1. Jeopardy
Run the Jewels 2 opens with Killer Mike roaring, “I’M FINNA BANG THIS BITCH THE FUCK OUT,” and with that, the message has been sent: RTJ2 will be even more violent and monstrous than the original. I mean, the first bars of the album are Mike saying, “I’m putting pistols in places at random places / Like, ’Bitch, give it up or stand adjacent to Satan’.” Then, 40 seconds later: “Fuck you fuckboys forever, hope I said it politely / And that’s about the psyche of Jamie and Mikey.” Then El about a minute later, “Motherfuck your permission / It was never yours to begin with / And every bar of that bitch shit you spit is your fucking prison.” El-Producto's crushing, obtuse instrumental work is a vehicle for the engaging shit-talking from our two hosts, a pairing so ridiculous that I wouldn't have believed it possible only thee years ago, and yet one that works really goddamn well. "Jeopardy" is brutal, tense, cinematic, scene-setting, and one of the all-time great rap album openers. And that's not even hyperbole.
2. Oh My Darling Don't Cry
I saw this as the weakest of the three singles by a pretty noticeable margin (which is hardly a bad thing), but "Oh My Darling Don't Cry" sounds much better in the context of the album. El-P's instrumental is a monster (that switch-up gets me every time), and the two deliver cartoonishly violent lyrics (yes, it includes El's already famous, "you can all run naked backwards though a field of dicks"), but you already knew that. The most impressive thing about this track is Mike and El's ability to slide in and out of different flows. Even more so than a year ago, El-P uses Mikes southern cadence, while Mike uses the traditional backbacker flow that is so commonly associated with his partner. The two styles have literally morphed into one, and because of that, we all benefit, as everything about this is entertaining is shit.
3. Blockbuster Night Part 1
Even though most people that call Run the Jewels "all braggadocio" say it in good nature, I'm always quick to point out the lyrical depth and social commentary to be found on most of these tracks. That's not the case here. "Blockbuster Night Part 1", the album's lead single, serves as nothing more than a giant "fuck you" to basically everyone else. Two beastly rappers who really enjoy each other's company, trying to one-up each other's threats against anyone who isn't as dope as them. It also doesn't hurt that El-P's instrumental makes it damn near impossible to sit still. At the very least, this keeps the momentum going, which is pretty impressive when you consider how great the last two songs are.
4. Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck) (Feat. Zack De La Rocha)
One of the biggest issues of Run the Jewels for many people was the lack of chemistry shown on Big Boi's guest verse (which is a completely ridiculous complaint, by the way; I mean, its a free verse from Daddy Fat Sax). Not a problem here. When Zack De La Rocha (from Rage Against the Machine) bursts onto the song, he keys into exactly what the group is doing, using his big-room bark to deliver some of the most over-the-top '90s backpacker lyrics I've heard all year. His play on two Miles Davis album titles ("I'm miles ahead of you, you can sip my Bitches Brew") is phenomenal, while that “Philip A.K. Dickin’ you” line is some sort of reality-bent triple-pun, and I can’t believe it exists. De La Rocha’s sampled, stuttering voice makes a great hook for the song, too. Actually, everything on here makes for a great song.
5. All My Life
After the one of the best four-song runs in years, Run the Jewels finally loses a slight bit of its momentum. Not terrible, as El's return to his Cannibal Ox-esque production makes for a wonderful contrast to the previous bangers, but neither men are really saying anything of substance. The hook is also pretty lackluster, and because the rapping isn't as great we all know it can be, that becomes a problem. But not every song can be good: otherwise, how else would we know what's better than the rest?
6. Lie, Cheat, Steal
Now this is more like it. The hook? Not great, but unlike the last song, Mike and El sound so goddamn good behind that mic that its virtually impossible to give a fuck. Unlike the other songs, though, this takes more political turn. Instead of just throwing all these insults at fuckboys (don't get me wrong, though, its important to insult fuckboys), Mike throws shots at former Clippers owner Donald Sterling, but not because of his racism. No, Mike is more pissed off at seeing the dude talking out of his ass on T.V., giving apologies that everyone knows aren't sincere, and acting a victim of privilege. Killer Mike is awesome.
7. Early (feat. BOOTS)
The final verse of the last song makes for a perfect transition into "Early", the most overtly-political track on the album. For the first time, the duo uses the racial dynamic to send a powerful, unspoken message. First, Mike provides a scenario: a cop frisks him for no reason, finds some weed. He pleads, respectfully, for just a warning. The cop doesn't listen, cuffs him in front of his "beautiful son" and "gorgeous queen", and he ends up in the back of a cop car seat wondering what the hell happened. Meanwhile, El-P walks the streets of New York untouched by the police, but affected by his own powerlessness. He closes his mournful verse with "They’ll watch you walk to the store they’re recording/ But didn’t record a cop when he shot no warning." What makes his verse even more striking is the fact that it was recorded before the events in Ferguson, which just goes to show how deep the problem is. And conveniently enough, BOOTS delivers one of the best hooks of 2014. A career-defining song for all artists involved.
8. All Due Respect
The heavy shit is dropped momentarily, as Mike and El go back to a more standard "fuck you" type of song. Our hosts deliver quotables out the ass, most notably Mike's, "This year, we iller than a nun in a cumshot/ Getting double-penetrated in a dope spot/ By two hard pipe hittin’ niggas/ On the orders of Marcellus to the soundtrack of 2Pac/ I beat you to a pulp, no fiction/ Tarantino flow, new Jules (Jewels) and Vincent." Travis Barker's guest appearance on the drums isn't 100% necessary, but it adds a feeling of live instrumentation, which has to improve their actual live shows.
9. Love Again (Akinyele Back) (feat. Gangsta Boo)
I don't even know where to start with this. I mean, the song title references Akinyele, and fucking Gangsta Boo of Three 6 Mafia is featured, so I was expecting some crazy shit, but I was still amazed by the content of "Love Again". To start, El-P's beat is slower than anything on the album thus far, making for an instrumental that is much closer to a chopped and screwed effect than anything you'd normally expect from El. Meanwhile, the provide two completely over-the-top sexual verses that revolve around a hook that says, "She want that dick in her mouth all day". That's until Gangsta Boo appears, giving a female perspective livelier and more forceful than what either of the two dudes bring. She's basically saying the same thing, but it sounds much worse coming from her, which I guess enforces some double standard message. I doubt this will appear on the Official Feminism Soundtrack of 2014, but its a notably point nonetheless.
10. Crown
After the anomaly that was the last song, the duo is back for some storytelling. Mike starts things off, telling a story about his younger days, selling crack to a pregnant woman and knowing it was wrong. He finds her, years later, and tries to beg for forgiveness. He’s not hearing it. She’s found Jesus, and she’s at peace with whatever happened, but he’s left in turmoil. Meanwhile, El takes an uncharacteristically empathetic tone to an army ensign who was simply trying to find his own lane, pitying the man for voluntarily agreeing to have his body used as a human weapon. I mean, if you still think Run the Jewels runs solely around braggadocio, I really don't know what to tell you.
11. Angel Duster
Mike and El take the final slot on the album as another chance to get serious. Producto's instrumental is phenomenal, as the it morphs into something much heavier and more epic than you would probably expect (the late Ikey Owens also provides a great piano solo right before the song cuts off) Our hosts split the song, neither man really communicating with the other, but both unleashing their bars in such a powerful manner that you're forced to pay attention. Bleak, dark, and a really fucking good way to end the project.
Rating: 4.5/5
I loved Run the Jewels, it was my album of the year last year, but its sequel outdoes the original in almost every way imaginable. Last year, Killer Mike and El-P decided that what the world needed was a hard, merciless, bullshit-free 40-minute free album that let you know just how happy they'd be to slap the eyes out of your skull. With few exceptions, that was about their entire purpose. This time around, they deliver an album that's just as hard and blunt and all-crushing as their debut, but its bigger and deeper and prettier. They're a monster now, and something incredible will have to happen to stop the RTJ AOTY repeat. Its kicks off with the best four-track run in recent memory, contains the year's most effective social commentary ("Early", "Crown"), and very well might be El-P's production masterpiece. Not every song completely worked for me: a few of the shorter songs failed in comparison to the greatness surrounding the. However, for being one of the more highly anticipated releases of 2014, Run the Jewels 2 exceeds all of the expectations.