An Echo in America – Run The Jewels 4 Album Review
On their most recent installment of the Run The Jewels series, Atlanta born Michael “Killer Mike” Render and New York born Jaime “El-P” Meline combine their talents to create one of the best rap concept albums of the decade.
Immediately noticeable upon first listen is the presence of El-P’s dreary, apocalyptic production throughout this album. For example, it begins with the track “Yankee and the Brave,” which starts with an assault of snare and drum sounds over Killer Mike’s complex rhyme scheme flow, captivating the listener in complete immersion. Droning bass notes in the background are accompanied by police sirens as they reverberate through El-P’s dense soundscape. After he begins his own verse, a string section begins, emulating the soundtrack behind 1960s horror films. This experimental nature of El-P’s production has rarely been seen before, often not following a formula. Behind these instrumentals lies the heart of Run The Jewels discography, a message of political revolution.
Track by track, this duo seems comfortable in their spotlight, making use of their platform to deliver good music and a powerful message. Killer Mike and El-P make a tight and focused scope of an album without suffering from tunnel vision. Within their blunt and straightforward message resonates a style reminiscent of 1980s rap, such as N.W.A. and, more notably, Ice Cube’s solo career. The most emotional and impactful song on the album is Walking In the Snow, in which Killer Mike paints a vivid picture of police brutality in the United States:
“And every day on the evening news, they feed you fear for free
And you so numb, you watch the cops choke out a man like me
Until 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
But truly the travesty, you’ve been robbed of your empathy.”
The most harrowing part is that this was written over one year ago in response to the murder of Eric Garner, yet it resonates to the similar murder of George Floyd by police officers in 2020 and many other instances in between. Killer Mike and El-P’s political activism on this album has caused RTJ4 to become a voice of the new American generations.
Consistently, RTJ4 pairs excellent features with the likes of DJ Premier, Pharrell Williams, and Zach De La Rocha. Worlds collide for this album in unexpected ways, from Pharrell’s mastery of pop production, DJ Premier’s classic hip-hop scratching and mixing, and Zach De La Rocha’s punk fused revolutionism are only a taste of some of the features to expect. Never oversaturated, the duo retains their prime status in the rap industry delivering one of their most pristine, polished albums yet.
Coming in at only 11 tracks long (roughly 39 minutes), this album would be thought to lack enough time for sufficient commentary, but this lack of filler and dead weight makes the album sharper, more precise, and cohesive. Run The Jewels 4 delivers both Killer Mike and El-P’s greatest work to date, covering a range of political issues, while still finding time to deliver their typical banter between each other. This balance and awareness of when to be serious is what makes this album perfect for any type of listener. Those who prefer music to be sound that accompanies silence will be as pleased as those who listen to music for the message within the lyrics. This album delivers on every promise made by the notorious duo, setting forth a new bar for rap lyricism and production.
