TOTW: Run the Jewels- A Report to the Shareholders/Kill Your Masters

The new Run The Jewels album RTJ 3 feels like a story of two halves. It opens with the usual all out furore that we expect from their previous two albums. But on its second half we get a new side to the group. One that features a different take on the production and lyrics. Tracks that feel more like well planned attacks that the instinctive raw anger we get from their previous work on the first half of this record.

The final tracks “A Report to the Shareholders/Kill Your Masters” are mixed together and provide a perfect example of this new direction. The music still has the heavy production El-P is known for but its more stripped back, with the percussion mixed into the instrumentation so it isn’t the harsh force it usually is. Together they provide a mournful bed for the delivery on the vocals which deal with the fears both Rappers have for the future due to recent events.

It’s this contemplative and weighted approach that really adds something new to their commentary on society. In the past, Run The Jewels have always sounded like a prize fighter in the first round. The energy is flowing and the punches are landing with style and flair. A Report to the Shareholders/Kill Your Masters shows a group who have been through one too many fights. With more experience and influence but feeling weaker than ever, beaten but not defeated. It’s a reflection of the artists feelings themselves and also a reflection of our society at large and its worth your time:

 
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