https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEOximWoFd0
The album starts off with “Down” featuring Joi Gilliam. There’s some great fuzzy production at the start that’s a little bizarre, but there’s some fantastic buildup going. As far as the verses go, these are some pretty humble bars from Killer Mike. “Run The Jewels 2” didn’t waste a single second exploding with anger and built up frustrations, “Down” on the other hand seems to be one of the most relaxed Run The Jewels tracks we’ve heard so far. Don’t let that more hazy, laid back beat fool you though, Run The Jewels haven’t given up a single ounce of their skill, with Killer Mike dropping some absolutely killer bars. Joi Gilliam works fine here as well, with her sweet hook up against this much more spacey beat, creating something that’s both gorgeous and smooth. El-P’s ad-libs are quirky, but to be honest RTJ have always occasionally dropped a few lines that show just how capable they are with having fun and not taking themselves too seriously. As far as El-P’s verse goes, it’s actually fantastic, I feel like people don’t give El enough credit. Overall, as far as an intro goes, I dig this. It’s not the gigantic political bombshell as something on “Run The Jewels 2”, but it’s still a seriously haunting, strange intro that’s quite beautiful. That being said, I need a little oomph now from RTJ, and I’m sure they’d be happy to help me out. Up next is “Talk To Me’, the first single dropped from “Run The Jewels 3”. The way “Talk To Me” flowed seamlessly from “Down” is fantastic, and right from this intro we can tell we’re about to get that more explosive sound we’ve wanted. The drum-fills here are absolutely to die for, and that piano note occasionally blaring through the background is just the off-kilter semi-goofy moment that give RTJ such personality. The beat here is absolutely nuts, and both El-P and Killer Mike sound completely rejuvenated and full of energy. The heavy politics are out in full force here, dominating Killer Mike’s first verse almost completely. Whether or not your into it, you have to admit it just kind of sounds right to here Run The Jewels back in their usual mindset. The comic book narration over everything works wonderfully for the duo, I actually would have loved to hear more of it, and it certainly takes me back to the simpler times of Madvillian. The first time I heard “Talk To Me”, it didn’t really hit me that hard. But it’s grown on me massively since. It’s an explosive track, so explosive that it basically forces everything to just kind of implode at the end. “Legend Has It” is up next, and if Run The Jewels weren’t already totally in your face, they are now. The beat here may be a little less flashy and technical, but it’s just as hard hitting at the end of the day. Every lyric here is completely over the top by both El-P and Killer Mike, with the duo describing themselves as “Doctors of Death” among other bars painting themselves as “villains” of rap. The verses here walk the line between hilariously cocky and completely drugged out, but there isn’t a single moment where I’m not completely entertained. The chorus on “Legend Has It” is probably the simplest you’re going to find here, merely consisting of “Woo!”, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t get me every time. The obscure references and one liners here are fantastic as well, especially that one suggesting that El-P has a unicorn horn for a Penis, that was hilarious. Overall everything about “Legend Has It” works wonderfully for RTJ. There’s still going to be a TON of people who miss the fiery, explosive “Run The Jewels 2” sound, and that’s totally understandable. Up next is literally my favorite track on the album, “Call Ticketron”. Right off the bat this beat is absolutely nuts, I haven’t heard a big electronic sounding beat from them in a while. It’s cold and all, but it builds quickly into this absolutely gigantic beat. “Call Ticketron” may be the most bizarre track here, but between the backing sound effects, the sampling of the “Ticketron Commercial”, and El-P’s flooring opening verse, this is INSANE. All of a sudden the duo are piling up violent imagery, dropping Outkast references, and bringing in another simple yet effective chorus. Both Mike and El’s verses here are absolutely staggering. Once Killer Mike and El-P get into this ridiculous mindset, the duo play off each other so well, almost going into machine gun mode and firing off rhymes nonstop. It’s exhausting, and it’s a workout just listening to tracks like this, but holy shit is it amazing. “Hey Kids (Bumaye)” like other tracks starting this album off doesn’t waste a single second of your time. The first thing your going to realize here is just how hard RTJ are going with these electronic based beats. While they're different sounding and all, they’re still absolutely gigantic sounding. It’s funny, overall from a distance it may sound like RTJ have calmed down and gotten maybe a little less agitated. But if you dive into the verses all of that anger and hostility is still right there in full force, and it’s plenty to please longtime fans. A lot of the beats here aren’t really that smooth at all, they’re honestly often clashing with one-another making these harsh electronic breakdowns. It’s often not pretty, but it brings in this feeling of chaos that RTJ have utilized for years. The chorus here once again is just so freakin’ simple, but once again I find myself repeating it all day. Not to mention, if “Hey Kids (Bumaye)” wasn’t outrageous enough already, we have Danny Brown showing up for a verse. Danny’s had one HELL of a 2017, and his verse here make him end 2017 on a seriously solid note. Danny’s bizarre animated flows just seriously fits almost TOO well within Run The Jewels world of chaos. Run The Jewels continue to just get more solid with age.
"Stay Gold" starts off with another beat that's on the more electronic side of the spectrum. As far as the beats on this album go however, this one to be honest is a little sloppy. It's by no means terrible, but it's by far the blandest beat I've heard here so far. Even as far as Killer Mike and El-P go, their performances are just alright. Even on their off moments though, Run The Jewels remain one hell of a spectacle. Lyrically, I have no problem with the duo expanding their horizons, but this is just too far from what I was expecting. They've gone for tracks similar to this in the past, take for example "Love Again" which was fantastic. Overall "Stay Gold" is just OK, far from bad just seriously out of place. "Don't Get Captured" on the other hand get's things right back to the pace where they should be, quickly too. The beat on this one right from it's opening notes is absolutely chilling, once again we see Run The Jewels going down a more haunting route. The way that synth pulsates brings up some real uneasiness, hell there are even a few horror references. El-P and Killer Mike's verses here are a little more on the subdued side, however they're just as spot on and skillful as you would expect, it's borderline hypnotizing just listening to them rhyme. "Don't Get Captured" is just one of those moments where you seriously have to just sit back and marvel at the sheer talent in front of you. On top of all of this, the chorus is this massive explosion of a choir sample mixed with El-P's usual constant barrage of rhymes. Up next is "Thieves! (Screamed the Ghost)" featuring TV On The Radio's Tunde Adebimpe. By this point in the album, it's become VERY clear that this is far from "Run The Jewels 2". While "Run The Jewels 2" was over the top, political and often violent to the point of hilarity, "Run The Jewels 3" has a seriously dystopian vibe, and that was before they decided to sample a Twilight Zone intro. The beat here is on the slower side, slowly creeping up. Killer Mike's verse is hit and miss here, for my liking I'm not a huge fan of his more spaced out performances. Outside of that though, the verses remain skillful and just as animated. To be honest though, I was expecting more out of "Thieves! (Screamed the Ghost)". I know every single track isn't going to rewrite every rule of Rap, but this track just seems a little incomplete to me. Even Tunde was a little underwhelming, and I'm a huge fan of his work. "2100" is up next, featuring frequent RTJ collaborator Boots. Thankfully after "Thieves! (Screamed the Ghost)", "2100" reels you in super quick with another super cold beat. The verses from both El and Mike are both fantastic here, but at this point I don't even know why I need to point that out, of COURSE their performances are good. "2100" is an improvement, but it's still bizarre in a lot of ways. The verses often are bouncy, constantly all over the place in pitch which do make it interesting. And while I've never been a big fan of Killer Mike's more laid back performances, his sung hook is fantastic. As far as Boots goes, he has always has great chemistry with the duo, and his contribution here is just as stellar as his earlier ones. This portion of the album seriously ends off strong with "Panther Like a Panther (Miracle Mix)" featuring Trina. RTJ don't waste a single second on this one, from that entertaining Jazz Club intro to the absolutely out of control beat. Here we once again see RTJ going for some more sexualized material. But unlike the earlier "Stay Gold", here these sex bars come off fantastic. "Panther Like A Panther" is one of the most hectic sounding tracks here by far, but after a few laid back tracks I seriously needed a track to stop by and seriously drive me nuts. If you're looking for a track reminiscent of "Run The Jewels 2", this is absolutely one to listen to. Yea, it's still totally different for Run The Jewels, but I can't say no. Plus, some of these one-liners are absolutely hysterical, this one is absolutely a highlight for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgOABuZoe0c
"Everybody Stay Calm" starts off with a sort of robotic voice, for a second I thought Prince Paul was back reprising his roll as Chest Rockwell from "Run The Jewels". The beat here is a whole lot easier on the ears, and much less chaotic. The verses here are absolutely vicious, but my issue with "Everybody Stay Calm" comes in the form of the chorus. There's all this great buildup and excitement in the verse leading to the chorus, but the chorus is so damn flat it's not funny. While everything else about "Everybody Stay Calm" remains super exciting, I can't get over how incredibly lackluster that chorus is. And it's a shame, because the rest of the track has so many fantastic little production tricks that still make it worth a listen. "Oh Mama" on the other hand is far from lackluster at all, instantly grabbing the listener with a strong rock guitar riff. "Oh Mama" is based around a super heavy groove, which is just so fresh in light of everything else we've heard here. The beats on both of Run The Jewels last projects were for the most part straightforward heavy hitting hip hop beats, The beat on "Oh Mama" on the other hand may have the most experimental, left field beat here. As far as memorable verses go, this one is absolutely jam packed. From the back and forth verses, to the fantastic vocal snippets, to the memorable hook, everything about "Oh Mama" works. Up next is one of the tracks I was most hyped to hear, "Thursday In The Danger Room". featuring the incredible Kamasi Washington. While the electronic beat here is heavy, the atmosphere is even heavier. This is easily one of the darkest sounding tracks here, and everything just sounds so incredibly heavy. El-P's verse here is one of the more heartfelt on the album when it comes to the lyrics, which up until now was something I seriously wasn't used to. It comes off believable though, and Kamasi Washington's performance here makes everything even more emotional. "Thursday In The Danger Room" grows on you and takes a few times to really hit you hard, but it's a nice change of pace, and it really doesn't take anything away from the duo's legitimacy. Personally, I would have liked to have heard more from Kamasi, but overall it's just another seriously solid tune. For a finale, we have the epic 6 minute long "Report to the Shareholders/Kill Your Masters". Right from the intro we may have the funkiest groove we've heard on this entire album. The live instrumentation RTJ bring in here is fantastic, mostly those fantastic guitars floating through the background. El and Mike for the first portion of the track tone their verses down a bit in exchange for some seriously confident bars. Don't you worry, it all still has that fantastic Run The Jewels attitude, but at the end of the day El And Mike just kinda keep their cool some more on this one. Some of the lines here are absolutely spectacular, especially when Killer Mike went "Ooh, Mike said "uterus", they acting like Mike said "You a bitch". To every writer who wrote it, misquoted it, Mike says, "You a bitch, you a bitch, you a bitch!"", that was ridiculous. Then, just as you think RTJ have kept their cool and would be ending "Run The Jewels 3" on a smooth note, the second portion of this track kicks things up 100 notches. Instantly, we're dealing with a completely different track, a much more fierce one. Zack De La Rocha of Rage Against The Machine is back for another feature with Run The Jewels. His feature is brief, but man is it ever solid. All I have to say is, what an ending.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg0byaqVaXo
Rating: 8.4/10
Give A Listen To: “Legend Has It”, “Report To The Shareholders/Kill Your Master”, “Call Ticketron”, “Panther Like a Panther"
Overall Thoughts: If you're looking for another "Run The Jewels 2", trust me you're going to have to lower your standards just a bit. This isn't the political pipe bomb that Run The Jewels felt the need to drop a few years ago. The mood, the beats, the lyrical themes, the deliveries are all completely different this time around. If you can deal with all of that and sit back and enjoy two of the finest rappers going today against some more dystopian beats, you're going to have a blast.