Stop whatever you’re doing and go download Run The Jewels 2. Screw your essays and midterms—sit down, hit play, and feel yourself melt into the beats of the fellows who are slaughtering the game. Run the Jewels—consisting of New York rapper/producer El-P and Atlanta rapper Killer Mike—started up officially in 2013, but the crew has history, and their contrasting sounds in collaboration with the likes of Diane Coffee and Zack De La Rocha make for one of the dopest mixtapes to drop in a long time.
El-P has long been lauded by the “underground” community, only just recently getting some of the mainstream respect he deserves. Meanwhile Killer Mike made his debut back in 2000 on Outkast’s Stankonia. The two began collaborating in 2012, and this second album has provided the perfect blend of bully rap and electronic offbeats. Imagine an alien abduction taking place at an open mic night in downtown Atlanta, but double up on the cynicism and reel down the talent-less wastes of time—boom: Run The Jewels 2.
“Early” takes the prize for most soulful electronic sound, but lyrically the track transcends the rest in terms of its deadly serious take on the issue of police brutality. Killer Mike continues the social commentary in “All Due Respect,” rapping his way through stereotypes and the lofty dreams of children with lyrics like “And Rin Tin Tin, ah hah hah look what I did again/ We the hooligans outside of school again.” The track flows into the undeniably ridiculous, sexually explicit “Love Again (Akinyele Back),” which incorporates the rapping styles of Gangsta Boo, making for an ironically romantic track that provides the necessary counter-balance to the more serious themes presented throughout the remainder of the album.
The synchronization of El-P and Killer Mike explodes into a lyrically aggressive album rolling in gritty sophistication. An album like this doesn’t come out every day—it’s a progressive production. Hopefully, it will cause the duo’s popularity to soar.