It’s a bit hard to believe that it’s been over five years since Run The Jewels delivered their fourth album, appropriately and unsurprisingly titled RTJ4 (Run The Jewels 4). Once upon a time, Run The Jewels albums dropped more or less yearly, with the duo’s first three albums arriving within 3 years. Four years went by before RTJ4 dropped in 2020, and it’s been five years and counting without an announcement for what we can assume will be Run The Jewels 5.
There’s no telling how long we’ll have to wait to hear word on Run The Jewels 5. Hopefully, it’ll be sooner rather than later as Killer Mike and El-P wrapped up a five-week run of shows as openers for Wu-Tang Clan’s Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber farewell tour, leaving them more than enough time to hit the booth.
We could spend all day speculating on what’s next for Run The Jewels, but I think it’s better to celebrate what they’ve accomplished. So, with Run The Jewels 5 arriving at *some* point in the future, let’s revisit the best of Killer Mike and El-P’s duo and dive into the five essential Run The Jewels tracks.
“Crown”
Killer Mike and El-P’s debut self-titled album as Run The Jewels established them as a formidable duo overflowing with chemistry, but their second go at it, Run The Jewels 2, stamped them as an impenetrable force. Look no further than “Crown,” a masterclass in storytelling and vulnerability from the duo that appears on the 2014 album. Killer Mike seeks forgiveness for his drug-dealing past while El-P personifies war in a tense staredown with an armed soldier. With this song, there’s no conversation too tough for Run The Jewels to have.
“Close Your Eyes”
One of Run The Jewels’ most popular records can be found on 2014’s Run The Jewels 2 with “Close Your Eyes (And Count To F*ck).” The Zack de la Rocha-assisted record is an absolute bass-rattler from the duo that also tackled police brutality, a timely conversation that took place during the early years of the Black Lives Matter movement. The message here is fight back against the powers that be who abuse their position, and Killer Mike, El-P, and Zack certainly delivered a record to motivate and empower the fight against oppressors.
“Legend Has It”
Another of Run The Jewels’ most popular tracks lives on Run The Jewels 3 with “Legend Has It,” and boy, is this an epic dose of high-octane raps. Back and forth raps from Killer Mike and El-P make you think that the duo is in the midst of a friendly battle over the three-min track, but don’t be mistaken. As always, Killer Mike and El-P are locked in and on the same page, making for an energy-inducing display of lyrical warfare with a nice reminder to not get lost in the sauce, whether it be that of life or of music.
“Ooh La La”
If you hopped onto the Run The Jewels train more recently, “Ooh La La” is probably one of the first records you heard from Killer Mike and El-P. The RTJ4 record is a wonderful gathering of hip-hop legends with Killer Mike and El-P featuring DJ Premier and Greg Nice as guests. The chance to have this record see the light of day is something that El-P celebrated in an interview with GQ. “Two dudes who were born in 1975 are not supposed to be allowed to be at the cutting edge of music,” he said. “We’re not supposed to be allowed to be at the table.” Well, here they are, Killer Mike and El-P, at the table and making a whole lot of noise.
“Walking in the Snow”
You could make a double-sided album’s worth of Run The Jewels records that tackle social issues, and you’d still have a bunch left over for a deluxe or something. “Walking In The Snow” is definitely one of those records to make note of for this. Though bars about police brutality and the corrupt criminal justice system take up most of the lines from Killer Mike and El-P, “Walking In The Snow” leaves no stone unturned when it comes to the varying social issues in the world. Nearly a decade after Run The Jewels, the duo’s fourth album proved that Killer Mike and El-P are still as good together as they were in their early days.
Bonus Track: “Nobody Speak” (DJ Shadow With Run The Jewels)
Sure, Killer Mike and EL-P can rap their a***s off, and they’re known for turning their songs into middle fingers to the establishment. But they should be just as famous for their mastery of artful chaos. Take their DJ Shadow collab, “Nobody Speaks,” for example. This one blends an Eazy-E interpolation with a Caterina Valente sample and a series of nihilistic threats that only get more absurd with each bar. It’s like an eclectic party, with RTJ bringing a molotov cocktail instead of a bottle of wine. Nobody’s safe — not even baby ducks. Demented and technically sharp, the track showcases a group fluent in irreverence — a language that nobody speaks better.
