By: Ryan Martin
I’ve been a massive Run The Jewels fan since I saw Genius rate their album Run The Jewels 2 as the best album of 2014. I decided to check the album out based on Genius and Rolling Stone’s shining reviews of the album. After one listen through, I was hooked. The energy this group brings is unlike any other. They are fearless in the topics in their lyrics and aggressive with their production. For more info on these guys, we did a write-up on their style which you can read about here. But after much delay, Run The Jewels 3, the follow up to Run The Jewels 2, is finally here. It doesn’t disappoint.
With a lot of albums that came out, the singles released before hand became the highlights of the album. Which leaves listeners underwhelmed when the album releases, this curse has followed great albums (Childish Gambino’s Awaken, My Love!) to mediocre albums (The Weeknd’s Starboy) to bad albums (Drake’s Views) this year. Run The Jewels 3 doesn’t necessarily dodge this pattern, as the three singles released this year in anticipation are some of the stronger tracks on the album. But keeps the listener interested throughout the entire album. Whether it’s El-P’s insane production of the duo’s witty, boastful and often powerful lyrics, you’ll be entertained throughout the album’s slightly under an hour duration.
One of my favorites things about this album is all the tracks flow together seamlessly. It’s no surprise that El-P is an insanely talented producer and lyricist but his production skills are definitely in the spotlight on this album. Tracks like "Talk to Me", "Legend Has It", "Call Ticketron", "Hey Kids (Bumaye)", "Stay Gold" and "Panther Like a Panther" are some of the hardest hitting songs of the year. Call Ticketron’s beat blew my mind for the first time when I heard it, Hey Kids features an insane feature from Danny Brown who flows over El-P’s layered beat flawlessly. Panther Like a Panther is also one of the most braggadocios and adrenaline fueled tracks I’ve heard all year. Stay Gold has a beat reminiscent of Danny Brown’s "Pac Blood" to me as well and again showcases El-P's incredible production skills.
I’ve been a massive Run The Jewels fan since I saw Genius rate their album Run The Jewels 2 as the best album of 2014. I decided to check the album out based on Genius and Rolling Stone’s shining reviews of the album. After one listen through, I was hooked. The energy this group brings is unlike any other. They are fearless in the topics in their lyrics and aggressive with their production. For more info on these guys, we did a write-up on their style which you can read about here. But after much delay, Run The Jewels 3, the follow up to Run The Jewels 2, is finally here. It doesn’t disappoint.
With a lot of albums that came out, the singles released before hand became the highlights of the album. Which leaves listeners underwhelmed when the album releases, this curse has followed great albums (Childish Gambino’s Awaken, My Love!) to mediocre albums (The Weeknd’s Starboy) to bad albums (Drake’s Views) this year. Run The Jewels 3 doesn’t necessarily dodge this pattern, as the three singles released this year in anticipation are some of the stronger tracks on the album. But keeps the listener interested throughout the entire album. Whether it’s El-P’s insane production of the duo’s witty, boastful and often powerful lyrics, you’ll be entertained throughout the album’s slightly under an hour duration.
One of my favorites things about this album is all the tracks flow together seamlessly. It’s no surprise that El-P is an insanely talented producer and lyricist but his production skills are definitely in the spotlight on this album. Tracks like "Talk to Me", "Legend Has It", "Call Ticketron", "Hey Kids (Bumaye)", "Stay Gold" and "Panther Like a Panther" are some of the hardest hitting songs of the year. Call Ticketron’s beat blew my mind for the first time when I heard it, Hey Kids features an insane feature from Danny Brown who flows over El-P’s layered beat flawlessly. Panther Like a Panther is also one of the most braggadocios and adrenaline fueled tracks I’ve heard all year. Stay Gold has a beat reminiscent of Danny Brown’s "Pac Blood" to me as well and again showcases El-P's incredible production skills.
Tracks like "2100", "Thursday in the Danger Room", and "A Report to the Shareholders / Kill Your Masters" features some of Run The Jewels most personal, heartfelt, and outspoken lyrics to date. Thursday in the Danger Room is a heartbreaking track and follows El-P and Killer Mike expressing their sorrows for friend’s who have passed. El-P speaking of a friend who died of an illness and Killer Mike speaking of a friend who died on the streets. 2100 was written during the peak of the political campaign between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The track was released ahead of the album on the day after Donald Trump’s victory as a way to help those hurting. A Report to the Shareholders and Kill Your Masters is a track that bounces between the ideas of obeying those higher above your and rebelling against them. Run The Jewels has never been afraid to speak their mind in their songs and often speak out against those higher up like cops to millionaires
"I'm the man bitch, got big ideas, got plans to rob
Any Rothschild living, Bill Gates and the ghost of Jobs" - Killer Mike
With any group that has previous albums as impressive as Run The Jewels does, it's hard not to compare their newer work to their older work. As of right now, I would say RTJ3 is better than RTJ1 but not RTJ2. If you're just hearing about these guys, RTJ2 is your best starting off point, as it is consistently strong throughout most of the album except for the tracks "Crown" and "All My Life" where the energy built throughout the other tracks is mostly lost. RTJ1 is a solid debut but has some forgettable tracks in my opinion. It does carry some of RTJ's strongest songs though and is worth listening to. The title track is bonkers. Finally, RTJ3 has some of their best lyrical work to date with production that rivals the past two albums. It's also their longest album so far with very minor dips in the energy built throughout the first half of the album.
One of the complaints I will say about the album is both the first and second half of the album differ quite a bit. The second half isn't as energetic as the first half with some exceptions like "Panther like a Panther". Although, RTJ2 is mostly filled with bangers except for 2 tracks, RTJ3 isn't filled with bangers and is split pretty evenly between bangers and more lyrically driven songs. The lyrically driven songs may outweigh the bangers but doesn't build up so much energy that you leave the album feeling underwhelmed.
RTJ3 is another impressive effort from the duo and only elevates their status as one of the most impressive forces in hip-hop today. RTJ has chosen quality over quantity in their output and don't rush to put out music, which may factor into why their catalog is so impressive as of right now. I strongly recommend this album as it is one of the best albums that came out in 2016 and will be bumping all the way through 2017.
One of the complaints I will say about the album is both the first and second half of the album differ quite a bit. The second half isn't as energetic as the first half with some exceptions like "Panther like a Panther". Although, RTJ2 is mostly filled with bangers except for 2 tracks, RTJ3 isn't filled with bangers and is split pretty evenly between bangers and more lyrically driven songs. The lyrically driven songs may outweigh the bangers but doesn't build up so much energy that you leave the album feeling underwhelmed.
RTJ3 is another impressive effort from the duo and only elevates their status as one of the most impressive forces in hip-hop today. RTJ has chosen quality over quantity in their output and don't rush to put out music, which may factor into why their catalog is so impressive as of right now. I strongly recommend this album as it is one of the best albums that came out in 2016 and will be bumping all the way through 2017.
Ryan Martin
Ryan enjoys Game of Thrones, Mango smoothies and Dr. Mario
What'd you think of Run The Jewels 3?