Where murderous chokehold cops still earnin' a livin'
June 3, 2020 1:46 PM   Subscribe

"F*ck it, why wait." Run the Jewels 4 has been released by Killer Mike [@killermike] and El-P [@therealelp], the duo behind Run the Jewels. The album is available for free, with an option to donate to the National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Program.

The video for "Ooh LA LA" is available on Youtube. Killer Mike recently delivered an impassioned speech in response the murder of George Floyd and resultant protests (Currently active thread).


RtJ Previously:
RtJ3 Release
Killer Mike and El-P talking about their music
Meow the Jewels
RtJ Release
The video for Close Your Eyes (And Count to F**k) feat. Zack de la Rocha
posted by miguelcervantes (20 comments total) 32 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is such an amazing album. Thanks for posting and sharing. RTJ never fails to get me fired the fuck up!!? !
posted by Fizz at 1:55 PM on June 3, 2020 [3 favorites]


RTJ3 was underwhelming after the full bore blast of RTJ2. Can't wait to listen to this.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 2:39 PM on June 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


[Link to Run the Jewels is wrong I think]
posted by rossmeissl at 2:53 PM on June 3, 2020


[Shoot, it was supposed to be https://runthejewels.com/]
posted by miguelcervantes at 3:10 PM on June 3, 2020


Mod note: I have re-run those jewels, carry on.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:14 PM on June 3, 2020 [22 favorites]


Out of the gate - holy shit! Topical to say the least. holy calamafuck was my favorite with its solid back beat, then never look back was a solid trip into ... Blade Runner?

Straight into rotation. Awesome.
posted by Nanukthedog at 3:22 PM on June 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


For the record, the record was written and recorded long before last week. From “Walking in the snow”:
The way I see it, you're probably freest from the ages one to four
Around the age of five you're shipped away for your body to be stored
They promise education, but really they give you tests and scores
And they predictin' prison population by who scoring the lowest
And usually the lowest scores the poorest and they look like me
And everyday on evening news they feed you fear for free
And you so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me
And 'til my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, "I can't breathe"
And you sit there in the house on couch and watch it on TV
The most you give's a Twitter rant and call it a tragedy
👉🤛
posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 3:37 PM on June 3, 2020 [23 favorites]


RTJ3 was underwhelming after the full bore blast of RTJ2. Can't wait to listen to this.

I’ve had this on repeat since this morning, and my current ranking is, best to (very relative) worst: 2, 4, 1, 3.

This is super strong, but still can’t compare to the massive side A of RTJ2. Little does. I think I like it more than RTJ1 but we’ll see long-term.

Also, massive shout out to RTJ for having Mavis Staples guest.
posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 3:39 PM on June 3, 2020 [3 favorites]


This album fucking SLAPS. Good god. El-P's production is at an all-time high.

I was supposed to go see the RTJ/RATM tour twice this summer until everything was put on hold. I had other concerts straight up cancelled, and RTJ offered refunds if people wanted to give up their tickets, but I will clutch mine in my tiny little fists if I have to wait until 2023.
posted by rachaelfaith at 5:40 PM on June 3, 2020 [3 favorites]


I declare Ooh La La the Summer Jam for 2020.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 6:30 PM on June 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


Look at all these slave masters posing on your dollars!
posted by kaibutsu at 8:07 PM on June 3, 2020 [4 favorites]


I’ve had this on repeat since this morning, and my current ranking is, best to (very relative) worst: 2, 4, 1, 3.
That's where I'm at right now, as well.
posted by miguelcervantes at 8:31 PM on June 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


For the record, the record was written and recorded long before last week. From “Walking in the snow”:

Yeah this verse really got me this morning.

The Ooh La La video feels very topical too (but in a more hopeful way I guess? Huge protests but with dancing, burning piles of cash, and no police).

I've only really listened to a few RTJ tracks before (but really enjoyed them) - this is the first album I've listened to all the way through and it's just amazing.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:08 AM on June 4, 2020


People really don't like RTJ3? I was kinda disappointed in RTJ1 but I feel like each album has just gotten better since. The first couple of albums were a little too ... testosterone pumped, maybe? ... for my taste, but I thought RTJ3 was excellent and this is even better. Maybe the best protest music I've heard since prime-era Public Enemy.
posted by Mothlight at 9:30 AM on June 4, 2020 [3 favorites]


I had been anticipating their album release tomorrow but had been anxiously checking to see if they might release it earlier, given the current situation with protests. I couldn't help but cry intermittently through the entire first listen yesterday. I feel like I couldn't even hear the musicality or the production or anything other than the sentiment in it that I resonated with.

4~=3>2>1 , for me at least.
posted by GammaGoblin at 5:05 PM on June 4, 2020


Streaming: official YouTube playlist
posted by filthy light thief at 12:13 PM on June 5, 2020


4~=3>2>1 , for me at least.

Now that I'm like 20 plays through the new one, I'm starting to think 4>2>1>3.


People really don't like RTJ3? I was kinda disappointed in RTJ1 but I feel like each album has just gotten better since.

Not that I don't like it, just not as much as the others - I still play it plenty and really enjoy it. But, there's something about some of the songs that just don't resonate with me, and in general it feels hurried but not urgent or immediate. I was idly looking at album lengths yesterday and it occurred to me that the RTJs 1, 2, and 4 are 33, 41, and 39 minutes respectively, but 3 is 51 minutes. I wonder if that has something to do with it.
posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 10:06 AM on June 6, 2020


FUCK TH' SLOWMO

Was blasting some of this yesterday from my portable system strapped to my bike. It's impressive how many people already recognize it.
posted by loquacious at 1:26 PM on June 6, 2020


And, wow, I forgot to mention that I was playing this at a protest or demo because I guess that's so normal now my subconscious figured it would be implied that I wasn't just blasting my boombox on the street for funsies.
posted by loquacious at 2:44 PM on June 7, 2020


The other RTJ albums have never really clicked for me. The general production style has been exciting and a few singles have jumped out. (O, “Banana Clipper”, or the “Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)” hook.) For whatever reason, this one seems to just be clicking a bit more. It’s a good time for an angry album with some energy.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:08 PM on June 12, 2020


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