Run The Jewels Run The Jewels 4 review: a modern protest classic and their best work yet – NME

If history has taught us anything, its that music has played an integral part in the pursuit of social justice for a long time. James Browns Say It Loud Im Black And Im Proud, U2s Sunday Bloody Sunday, Rage Against The Machines Killing In The Name and more recently Kendrick Lamars Alright are just a few of the songs that have soundtracked revolutionary action over the years.

Over the past week, thousands of people have taken to the streets in the US and across the world to protest following the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who was killed on May 25 when a white police officer, who has now been charged with second-degree murder, knelt on Floyds neck for almost nine minute as he lay on the ground during an arrest (his alleged crime? Possession of a counterfeit $20). Floyds horrendous killing has reignited widespread Black Lives Matter protests, online and in the streets.

Run The Jewels 4, the much-anticipated new album from hip-hop duo Run The Jewels comprised of rapper Killer Mike and producer/rapper El-P couldnt be more appropriate for the times were living in. And you so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me/ Until my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, I cant breathe, raps Killer Mike, RTJs beloved social activist, on the defiant walking in the snow. Its a track that also sees them question the school system, biased news reporting and unruly religious mobs.

Mike is no stranger to speaking out on social issues. Just last week the community leader delivered an impassioned speech during a press conference in Atlanta in which he pleaded with the protesting residents of his home city to not burn your own house down for anger with an enemy. Instead, he suggested it was time to plot, plan, strategise, organise and mobilise.

El-P and Killer Mike of Run The Jewels (Picture: Timothy Saccenti / Press)

As with their previous three releases all self-titled and numbered theres a lot to unpack on Run The Jewels fourth outing. Whether its police brutality, fear-mongering media outlets, pseudo-Christians or inner spiritual conflict, no stone is left unturned. They announce that theyre back at it like a crack addict and theres no treading lightly as Mike and El-P go full-on with brazen declarations such as: Look at all these slave masters posing on your dollar.

They take listeners to church at a rapid-fire pace; blink and youll miss a lot of whats being said on RTJ4. They usher in chaos over the haunting Wu-Tang Clan-inspired keys of Ooh La La and condemn social medias superficially woke folk on album standout Goonies vs. E.T.. To merely skim Mike and El-Ps latest sermon would be to do yourself a real disservice.

On the ground below, El-P spits: We just gave you inspiration for free/ The money never meant much. Its an admirable statement on its own, but now holds far greater weight, since the duo announced that they would be releasing RTJ4 for free in light of recent events. As El-P put it on Instagram: We hope it brings you some joy.

The heart-pounding pulling the pin, featuring legendary R&B singer and civil rights activist Mavis Staples and Queen Of The Stone Ages Josh Homme, sees RTJ wonder if theyll ever arrive at spiritual utopia without being tempted by the devils charm. Mike feels conflicted: I promised my mama that I would stay honest, but I want it all in the physical. Rage Against the Machines Zack de la Rocha appears on the tightly coiled, Pharrell-featuring JU$T, as if to underline the fact that the record is a modern protest classic.The breath in me is weaponry, he boasts.

Mike and El-P even find time to visit the confession booth on the high-powered a few words for the firing squad (radiation). Manoeuvring through a sea of gorgeous strings and beautifully drawn out synths which are complemented by an empowering sax arrangement reminiscent of J. Coles Let Nas Down Mike and El-P revisit their journey to becoming musical crusaders who fight injustice on raps frontlines. Black child in America/ The fact that I made its magic, Mike raps.

RTJ4 isnt all about social consciousness or spiritual awareness. Sometimes its simply a stage for Mike and El to puff out their chests and drop some witty bars while juiced up on bravado. On out of sight El-P styles out the smoking of a cigarette the wrong way round: Man, I smoke a bogie backwards with a thumb up like its fine. Mike, on the other hand, prefers to throw a haymaker punchline at his fellow MCs on the menacing holy calamafuck: Youre a common cold and my flows are cancerous.

Easily Mike and El-Ps best work to date, RTJ4 is protest music for a new generation; theyre armed in the uprising with a torrent of spirited rallying calls. And they are fearless in their approach to holding middle America and its apathetic leaders accountable. This is less Whats Going On and more It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back although theres no doubt that Marvin Gaye would enjoy hearing Killer Mikes last words for the firing squad: Fuck you, too.

Release date:June 3

Record label: Jewel Runners / BMG

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Run The Jewels Run The Jewels 4 review: a modern protest classic and their best work yet - NME