RTJ presents to us their third official album two years after releasing their fantastic Run the Jewels 2, which received widespread acclaim from fans and critics alike. Run the Jewels is the beloved rap duo consisting of Atlanta rapper Killer Mike and Brooklyn rapper/producer El-P. While originally slated to be released on January 13, the guys presented us with a little Christmas Fucking Miracle and released the album digitally on Christmas Eve. The album was promoted with the release of three singles: “Talk to Me,” “2100,” and “Legend Has It.”

Melody Maker:

No other way of saying it: This shit bangs hard. Run the Jewels come back with a vengeance with the characteristically smooth transitions, generous amounts of ridiculous one-liners, and bumpin’ production that we all have come to expect from them.

The first half of RTJ 3 really displays what Killer Mike and El-P do best. “Talk to Me” and “Legend Has It” pick up exactly where RTJ 2 left off. Killer Mike throws little political jabs in his bars opening “Talk to Me” with:

“Went to war with the Devil and Shaytan,

He wore a bad toupee and a spray tan”

El-P presents us with the beautifully absurd lines from “Legend Has It”:

“I don’t know how to not spit like a lout,

I’ll spill a pound of my kids on your couch”

Almost every line off every song is incredibly sharp, memorable, and quotable. At some point in almost every song there would be a time where I would have to pause the music just to absorb what the fuck was just said by either Killer Mike or El-P. I can write for an eternity about every line from every song off this project but I will spare readers the bore of that. Bottom line: Any fans of dope, absurd, over-the-top lyrics will find this album a very pleasant listen.

When it comes to the production, El-P brings in a great mix of familiarity and new. “Call Ticketron” presents a somewhat odd instrumental for Run the Jewels to tackle, giving us de-escalating synths that almost give off a Missy Elliot-esque vibe. Nonetheless, the result is one of the best brag-fests off the album. Up to the song “Stay Gold,” we are given a very sharp form of RTJ that we are all familiar with. However, once the album gets to “Don’t Get Captured,” the tone of the album changes. At this point, the album gets darker, moodier, and much more politically charged. “Don’t Get Captured” and “Thieves!” tackle the issue of police brutality, presenting well-put-together narratives and lyrics that don’t come off too preachy. “2100” deals with the 2016 presidential election and displays the most radical and revolutionary lyrics on the album. El-P starts presenting much moodier instrumentals as well. “Thursday in the Danger Room” lays down some haunting strings accompanied with dirty-yet-funky synths. And when you think this beat can’t get any better, Kamasi Washington serenades the beat with some sexy saxophone that complement the mood perfectly.

If I have any complaints for this album, it would be the overall flow of the album. RTJ 2 is one of the greatest flowing rap albums of all time in my opinion. While this album flows very well for the most part, the dynamics of this album aren’t as well balanced as its predecessor. RTJ 3 is frontloaded with all of its hardest-hitting bangers, which makes the second half of the album seem drastically less intense. Also, I felt the opening track was not quite effective enough. The opener “Down” is one of the mellower, more uplifting songs off the album, but doesn’t have the darkness or intensity that is needed to get you going. This results in “Talk to Me” feeling like the actual start of the album. The same can be said about the end of the album. I felt “Thursday in the Danger Room” was a much better way to cap off the album than “A Report to Shareholders/Kill Your Masters.” Nonetheless, these are very mild beefs that I have for an overall solid album.

8.4/10

Favorite songs: “Legend Has It,” “Call Ticketron,” “Thursday in the Danger Room”

P.S. Danny Brown and Zack De La Rocha go hard as hell on this thing too.