By John Morris, Staff Writer
It’s almost a shame that Run The Jewels 4 came out when it did, because I would have loved to hear the duo’s music after living through 2020. Regardless, it’s a Run the Jewels (RTJ) album, which prescribes a certain quality to it. It’s a much needed album for the times, and it deserves a listen.
“Yankee and the Brave (Ep. 4)” starts the album a bit louder than my personal taste, but the track’s intentionally jarring intro turns into a great opening. As always, the instrumental feels alive in the way that RTJ’s usually do. It’s clever, it flows well and it serves as a good introduction.
I remember when “Ooh LA LA” came out. What a track! This was the first single I’d heard from “RTJ4”, and as always, RTJ came to impress. The back-and-forth verses show their chemistry well and Greg Nice provides a good chorus.
“Out Of Sight” keeps all the momentum going. Here, the two focus in for some impressively intelligent lines while keeping the delivery some of the best the album has. It finishes with a verse from 2 Chainz, which gets overshadowed by the other verses, but is still great.
If “holy calamfuck***” was split into two songs instead of having a switch, the first half would be the best song on the album. The second half isn’t bad by any means, and still makes for a quality song, but marks a shift in the album. From this point on, the songs sacrifice some of the upbeat production style in order to put a focus on the serious and deep messages the tracks have to offer. However, it being juxtaposed against the first half does it a disservice.
In “goonies vs. E.T.” the energy is brought back a bit from the end of the last song. It’s a great song, though it does drone on a bit too long for my tastes. The verses are fantastic, but the gap between them is not catchy enough for as long as it is, which makes it almost seem like an effort to get to Killer Mike’s part. But for being the first full song in the latter, more meaningful half, it is a good one.
“walking in the snow” is fantastic, and if it wasn’t for some odd production choices, it would be the song of the album. The lyrics make up for it though. The most powerful lines in the entire album come from this track. “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.’” In the recent context, it is a lot. It should be worth noted that the line was not meant to reference George Floyd, as his murder had not yet happened when the song was written. The lines were meant to be impactful because they were referencing Eric Garner. That chilling coincidence makes this track mean so much more.
“JU$T” is the classic RTJ anti-establishment track that targets giant corporations. It goes back to the first half’s feel of song while still allowing for it to entirely focus on the message. It also features Pharrell Williams and Zack de la Rocha with a good close that easily transitions into the next song.
“never look back” is a nice introspective track. It’s still good, but aside from the second half of “holy calamafuck***”, it is probably the weakest part of the album. The song is definitely worth a listen, it’s just hard to be a good song on an album of great tracks.
“the ground below” has the best instrumental. It’s a high energy song that feels perfectly placed in the lineup. As the second shortest song, it also manages to never feel too long. The chorus is great. The lyrics are good but return a bit to the more fun style of the first half of the album. It’s upbeat, it’s in-your-face, it’s one of the many hits from “RTJ4”.
I like “pulling the pin” more as a concept than a song. Killer Mike’s verse makes up for El-P’s poor performance on the track. It’s a very smart song, relating problems with the economic structure of America to Christian symbols in a way that highlights the issues. It’s worth a listen, but after giving it a shot, feel free to skip El-P’s parts.
“a few words for the firing squad (radiation)” is a perfect way to conclude the album. The song describes the story of RTJ. Like with the rest of the album, the effort in the song is clear, and in the almost seven minute song, it still manages to have very few seconds where it falls flat. It’s a beautiful way to end the album, and it leaves me waiting for Run The Jewels 5.