By Ian Cory
In
my review of The Uncluded’s Hokey Fright,
I talked briefly about the appeal of the collaborative album, and how such
albums tend to put critics and pop culture analysts into a bit of a tizzy. Collaborative
records often feel like the colliding of two separate planets, and we gather at
the side lines to determine what parts of which artist have bled into the
others sensibilities, or where the two have built a common ground. The dual MC
album, a classic hip-hop tradition, has had a pretty serious resurgence in the
last few years. Even if we haven’t actually seen an increase in releases, the
public’s interest in these kind of collaborations have exploded. It seems like
every week we have a new rapper promising a split album with a colleague, so it’s
pretty refreshing that Brooklyn’s El-P and Atlanta’s Killer Mike have come
through with Run The Jewels. Building
off of their work together last year on Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music this 10-song album is not a reach across the aisle
from Southern rap to the so-called abstract hip hop scene, nor is it rap’s
equivalent to ‘Ebony and Ivory’. No, Run
The Jewels is a case of two of raps most brazen individualists bonding over
their equal ability to wreck your shit.
While
the production is one of the album’s strengths, the focus is on the interplay
between the two MCs. Usually when such strong performers share this much space,
there’s an inclination to tally the score and determine who “won”, but what’s
striking about Run The Jewels is how
tightly knit El-P and Killer Mike are as a team. The two have some obvious
differences in their styles, some of which can be attributed to Killer Mike’s
preference for freestyling versus El-P’s written approach, but both are willing
to adjust in order to keep the energy high. During the quicker tunes, like the
opening title track, El-P sacrifices his off kilter bar line manipulation for a
lightening fast double time, and on “Twin Hype Back” Killer Mike draws on some
of the internal alliteration that his partner is so fond of. The high level of
teamwork makes this record feel like a buddy-crime movie. Where the two do seem
to compete is in their lyrics, where each tries to top the other in cartoonish
violence and gut busting punch lines. But when they aren’t shooting poodles in
the face or taking shrooms with strippers they find the time to detail how the
music industry is stacked against younger rappers and how those hoping to
emulate the drug dealer turned superstar career of Jay-Z will find more
jailtime than record deals. These more level headed moments don’t sound
drastically different than the more brash content because both El-P and Killer
Mike are rappers that always sound like themselves, carrying a distinct point
of view with them to every subject they address.
A
record as aggressive and fast paced as Run
The Jewels isn’t usually described as heartwarming, but there’s an
undeniable charm to the way these two work together. Even while laying waste to
his own competition, Killer Mike makes sure to note that no other producer can
match El-P’s beats, and even goes so far to compare the duo to The Avengers.
While they strike me more similar to the Cable & Deadpool* team ups, I’d
love to see this excellent tag team reach the kind of widespread success of the
world’s currently most beloved superhero franchise. As we find ourselves in
between major releases from hip-hop’s dark knight and its reigning Superman**,
don’t let this gem slip through the cracks.
Grade: A-
*Killer Mike=Cable, El-P=Deadpool.
**I doubt I need to spell this one out, but just in case:
Batman=Kanye, Superman=Jay-Z. I will be reviewing Magna Carta Holy Grail next week. Here’s hoping its better than Man Of Steel
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