Run The Jewels - run The Jewels 3

Run The Jewels
Run The Jewels 3
2016
Spotify

2016 was to fucked up for RTJ not to speak. It didn't make sense that in a year so fraught with peril, insecurity and fear that Killer Mike and EL-P would remain silent. The album was announced for 2017, but this made more sense a huge middle finger to everything that was this garbage year. For Killer Mike especially it seemed like his TV appearance bordered anger and befuddlement. So this album had one of two options, first keep their indie cred with more festival bangers still rooted in hip hop, or second go full political and risk getting mired in their own beliefs. On Run The Jewels 3 the did both and neither, a perfect balance of palatable for the masses and sheer aggression. They have a message and despite the sweet sounds surrounding them the message remains number one. RTJ3 is about discovering and seizing your own power, and the power of the whole. But then Run The Jewels surprise you again with insanely slick lines. The disses are many and few remain safe from their crosshairs. Somehow the lines that have the most weight also hit the most like on "Call Ticketron" when El-P says "Buckle up lil trooper/You can't get past me, I'm stuck in the future/The shit aint all it's cracked up to be/Yeah the Hover board's cool but the air's so putrid.". The future always shines and glimmers in our minds, but the reality often ends up being something much more costly than we would like to admit, RTJ want us to admit it.

Just when you think the lyrics are going to over power everything, the beats surge and just push everything higher and higher. "Hey Kids" is just weir enough for Danny Brown to shine in his feature, but fear not for the most part this is the Killer Mike and EL-P show. "Stay Gold" has a beat that is both ancient and futuristic at the same time and allows Mike and EL-P to to bounce line to line word to word. Unlike a lot of rap the record flows track to track almost uninterrupted. Where many skits and interludes in hip hop can feel so dated and cringe, Run The Jewels use them a brief flashes never lingering for more than a few seconds. The become part of the flow of the album rather than a speed bump. The whole of the album has a very industrial feel, deep dark beats swelling in and out from the gutter. "Panther Like a Panther" featuring Trina is an odd track that has a great sway but drags at times. For the audiophile the album is also a pleasure bouncing side to side like a couple of dudes whispering in your ears one moment and screaming in your fucking face the next. "Oh Mama" is the one major miss here, but that usually is the fate of Run The Jewels' more rock influenced tracks, yet they keep doing them. Don't be scared of the track length for the albums final two, within them is some of the most inspiring soulful music from Kamasi Washington then a surprise visit from Zach de la Rocha to ensure the political punch on "Kill Your Masters". RTJ never ones to miss a opportunity to make a statement allow de la Rocha to close the record with "Man the world gonna ride on whats implied in the name; run em". He's right, the world will keep moving but we can stand up and interrupt the stream. Run em.

9.6 out of 10