Album Review: Run The Jewels Offer The World RTJ4 For FREE!
Recently, I reviewed Mala Rodriguez’s MALA, and I fell in love with the album; particularly because she found the perfect balance between getting lit and ratchet at the club and getting educated and socially mindful. I want music to make me feel like I could bust out of the social indignities my people/ any oppressed community suffers by making turn up on the dance floor. It may sound silly but, for a moment, music gives you invincibility society seems structured to take from certain group. In RTJ4, Killer Mike and El-P do exactly that, and they are giving the album FOR FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Run The Jewels “Ooh LA LA” feat. Greg Nice & DJ Premier (Official Music Video)
OOooooOOOoooOOOO!!!!! Something about getting luxury for free makes it extra luxurious. It is what I imagine entering Heaven will be like, no tickets or metro-card needed; just St.Peter saying, “Come Right In! Jesus, is at the open bar!” As I dream of such an occasion, RTJ4 lives in what we must overcome to get to that celestial cocktail. Run The Jewels have always been socio-political in their verses, and, similar to Michael Che’s now viral, old “police brutally” jokes, you kind of wish they were not relevant. For me, listening to their verses through the years is like listening to the lyrics of Tupac or NWA; the world can’t seem to change its darkest habits of hatred and fear, which means Hip Hop can NEVER stop calling it out.
Run The Jewels – Yankee And The Brave (ep.4) (Audio)
RTJ4 feels gut-busting. It is a speedy, high-octane soundscape filled with rhythms that appear like the color streaks from all the lit signs you zoom passed on a highway. Part of why Run The Jewels feel legendary to fans is because they bring consciousness to the party; acknowledging you can dance and think, which explains the interchanges between El-P and Killer Mike’s verses. They can go from standing against police brutality to wanting sex, drugs, and a lit night out. The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, part of why we stand against the brutal of life is because we have known and want to see its beautiful. Thus, I REALLY love that they made this bombastic record free. We need RTJ4. To Download For Free Run The Jewels RTJ4 Click Here.
Note: You can donate on their site to the Mass Defense Program