Arriving earlier than expected as both a global pandemic and a nationwide movement against police brutality gripped the United States,
RTJ4 distills the anger and frustration of the people through
Run the Jewels' hard-hitting, no-nonsense revolution anthems. Trim with no filler, this fourth set from the outspoken duo provides relevant history lessons that are more useful than a classroom textbook. Rousing and lyrically dexterous,
Killer Mike and
El-P deliver their densest collection yet, balancing clever bon mots with tongue-twisting screeds decrying police brutality, systemic racism, class injustice, and a litany of other ills plaguing the nation.
RTJ4 rarely strays from the intensely political; when it does, the duo shine with boastful quips and chest-thumping bravado, loosely weaving their "Yankee and the Brave" personas -- alluding to the baseball teams from their respective home bases -- with production that merges old-school hip-hop nostalgia with aggressively sharp contemporary stylings.
BOOTS and
Dave Sitek return for the very
RTJ-titled "Holy Calamafuck," a menacing attack that's bested only by the clattering "Goonies vs. E.T.," which sounds like a
Prodigy track without the techno breakbeat. Additional guests include
2 Chainz on the breathless "Out of Sight";
DJ Premier and
Greg Nice on the "DWYCK"-sampling "Ooh La La"; and
Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire on the neon dystopia of "Never Look Back." Meanwhile, an unlikely pair join forces on the swirling "Pulling the Pin," with
Josh Homme's ghostly wails and
Mavis Staples' pained cries creating an
RTJ-meets-...Like Clockwork doomscape that pushes back against a power structure that allows for "filthy criminals...at the pinnacle." On album highlight "JU$T," "poet pugilist"
Zack de la Rocha and
Pharrell Williams join the fight by contributing popping production and a condensed socio-economic lecture, pulling back the curtain to reveal "murderous chokehold cops still earning a living" and "all these slave masters posing on your dollars." On "Walking in the Snow,"
Mike,
El-P and
Gangsta Boo tackle the American school-to-prison pipeline and those "chokehold cops," directly invoking the spirit of Eric Garner -- who was killed by Staten Island police in 2014 as he pleaded, "I can't breathe" -- and unwittingly honoring George Floyd, whose murder under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer prompted protests across the globe and pushed
RTJ4's early release. Bringing the past and present full circle,
Mike reminds listeners to "never forget in the story of Jesus, the hero was killed by the state." Much like reality, the raw and unflinching
RTJ4 is a lot to take in, both a balm for the rage and fuel to keep the fire burning. Although eerily prescient,
RTJ4 is less prophetic and more a case of deja vu, addressing the endemic issues of a broken country that sadly continue. This has all happened before and, as
El-P laments, this is the "same point in history back to haunt us." ~ Neil Z. Yeung