Discuss: Run The Jewels

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Philaflava
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Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Philaflava »

I find it fascinating to hear the different reactions about this group. I know a few folks that that were die hard CoFlow fans but have a really hard time getting into RTJ, some hate it. I also know folks who love Mike but not this direction and then of course, I know a few folks who are ready to get their ass cheeks tatted with a RTJ logo on it.

3 albums deep. Clearly, they are doing something right but it seems like the typical fan is almost obvious to both of their earlier careers. I checked out their interview on DrinkChamps and they clearly have a really good relationship and seem committed to this.

Just curious what some of your elder statement think about the collective.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by samdoom »

I've always been a fan of el-p's work since the co flow days. I was never a huge Killer Mike fan but I wound up really liking R.A.P. Music, probably more than Cancer For Cure. The RTJ albums are all solid, imo, but at times I wish El-P was using more samples or switching up the production style. The sound is cohesive but sometimes same-y. That being said, having seen them live several times, I can't think of a better hip hop group doing shows right now. Whether they are at a festival or a smaller venue, the production BANGS and they put on a live ass show.

In the modern context I also think it is pretty dope that two older rappers who have put in made time and work in the indie scene are now blowing the fuck up.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by hessbz12 »

First off, I'll admit, my liking and experience with el-P doesn't go very far back. I was never really into Company Flow. I really only started listening to him over the last few years. As much as a dirty south fan as I have been in the early to mid 2000s, I hadn't listened to a lot of Killer Mike either. I really just started listening to R.A.P. Music recently as I somehow missed the hype over it when it dropped. It's one of my fav albums in many years.

In regards to RTJ, I dig it a lot. Most people aren't really feeling the most recent one, but I've been killing it. I think it's a great formula and I love that they have put out three albums together, plus the R.A.P. Music record. Great dedication, hard work and consistency.

Like samdoom said, I also think the production gets a little same-sy at times, but Mike kills pretty much every track he's on. I think Jamie gets a little stale after listening to a whole RTJ's album, but it sure beats a lot of what is out there nowadays.

I'd love to be able to catch them in concert, it just hasn't worked out for me as of yet.

Overall, I dig RTJ.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by wuk »

samdoom wrote:I've always been a fan of el-p's work since the co flow days. I was never a huge Killer Mike fan but I wound up really liking R.A.P. Music, probably more than Cancer For Cure. The RTJ albums are all solid, imo, but at times I wish El-P was using more samples or switching up the production style. The sound is cohesive but sometimes same-y. That being said, having seen them live several times, I can't think of a better hip hop group doing shows right now. Whether they are at a festival or a smaller venue, the production BANGS and they put on a live ass show.

In the modern context I also think it is pretty dope that two older rappers who have put in made time and work in the indie scene are now blowing the fuck up.
basically all of this

i think i like the idea of RTJ more than their actual output, as it does get very "samey" over extended listening

that said, i've seen them 6 or 8 times and i'm going again tonight

it's completely unique (especially in rap) for guys like this to hit their peak popularity in their 40s and 20+ years into their career, but i love it
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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Philaflava »

wuk wrote: it's completely unique (especially in rap) for guys like this to hit their peak popularity in their 40s and 20+ years into their career, but i love it
100%

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by drizzle »

I'm glad they're doing well because they've earned it, and wish them all the best, but RTJ feels like a victory lap for 2 far more interesting careers that were never appreciated on the same scale as this new project. RAP Music was my favorite thing they've done together, there is nothing overtly wrong with the group albums but I don't really get much out of them either. A part of this likely has to do with me generally loosing interest in El-P rapping circa 2007. Samdoom is also right to point out that El's production hasn't evolved or changed much in a while and feels kinda samey now.
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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by drizzle »

wuk wrote:
it's completely unique (especially in rap) for guys like this to hit their peak popularity in their 40s and 20+ years into their career, but i love it
could argue for Bun B and Juicy J here

Ka also makes for a far more interesting case of a rapper emerging to prominence at a much older age than usual imo, especially considering he did this without a pre-existing fan base and reputation
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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Versive »

drizzle wrote:I'm glad they're doing well because they've earned it, and wish them all the best, but RTJ feels like a victory lap for 2 far more interesting careers that were never appreciated on the same scale as this new project. RAP Music was my favorite thing they've done together, there is nothing overtly wrong with the group albums but I don't really get much out of them either. A part of this likely has to do with me generally loosing interest in El-P rapping circa 2007. Samdoom is also right to point out that El's production hasn't evolved or changed much in a while and feels kinda samey now.
This. But for me, a big part of enjoying el's lyrics was the challenge of figuring out what the fuck he just said and then what the fuck that meant. I never have this problem anymore and haven't since C4C. I played the hell out of the first RTJ -- it was cool to hear something different from him --but with each release, I've become less interested. That's probably all on me ... some of the beats on 3 are straight-up questionable tho. And I say all this as a diehard fan.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Philaflava »

drizzle wrote:
wuk wrote:
it's completely unique (especially in rap) for guys like this to hit their peak popularity in their 40s and 20+ years into their career, but i love it
could argue for Bun B and Juicy J here

Ka also makes for a far more interesting case of a rapper emerging to prominence at a much older age than usual imo, especially considering he did this without a pre-existing fan base and reputation
True, but it's not like Ka has been rapping consistently or has a large body of work either. I think the fact that El-P has a lengthy track record from Co Flow all the way to the Def Jux days and a decade later is now becoming a household name is rather interesting. Ka just kinda floated in and out of hip-hop for the past twelve years and you can count on 1 hand all of the shit he did prior to his own releases. Masta Ace is somebody who comes to mind who didn't start seeing success and notoriety until his 40s.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by drizzle »

That's fair. To me Ka is more interesting precisely because he came out late and earned respect without having a prior body of work to attract fans, but that is different from El grinding for years in a small niche and then finding success beyond it.

Good call on Masta Ace too.
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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by stype_ones »

I've liked all 3 releases, but it is not something that I can listen to repeatedly. I have to be in the mood to listen to it, but the same goes for anything El or Mike have done individually or even Co Flow. Whenever they drop I'm all in for a couple of weeks, and then it dies out. I'm def a fan, though. Takes a lot for me to like new shit and more importantly take it seriously, so they pass that test at least.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by WiCkEd22 »

I was never a big Company Flow fan to begin with aside from a few joints (knew of them since '95ish), but I did like a decent amount of El-P's production up until 2004/05 or so. Haven't cared for him since nor do I even check for anything he does cuz his shit just ain't my taste. As for Killer Mike, never really liked him either aside from that A.D.I.D.A.S. commercial joint of his from 2003 which I love.

I've given each RTJ album a fair spin just cuz of all the acclaim they get, but I find it all to be straight up GARBAGE! The sound is exactly what I've thought about El-P the last 10+ years... HORRIBLE!!! No clue what people like about this shit. I will say though, it seems people either love it or hate it. Seems that more often than not true HipHop heads hate it. And of all the actual HipHop Radio shows and Podcasts (key words bein "actual HipHop"), none of them play or spin that garbage. *shrugs*

But hey, props to them for this shit and all the success that's come because of these albums...

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by hellriser »

i love all 3 rtj albums

but rap music album is better project tbh

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Mindbender Futurama »

saw them last night
great live show
hessb, stop fucking around and go see them in concert. you need this feeling in your life. they are the last of a dying breed of hip hop integrity and they must be cherished while it lasts
El-P makes Killer Mike a better rapper, but El-P toned down his abstraction for his success, which is a blessing and a curse because it's nice to see El-P eat and be famous
this should be the last RTJ album for a few years though... wait til after half way thru Trump-ocalypse to give the world another Soundtrack to Armageddon before nuclear winter sets in real nice
El-P's beats are all original and insane, so even if they aren't doing Raspberry Fields flourishes or like $4 Vic sequels, they are still great chonkyfire bangers

want new solo El-P album now tho

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by alpha »

One of the best live shows I've been to.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Brougham33 »

Seeing them pack a 5000 capacity venue in Chicago last weekend with mostly young people was pretty fucking surreal. And yeah I prefer El's older distorted less synth driven production from back in the day, but the RTJ production perfectly suits them as the large festival act they've become. And as longtime fanboy of both, while I miss the solo efforts, I have no issue with them riding this out as far as it can go. I personally think RTJ3 is the most interesting project of the three, blends the best aspects of what both of them do. If anything, though he gets outshined on the first two rapping, I think El-P MVP'd this third release.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Hair of the Dog »

I think the interesting thing to me is the range of opinions on how this album compares to the first two. You ask 5 different people, and you will probably get 5 different answers. That goes for the sonic direction of the albums, the lyrical content, El-p's rapping....everything....very little is unanimous which makes me think in the end, the three really aren't as different from each other as people make them out to be.

For me, I think the first two are on pretty much equal footing, and I have a slight, slight preference for this 3rd album. I think this 3rd one is a bit more consistent but its slight. I do also agree with the opinion that El-P's best performance is on RTJ3 while Mike has been pretty even across the board. That might be what makes RTJ3 more "consistent" for me from start to finish.

So in all, I've been a big fan of this series, and I'm someone who was very much into Def Jux era El-P (less Co Flow), and respected Mike's abilities dating back to his Outkast cameos without having heard much of his solo stuff. That said, I feel maxed out after this 3rd album. I'd like to see them do something different, and hoping the Zach De La Rocha album is the focus for El-P this year.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Versive »

They were interviewed by Rosenberg and Ebro. Some great moments in there, including this gem:

"If you love hip-hop, then you can't tell me that you don't love the advancement of style. If you tell me that you love hip-hop music, but you only want it to stay in the one style that you remember from when you were a kid ... then you don't actually love hip-hop."


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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Philaflava »

I can't tell if El-P hates Rosenberg or hates his race questions.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Versive »

Rosenberg is a very hatable man, and El-P's been getting those same questions for two decades. Probably a combination of the two.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Employee »

Cool to hear cats ripping shit for a large audience. Killer Mike's acceleration and acceptability is well-earned. EL-P continues to be cringe inducing, generally speaking, to me. At this point it strikes me as a "Duh, 1 + 1 = 2" situation: As long as it sustains itself as a massive profit orbit, there's no reason for them to stop or deviate from their proven pattern.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

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Hair of the Dog wrote:That said, I feel maxed out after this 3rd album. I'd like to see them do something different
Like what? An R & B maxi-single? Collabs with Lady Gaga?
Hair of the Dog wrote:and hoping the Zach De La Rocha album is the focus for El-P this year.
No.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

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Versive wrote:
"If you love hip-hop, then you can't tell me that you don't love the advancement of style. If you tell me that you love hip-hop music, but you only want it to stay in the one style that you remember from when you were a kid ... then you don't actually love hip-hop."
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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

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Brougham33 wrote:I personally think RTJ3 is the most interesting project of the three, blends the best aspects of what both of them do.
:larry:
Brougham33 wrote:I think El-P MVP'd this third release.
:larry:

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

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Mindbender Futurama wrote: this should be the last RTJ album for a few years though.
Worst advice ever.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

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drizzle wrote:To me Ka is more interesting precisely because he came out late and earned respect without having a prior body of work to attract fans
Your metrics are retarded, brah.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Employee »

Versive wrote:[But for me, a big part of enjoying el's lyrics was the challenge of figuring out what the fuck he just said and then what the fuck that meant. I never have this problem anymore and haven't since C4C.
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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

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drizzle wrote:
could argue for Bun B and Juicy J here
Have you been kidnapped and raped by Dids? That is below even Ithe-level Rap Analysis.
drizzle wrote:Ka also makes for a far more interesting case of a rapper emerging to prominence at a much older age than usual imo,
Your obsession with Ka and his age is terrifying.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by Employee »

wuk wrote:
it's completely unique (especially in rap) for guys like this to hit their peak popularity in their 40s and 20+ years into their career, but i love it
There's a viable argument to be made as to whether or not Killer Mike has reached his apex. EL-P did long ago. As to their "peak popularity": they've got to owe 50-60% of said "peak popularity" entirely to social media. If SnapChat's two owners hadn't become billionaires several times over this week, Run the Jewels would have nowhere near the name recognition they currently enjoy.

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Re: Discuss: Run The Jewels

Post by GUCCI CONDOMS »

El-P fell off hard

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