#2408 Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 3

I'm sure El-P and Killer Mike are sincere, truly angry, truly desiring to inspire.

But its tough not to hear their songs as designed to make white kids bump at shows, this album in particular: packed with singalong encouragement, noddable grooves, and murder rap power fantasies non-offset with topping-from-the-bottom recreational revolutionary Rage-isms ( the return of Zach de la Rocha doesn't help ). It's a good groove, but it undercuts it's own seriousness.

And as the world's gotten more serious, is it wrong to want more? To want a real shock to the system revolutionary message to come through? To rise beyond Rage-level vagueness? Again, it's good fun, but RtJ seems to want to be more, and they don't get there, either through a lack of commitment or a lack of execution.

Exception: look to RtJ2 standout Early, where the details become sharp and personal. And at the last second, RtJ3 finds a glimpse of that magic, enough so that it kinda elevates the whole album.

Thursday in the Danger Room is heartbreaking and weak after 12 tracks of righteous fist-swinging, an admission that all that swagger only gets you so far. And fuckin, godbless Kamasi for bringing the sax back. And it tees up the final track where that powerless pivots into real stakes, and sparks the anger. Here's wishing they could have tapped into that relatable, desperate, dangerous vein sooner, even at the cost of some bangin' festival highlights 3.5/5