Hip-hop duo Run The Jewels has been a high-profile collaboration since 2013 since their first two self-titled albums created shockwaves in the hip-hop community. Listeners were treated to a jarring and energetic mix of high-energy instrumentals paired with aggressive and critical lyrics. The rich chemistry between Killer Mike and El-P has become more apparent with each release. The duo has accumulated praise and left listeners begging for more.
This is the environment in which Run The Jewels has released their newest single, “Talk To Me.” A lead track off their upcoming album “Run The Jewels 3,” the song embodies the true spirit of the group in its 2:47 run time. The single begins with a fantastic instrumental produced by El-P himself. The music is industrial, energetic and intricate. Multiple synth lines enter and exit quickly over a driving percussion, adding aggression to the track. These synths continue to rise in energy before a breakdown that drives the song home, adding record-scratches and an entrancing baseline into the soundscape.
Lyrically, Run The Jewels has never veered away from aggression or name-dropping, and “Talk To Me” brings nothing different. Within the first five lines of the first verse, Killer Mike addresses the current political situation in America, saying, “Went to war with the Devil and Shaytan / He wore a bad toupee and a spray tan.”
From there on, the lyrics remain just as high-energy, with El-P and Killer Mike bouncing lines off one another beautifully. Each line seems carefully crafted, with intricate syllable structures and rhyming patterns. The hype the single creates for the upcoming album is captured perfectly in its final lines — “I told y'all suckers, I told y'all on RTJ1 / then I told ya again on RTJ2, and you still ain't believe me. So here we go, RTJ3.”
In the end, Run The Jewels hasn’t changed from its 2013 collaboration, and “RTJ3” will likely not be much different.
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