For the annual Passionweiss Top 50 albums of 2013, I wrote about Killer Mike and El-P's excellent "Run The Jewels" EP at number six. Read the rest of the feature here.
32 minutes. 10
stick-up kid salvos. Two great artists bludgeon the rap industry with
skull-cracking rhymes, stealing diamonds while they do it. At first glance,
they make an unlikely combination: the fiery avatar of old no-bullshit Brooklyn
who made “independent as fuck” a war whoop, with a Dungeon family strip club
connoisseur. But Killer Mike and EL-P are built tougher than the leather on Run
and Paul Pierce’s jacket.
Instead of focusing on production like their first collaboration, 2012’s R.A.P Music, EL-P picks up the mic and matches his partner verse for verse. There’s an air of competitiveness and genuine friendship as Jamie and Mike swoop in like your favorite anti-heroes. This is lyrical, but there’s no preachiness or by-the-numbers wordplay. These guys have mastered the art of shit-talking and combined with some extremely listenable aggression, their wit stays cutting. Killer Mike “Shyne Po’s a ho.” His partner in crime does the cleat Riverdance on your face.
When the
coolest duo of 2013 are rapping about kicking over your son’s fort and taking
grip plyers to your feet, it’s hard not to pay attention. If a project makes
you feel like enough of a badass to mean-mug the elderly whilst on public
transportation, it’s a winner.
Note: You can check out my previous interview with Killer Mike here.
Note: You can check out my previous interview with Killer Mike here.