June 26, 2013 • Fool's Gold
Oh man, how could it have taken me so long to get on this album? After El-P and Killer Mike each dropped stellar albums individually last year (okay, El-P was on both), the only thing better would be a collaboration—and damn does it work.
If you've been keeping up with El-P's production history as of late, Run the Jewels' sound isn't going to be too unfamiliar. The beats are heavy and as spastic as ever, if maybe a little more coherent and less seizure-inducing than on Cancer 4 Cure. There is a good amount of dynamics too; in addition to some really nasty, heavy bangers, there are a few "softer" tracks in the middle of the album to mix things up (e.g. "DDFH" and "Job Well Done"). As before, Killer Mike's hardcore rapping blends with the production perfectly. I like him as a rapper much better than El-P, but they both do a fine job. The guest spots are all inconsequential—I don't really feel Big Boi here at all; I was never a huge fan to begin with and he's better with the southern sound anyway, which doesn't exist here, and Prince Paul is just terrible.
In fact that's more or less the only misstep on the album; they did just about everything right. Even the length (which can be one of my biggest annoyances on some hip hop albums) is perfect at just over half an hour—I'll definitely take just thirty minutes of fantastic tracks over an hour of half good, half bad.
That's what I find interesting about this album: it's not really that new or groundbreaking, it's just two guys who are on top of their game making the best tracks they can, and they do an amazing job. I hope the keep up the momentum.
Download it here or just stream it:
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