Jewels have finally presented their defining artistic statement. The duo has lived up to the potential they have been hinting at for years.
