Run the Jewels

Killer Mike and El-P release a short, 33-minute record absolutely brimming with ten of the hardest bangers known to man.

What makes Run The Jewels and Run The Jewels so enticing is that they only rap about what they know, and they do it well. [Sep 2013, p.98]

The freshest, most exhilarating rap album of 2013.

Run The Jewels is its own beast, and the combination of Killer Mike and El-P creating rap music together is one of, if not the most exciting thing happening in hip-hop right now.

It’s powerful in both delivery and in effect, without being heavy-handed or sacrificing form.

Yeah, it's a fun album, and it's probably the most affable thing they've done so far together. But don't take that for a weakness.

Ultimately, this is sound of two dons recognising their rightful place at the top of the summit, surveying their kingdom and proceeding to piss all over it. And it sounds fucking glorious.

The electro-inspired beats and declamatory rhymes are just as uncompromising and unorthodox as before. [Oct 2013, p.107]

It’s a masterful set, stuffed with brooding, industrial-synth beats.

Run The Jewels is a document of true friends finding the fun in being very angry. [Sep 2013, p.66]

In the end, it’s exactly what you would want and expect from the two skillful musicians. Run the Jewels is an album that was perfectly executed for the summer.

The pair's Run The Jewels hits hard but has brains to spare. [Sep 2013, p.87]

A rough and rabid ride.

This is an unfettered, deservedly ecstatic victory lap that’s riddled with in-jokes.

One of the best hip-hop records of 2013.

It’s a harsh listen that’s likely more obscure to casual, Top-40 listeners than R.A.P. Music. That’s too bad for them, because Mike and El-P seemingly unleash every item in their B-boy tool kit this time around.

Of the two rappers here, Killer Mike gets the most quotable lines, turning simple statements into punchlines and investing each syllable with a sense of rhythmic possibility.... Despite abandoning some of the more layered and mannered production flourishes of his solo work, El-P still packs these songs with stray details--the roar of a tiger, those gorgeous organs, the squeal of a dolphin--that can be jarring on first listen but gradually reveal themselves to be essential.

This album is two veteran MCs going hard and loose, feeding off one another's energy and pushing one another to step their game up. It's definitely the start to a beautiful friendship.

These 10 tracks comprise a head-and-shoulders-above collection that immediately imprints itself as one of the best hip-hop records of 2013 so far.

Run the Jewels is the very synthesis of El-P and Mike’s shared admiration and cohesive worldviews, an effort of the purest collaboration and mutual understanding.

It's a swaggering victory lap for two artists at the peak of their creativity; it's a record that sees their talents fused in the most cohesive way; it's a coming together of immense talents.

Run the Jewels is savage and witty, rich in gritty truths and genuinely affecting wisdom. It may not be the best thing either artist has done, but fans of both will still find plenty to love.

Run the Jewels not only surmounts Charybdis, but does so head held high, able to be considered--and enjoyed--upon its own merits.