Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 4

While I'd normally integrate my reviews into a Quick Hits blog, it feels wrong to include this with a bunch of other short reviews of throwaway albums.  This one feels too important.

This album dropped at such a perfect time - I've been impatiently waiting for them to release the new disc for years, ready for more of the kick ass rap they've made on their other three albums.  They released "ooh la la" a month or two ago as an initial single, and it makes me want to tear the wings off of a dragon and teach the dragon's wingless ass to jump.  I posted something to Twitter right after it first dropped, saying how completely bummed I was not to be able to bump that shit in a crowd at ACL, and I still hold by it.  Great mindless thumper track.  A few days after this album was released, I had to drive somewhere around town and put the disc on in the car, rolled down all the windows, and absolutely blasted this song into the corners of my brainpan.  The beat makes you feel tough and ready to rumble, and each of the verses just bops along with it.  Got a great video as well.

Burn that cash!  10.6 million streams on Spotify, and another 6 million YouTube views.  I'll also admit, because I'm a modern man and a dad, that for no good reason as I was blasting this song in my car, I got teary-eyed at the pure joy of jamming a song that I loved.  So, there's that.

Some of the moments on this album, when Big Mike just starts throwing words at you in the perfect cadence, and just never lets up, it feels so freaking perfect.  "out of sight" has a segment like that.  The currently most popular track is "JU$T," which has the hook I can't stop singing as I walk around the house - "look at all these slave masters posing on your dollar."  It has a very Pharrell beat, and another sweet guest verse from Zach De La Rocha from Rage Against the Machine.  The other cool thing about that song, is that I had never even considered before that the people on our bills had owned slaves, and how that might be unpleasant for African Americans.  

Obviously, I knew George Washington owned slaves.  Hadn't really thought about the modern consequence of that.  That's the one dollar bill.  But had no clue that the $2 (Thomas Jefferson), the $20 (Andrew Jackson, who apparently even brought his slaves to DC with him from TN, and was pretty awful to them), the $50 (Grant), and the $100 (Benjamin Franklin) all have slave-owners depicted on them.  That is wild.  I don't have the answer on whether those guys should all be removed from their bills - does one heinous act cancel out all of the good about a person?  In some respects, I'd say yes.  Then again, I have forgotten all of my boring ass history classes - I couldn't tell you what Jackson did that was worthwhile.  But the question would obviously need to be dealt with in gradients, and require an honest (and non-political) conversation about the good and bad of people.  But, I'm glad to be having this mental discussion because of two rappers.

But the song of the album, to me, and what makes it the perfect time for it to drop, is "walking in the snow."

Absolutely fire lyrics - like a masterclass in this stuff:

• "All of us serve the same masters. All of us nothing but slaves. Never forget in the story of Jesus, the hero was killed by the state." That line straight up gave me goosebumps when I first heard it.  
• "And you so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me, And 'til my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, "I can't breathe""
• "They promise education but they really give you tests and scores."

Those are all Killer Mike - and they're all freaking fire.  El-P has a few good ones as well:

• "Funny fact about a cage, they're never built for just one group, So when that cage is done with them and you're still poor, it come for you"
• "Pseudo-Christians, y'all indifferent, Kids in prisons ain't a sin? Shit, If even one scrap a what Jesus taught connected, you'd feel different, What a disingenuous way to piss away existence, I don't get it, I'd say you lost your Goddamn minds if y'all possessed one to begin with."  

I mean, if that doesn't hit you between the eyes a little bit, then you aren't paying attention. I also think it is very cool that they change up the beat for Mike's verse.  Not that the beat for El's verse is bad, but it's pretty sparse - and then it switches up to a more ominous sound for Mike's portion.  AT first, it's just a low key drum track, and then some 808's and violins come in to back him up while he lays down the knowledge.

Another interesting thing that El-P confirmed on Twitter is that Mike wrote the line about "I can't breathe" in 2019, thinking about Eric Garner.  And of course they release this album right on time, as that phrase has sadly popped back into the consciousness because of George Floyd and this same shit happening again.  Anyway, I wish everyone had to listen to that song and read the lyrics as they did.  In fact, just in case you weren't going to go hunting on your own, here are the full lyrics:

[Verse 1: El-P & Gangsta Boo]

Get a dose, a dirty code to go, been cold since Co-Flow

Got a wire or two unlodgin', I'll set a fire down below

I'll hang it up when you say, "Sorry, I didn't know"

Prolly got a year or ten to go, so let's go

I don't really know how to go slow

Just got done walkin' in the snow

Goddamn, that motherfucker's cold (Ayy)

You in the wrong mode, you open and closin' your hole, it's a no go

This whole world's a shit moat, filled to the brim like Gitmo

When you think it don't get mo' low it limbo 'til the sticks on flo'

All oppression's born of lies, I don't make the rules, I’m just one guy

All due respect, if getting spit on's how respect is now defined

Hungry for truth but you got screwed and drank the Kool-Aid, there's a line

It end directly at the edge of a mass grave, that's their design

Funny fact about a cage, they're never built for just one group

So when that cage is done with them and you still poor, it come for you

The newest lowest on the totem, well golly gee, you have been used

You helped to fuel the death machine that down the line will kill you too (Oops)

Pseudo-Christians, y'all indifferent, kids in prisons ain't a sin? Shit

If even one scrap of what Jesus taught connected, you'd feel different

What a disingenuous way to piss away existence, I don't get it

I'd say you lost your goddamn minds if y'all possessed one to begin with

[Chorus: Gangsta Boo]

Just got done walkin' in the snow

Goddamn, that motherfucker cold

Just got done walkin' in the snow

Goddamn, that motherfucker cold

Just got done walkin' in the snow

Goddamn, that motherfucker cold

Just got done walkin' in the snow

Goddamn, that motherfucker cold (Cold, cold)

[Break: Gangsta Boo]

Yeah, ho, Gangsta Boo, Run the Jewels

We back on our shit, and it's cold as fuck

[Verse 2: Killer Mike]

The way I see it, you're probably freest from the ages one to four

Around the age of five you're shipped away for your body to be stored

They promise education, but really they give you tests and scores

And they predictin' prison population by who scoring the lowest

And usually the lowest scores the poorest and they look like me

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"

And you sit there in the house on couch and watch it on TV

The most you give's a Twitter rant and call it a tragedy

But truly the travesty, you've been robbed of your empathy

Replaced it with apathy, I wish I could magically

Fast forward the future so then you can face it

And see how fucked up it'll be

I promise I'm honest

They coming for you the day after they comin' for me

I'm readin' Chomsky, I read Bukowski, I'm layin' low for a week

I said somethin' on behalf of my people and I popped up in Wikileaks

Thank God that I'm covered, the devil come smothered

And you know the evil don't sleep

Dick Gregory told me a couple of secrets before he laid down in his grave

All of us serve the same masters, all of us nothin' but slaves

Never forget in the story of Jesus, the hero was killed by the state

[Chorus: Gangsta Boo]

Just got done walkin' in the snow

Goddamn, that motherfucker cold

Just got done walkin' in the snow

Goddamn, that motherfucker cold

Just got done walkin' in the snow

Goddamn, that motherfucker cold

Just got done walkin' in the snow

Goddamn, that motherfucker cold (Cold, cold)

[Verse 3: Killer Mike & El-P]

Who really wanna run it with the Jewel Runners?

Go hellfire hot in a new sauna

It's a cold winter, baby, and a cruel summer

I suicide bomb in the blue Hummer

And emerge out the side, not a bruise on 'em

Bad news come in twos, son, do somethin'

Treat beats like a wet thigh, chew on 'em

Got a stroke row crew on 'em, move on 'em

We be the heroes, the breakers of chains, and the busters of locks (Locks, locks)

You be them suckers supportin' them snitches that talk to the cops

This the Illmatic of turning your face into fucker foie gras

I'm not so sure opportunity's knocking, it's probably the law

Word to the old school tape decks

I get Radio Raheem respect

My Nike pendant sacred

Similar to the Ghostface bracelet

Fire in the hole, oh, no joke

Prolly go broke just off smoke

Fuck are we gonna do, not smoke?

Get a job, play the role, be adults?

Nah, I'ma do me, arigato

The Mike verse is the real meat.  El-P has some good bits, and that third verse falls off hard from the power of the middle verse, but dayum.  That middle verse should be taught in church.

"the ground below" has a fucking outrageously hard guitar lick that sounds like Zeppelin's "The Ocean" got snagged by Rick Rubin for a date that ended up in the backseat of the car.  Very aggressively strong song.  "a few words for the firing squad" comes out with a real INXS "Never Tear Us Apart" vibe from the choppy violins.  But it builds on that and ratchets up the tension ounce by ounce.  Loving this album, if you couldn't tell.

I think that, for me, more than half of the pure joy in hearing this album is how hard they worked to make something both educational and awesome.  This is exactly what the best of rap music is.  Rap started off as a party starter - you wanted the sweet break-beats to dance to.  Then, the best tracks were educational/protest music - Public Enemy and N.W.A. and Boogie Down Productions.  This, to me, was the golden heyday of rap music.  Although, I also very much love the good storytelling raps.  "6 in tha Morning," "Mind's Playin' Tricks on Me," "Today Was a Good Day," or "I Got a Story to Tell."  That is also my jam.  Don't get me wrong, I love some of the later straight gangster music like B.I.G., Cube, Tupac, and Dre, or the weirder directions it took with the Beasties, Eminem, or Outkast, but the style that Run the Jewels are chasing is the most compelling of all.  Pairing up hot beats that make you want to move along with important lyrics that are saying something valuable?  Painting a picture where I can really visualize a person getting affected and firing up a Tweet storm in reaction?  That's what we should all be aiming for.  And most of the current hot rappers - the Migos, Lil Uzi, Future, the Baby guys - those guys have absolutely nothing to say.  They may have hot beats, but when you listen to the lyrics, its just a bunch or horseshit posturing and stream of consciousness junk.  Long live Run the Jewels.

Quick Hits, Vol. 264 (Nathaniel Rateliff, Indigo Girls, Future, Katie Pruitt)

Nathaniel Rateliff - And Its Still Alright.  I'm going to stay true to the title of these posts and just say nope!  I was excited to check this one out, but this is a pretty lifeless, uninteresting slog of an album.  If you are expecting some of the rad, uptempo soul he does with the Night Sweats, you will be disappointed.  The top streamer is the title track.

Indigo Girls - Look Long.  In the past, I have found diminishing returns with listening to new Indigo Girls albums.  Their debut was a transcendent album for me.  Album number two was excellent, and numbers 3 and 4 were very good, and since then, I can't think of anything I've heard that has been worth the time.  But you know what?  This disc is actually pretty good.  As I noted back when I saw them live a year or two ago, Emily's voice has lost some power and gets warbly at times, but still, the music is good, the harmonies are great, and some of the lyrics are still poignant.  Funny, random observation (actually, maybe this isn't funny anymore...) is that, in my Spotify queue, this album comes right after a Megan Thee Stallion track and a YG track, and then right after this album is the first song of a Future album.  All three of those rap tracks have the EXPLICIT warning box sitting there on Spotify.  Meanwhile, the initial song of this album, which is entitled "Shit Kickin'," and therefore is explicit before the music even starts, does not have that warning.  Seems weird, that the two white ladies don't get that tag but the three black folks do.  Anyway... That track has the most streams, but its also the start of the album, so I am going to go with the second-most streamed track for you.  This is "When We Were Writers," with 143k streams.

Nice one - good tune, great harmonies, exactly why I sign up for their stuff.  "Let’s pull an all nighter push wood in the fire, It might just look like smoke in my eyes but I’m still burning inside."  Reading along with the lyrics to that one is worth it for sure.  Makes it really feel like they are happy to still be making good music.  "Favorite Flavor" sounds like an old school R.E.M. song, and as such, I am very here for it.  R.E.M. is still the guiding force for about 32% of what I love in music.  I'm not saying this disc is as good as their classics, but I have enjoyed it.  I'll keep it around.

Future - High Off Life.  If you have read my thoughts on Future in the past, then you know that he has had a few undisputed bangers, and then a million forgettable auto-tuned bombs.  I know that the critics love him, for reasons I can't explain, so I keep going back to him when new music is released, hoping this one will be the one where I finally catch the fever.  While on the one hand, I generally like the overall feel of the album (which sounds so dumb, as I write it, but wait for it) but it also just glides on by my ears like a bass-boosted Chevy echoing down the canyon of Congress Avenue.  None of the songs are memorable - once I've streamed the whole thing yet again, I recall the Young Boy Never Broke Again track because I keep thinking it is Kevin Gates, I recall the Drake song because he bugs me so much, but otherwise, its just a constant barrage of very good beats and Future robotically bopping along the top.  Also, I know you are going to be shocked, but it's way overlong, at 21 songs and 1:10 long.  The most streamed songs are all of the collaborations - most of the solo tracks are around the 5 million streams level, but the Drake collab has freaking 425 million streams.  <eyeroll emoji>

OK, the video made me smile.  And the beat that they break out for Future's part is hard and cool, but Drake just makes it all sadass and introspective sounding and I don't want that half of the song.  Just play the dope beat and get out of the way.  I was hoping to find a few gems among all of this that I would hold on to, but I think I'm good without anything.

Katie Pruitt - Expectations.  Read about her in some sort of Who's Next! article about up and coming artists, and after giving her top single a shot I liked it well enough to try out the whole album.  Pretty good - you'd call it county, but not in the same way that most of country music sounds.  More like the Taylor Swiftian, ballad love-song type of Country, or the alternative-country stuff of Kacey Musgraves, or the soft-blues of John Mayer at times (see "Expectations").  Hell, I hear Miley Cyrus in "My Mind's a Ship That's Going Down."  She can crank it with her voice, like on the album closer "It's Always Been You," and she has some confessional tunes like "Loving Her," a pretty tune about being nervous to use a girl's name in a song for fear that people would figure out that she was gay.  I thought "Grace Has a Gun" was going to be the top track here - its got a great set of lyrics and a haunting wooooaahhhh of a chorus that sticks in my head.  But instead, it was "Out of the Blue" that tops the stream count with 1.4 million.

Another one with John Mayer-esque guitar licks and sound.  And otherwise, just a nice little love song.  This album has been a welcome surprise.  I find myself singing along to little snippets of it when I'm wandering around the house or walking the dog.  Has catchy little bits and a great voice, I like it.