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RTJ2 - Run The Jewels - 10.28.2014

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Can't wait to check this out. Been Spinning RTJ1 all month in anticipation. You can't beat Killer Mike and El-P. These guys have got to be the most exciting act in hip-hop right now.
 
Holy shit Lie, Cheat, Steal just gave me chills. It's a shame because I dont think i can go back to the original this is the final nail in the coffin. But holy shit did El-P step up his game on both production and rapping. The guy's definitely a beast in his own regard now.
 
Incredible. More consistant than the first album (which has grown on me something fierce that I listened to it every day for the past 2 weeks).

Two classic albums, for me. Quality.

EDIT:

This year we iller than a nun in a cumshot /
gettin double penetrated in a dope spot /
by two hard pipe hittin *****s /
on the orders of marcellus to the soundtrack of 2pac /
I’ll beat you to a pulp no fiction /
Tarantino flow new Jules and Vincent

Goddamn. The world ain't ready.
 
Perfect Timing. Friday is take the car to work day. See if this one passes the bump test. RTJ1 has been my go to album when driving through Manhattan.
 
Ken Masters said:
Got the email, downloading now
Click to expand...

Yup same here. Got the mail, did nothing.

Saw you guys talking about it, listening now.

Edit: Oh My Darling Don't Cry.... nice........!!!

Edit #2: For a free thing, or even at full price - this is some god level quality. Wow. This is very very good.
 
You guys really think it's as good as 1?

I mean, I can't stop listening to it, and El has upped his rap game to an astonishing level, but the beats are just so much more ambly on this record than 1. 1 had "Job Well Done", "Pew Pew Pew", just the hardest yet most melodic beats since Bomb Squad stopped making records.

I wanted non-stop Nation of Millions this time around but instead it's just Fear of a Black Planet.

A great record, but not a legendary one.

>kicks album sleeve<
>puts hands in pockets<
>starts album over for fifth time<
 
BenjaminBirdie said:
You guys really think it's as good as 1?

I mean, I can't stop listening to it, and El has upped his rap game to an astonishing level, but the beats are just so much more ambly on this record than 1. 1 had "Job Well Done", "Pew Pew Pew", just the hardest yet most melodic beats since Bomb Squad stopped making records.

I wanted non-stop Nation of Millions this time around but instead it's just Fear of a Black Planet.

A great record, but not a legendary one.

>kicks album sleeve<
>puts hands in pockets<
>starts album over for fifth time<
Click to expand...
I liked 1 enough to listen to it once. I'm on 3 maybe 4 if you count hopping around this morning alone. So, in my opinion, it's better. It seems faster, more dense verses, smart shit, luxury rap. Meticulous production. I really think this is better.
 
Just got it and I'm about to eat like a motherfucker.,,

tumblr_m10fkbp3eX1qg2bs2.gif
 
BenjaminBirdie said:
You guys really think it's as good as 1?
Click to expand...

I am in the same camp as i was with RTJ1, all fire but still some duds.

Three meh songs on each
RTJ1- Twin Hype back / No come down / Sea legs
RTJ2- Crown/ Love again / Early

But I think RTJ2's highs are FAR higher than RTJ1 and it sounds like a more focused project than RTJ1, TBH Going back RTJ1 is all over the place sound wise to me, RTJ2 sounds sinister right from the start to the end.

But we still got 2 classics on our hands.
 
BenjaminBirdie said:
You guys really think it's as good as 1?

I mean, I can't stop listening to it, and El has upped his rap game to an astonishing level, but the beats are just so much more ambly on this record than 1. 1 had "Job Well Done", "Pew Pew Pew", just the hardest yet most melodic beats since Bomb Squad stopped making records.

I wanted non-stop Nation of Millions this time around but instead it's just Fear of a Black Planet.

A great record, but not a legendary one.

>kicks album sleeve<
>puts hands in pockets<
>starts album over for fifth time<
Click to expand...

I think it might be a little early to call this album legendary, no matter how dope it is on first listen. It's not even been 12 hours since it released.

But I'd say it definitely matches RTJ1 in quality so far. Time will tell how it stands though.
 
I feel like I'm the one weirdo, this and the first album were both very good but I just can't say they are amazing or legendary. I'll give the new one another couple of listens to see if I'm just not in the mood or crazy or something...
 
I've always thought El-P was one of the best producers in the game. He never really fell off. He's just making his stuff a little less abrasive and his cadence has fallen in line with that sound.
 
I think, yeah, the album is more elaborately produced, and that's great, and awesome, and listenable, but I would have liked that RTJ1 direct approach.

I mean, it's like, be honest, what do you REALLY want to listen to more, Bloom by Beach House or the hidden track at the end of Bloom by Beach House.

BE HONEST.
 
RTJ2 has better production, better rapping from el-p (who brought down some of the more up tempo tracks on the first album) and is more diverse sonically. I was kind of disappointed by the first album. It's not bad, but it wasn't nearly as good as R.A.P. Music or C4C to me. Some tracks worked perfectly, others fell a bit flat. Whereas the first two songs they released for this album were better than everything on the first album except Sea Legs.

This album really makes me hope to god that Alchemist does something with a great rapper. His recent projects have been dope obviously but I need to hear the shit he did with Freddie Gibbs. That's a killer combo.
 
Jabraham said:
Holy shit Lie, Cheat, Steal just gave me chills. It's a shame because I dont think i can go back to the original this is the final nail in the coffin. But holy shit did El-P step up his game on both production and rapping. The guy's definitely a beast in his own regard now.
Click to expand...

there better be an Eddie Guerrero reference or sample in that track goddamnit.
 
PhoenixDark said:
RTJ2 has better production, better rapping from el-p (who brought down some of the more up tempo tracks on the first album) and is more diverse sonically. I was kind of disappointed by the first album. It's not bad, but it wasn't nearly as good as R.A.P. Music or C4C to me. Some tracks worked perfectly, others fell a bit flat. Whereas the first two songs they released for this album were better than everything on the first album except Sea Legs.

This album really makes me hope to god that Alchemist does something with a great rapper. His recent projects have been dope obviously but I need to hear the shit he did with Freddie Gibbs. That's a killer combo.
Click to expand...

The first album felt like a mixtape to me. It was missing the cohesiveness that you'd find in an album.

This album is soooo much better overall.
 
tycoonheart said:
The first album felt like a mixtape to me. It was missing the cohesiveness that you'd find in an album.

This album is soooo much better overall.
Click to expand...

It definitely flows together well for sure. I don't know, I hope it doesn't sound like I don't like it. I've literally never not liked an El-P beat, and I've collected them my whole life, every remix, everything ever. He's the best producer that's ever lived.

I just, as someone who bought Nation of Millions as his first cassette ever, I'm just aesthetically predisposed to prefer shit that just burns everything to the ground in favor of just pure hard beatness, but that somehow integrates perfect melody over it. Stuff like "Job Well Done" or if you want to go back to masterpieces like "Mo Mega" or "Take Hold Fire" or "Ridiculoid", these are beats that didn't let up for a second but also had Product doing this incredible, but simple, melody on top of it. No one, not EVEN Bomb Squad, has ever been as good at this as El.

There's a part of me that just wishes every single song he ever did was just like that. But, you know, artists gotta be diverse and all. I get that.

Shit, I mean, I love every Prefuse 73 record, so…

I mean.

Every single one.
 
BenjaminBirdie said:
It definitely flows together well for sure. I don't know, I hope it doesn't sound like I don't like it. I've literally never not liked an El-P beat, and I've collected them my whole life, every remix, everything ever. He's the best producer that's ever lived.

I just, as someone who bought Nation of Millions as his first cassette ever, I'm just aesthetically predisposed to prefer shit that just burns everything to the ground in favor of just pure hard beatness, but that somehow integrates perfect melody over it. Stuff like "Job Well Done" or if you want to go back to masterpieces like "Mo Mega" or "Take Hold Fire" or "Ridiculoid", these are beats that didn't let up for a second but also had Product doing this incredible, but simple, melody on top of it. No one, not EVEN Bomb Squad, has ever been as good at this as El.

There's a part of me that just wishes every single song he ever did was just like that. But, you know, artists gotta be diverse and all. I get that.
Click to expand...

My man. Agreed with everything you said there.

I've been a fan of El since his Co Flow days. Fan Dam was so fucking amazing. Like you, I'm a huge fan of the Bomb Squad - early Ice Cube albums produced by them are still some of my favorites. Thats what El-P's production reminded me of and fell in love with it.
 
Second Listen: HOLY FUCKING SHIT

AOTY contender right here.






BenjaminBirdie said:
I think, yeah, the album is more elaborately produced, and that's great, and awesome, and listenable, but I would have liked that RTJ1 direct approach.

I mean, it's like, be honest, what do you REALLY want to listen to more, Bloom by Beach House or the hidden track at the end of Bloom by Beach House.

BE HONEST.
Click to expand...

That hidden track is great tho.
 
Good to see I'm not the only one making Bomb Squad comparisons. The layering of sound is very similar, but El-P is doing it with fewer samples. I'd love to hear more DJ scratches thrown in. Damn I miss the days where you could pretty much sample whatever you wanted.

Imagine a Chuck D interlude on this shit. Chuck isn't the MC he used to be but his fall off can also be attributed to a lack of good production over the last years. This shit knocks enough for him to rip it.
 
Every part here seems to make the impression that El-P really stepped up the production. Also I love how diverse as a whole it sounds. Even though there are instances where it doesn't do much for me, I definitely commend El-P and Killer Mike for not only staying on course but expanding it too.
 
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