’13 Best Mixtapes #1: EL-P & Killer Mike Run The Jewels

Written By: @Elliottwilson January 8, 2014 @ 6:00 PM EST
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Crown Jewels.

The white kid from Company Flow and the ATLien offspring of OutKast form a rap group? Yeah I’m with it, I’m with it. It all began a year ago when El-P handled production for Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music. Their chemistry was evident and thankfully this past summer they officially formed a dynamic duo named Run The Jewels and released a self-titled free mixtape.

Clocking in at 10 tracks, this is sci-fi-sounding boom bap packed with punch as evidenced by their first release “Get It”. Here the two MCs make their intentions crystal clear. El-P spits, “My name is Jaime Meline/I’m not chasing the green, I’m taking it/Bosses don’t change a thing in the name of seemingly making it.” Killer Mike counters, “My name is Michael Render/And we’re the new Avengers/We’re here to tell you all your false idols are just pretenders.”

Mike’s mentor Big Boi appears on “Banana Clipper” and while he more than holds his own, Killer shines by bigging up his partner. “Producer gave me a beat/Said it’s the beat of the year/I said El-P didn’t do it/So get the fuck outta here.” Ok then! Producto returns the love on the booming “Job Well Done”: “Killer Mike and El-P, fuck boys think about it/Fuck you gonna sell me/You don’t know a thing about us.”

The two unite on their battles with drugs on “No Come Down” and Mike checks a hater on the collection’s closer “A Christmas Fucking Miracle”. “Me and El-P do the secret handshake/Then I pummel punch a pumpkin head punk in his pimple face/Til he’s punch drunk cause he’s sweet as a pound cake.” Ouch.

In an age where every rapper thinks they should be solo and are too good to pair with someone else. These two like-minded veterans unite to prove there’s strength in numbers, muthafuckas. You got it for free first but this is well worth your dinero. Thank you, Fools Gold. Dig in your pockets and support Run The Jewels.—YN

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27 Comments
  1. Alex says:

    wasn’t this an album?

  2. jameshall says:

    apparently albums that have no skits and quality tracks but are under 35 minutes are mixtapes. gtfoh

    1. That Guy says:

      for real though…..

  3. milli says:

    Would decently cop this if I could buy it on a hard disc best mixtape/album of 2013.

    1. Thomas_76 says:

      This is an album and NOT a mixtape….just saying.

      But bruh you can cop this goodness at: http://ughh.com/store/results.asp?searchby=All&keywords=run+the+jewels&searchTarget=store&x=-964&y=-89

    2. Danny says:

      You can buy a hard disc copy check amazon or the fools gold website

  4. deadross says:

    Damn outta no where I need to hear this I never heard it

  5. Niggas SLIPPED UP. #Crenshaw should’ve been #1 …On the impact it had on the culture alone. #TIMELESS

    1. LuckyP757 says:

      what impact did it have on the culture? only thing about that project that niggas talked about was the hundred dollar tag no one cared about the music

      1. No impact? Clearly you didn’t notice how Forbes Magazine was tuned in & gave him an article. Clearly you didn’t notice it was the 2nd most talked about event underneath “Control” this year. most of all, you clearly didn’t LISTEN to the project if you’re saying the music wasn’t cared about.

        1. LuckyP757 says:

          only thing you’re dead on about is me not listening. fam forbes has been interviewing everyone under the sun and it hasn’t been about or due to their finances. secondly nipsey just isn’t a heavy hitter rap nigga, face it bud. he missed his ship a few yrs back, the masses aint checking for that nigga. my apologies that your fav rap guy isn’t everyone else’s fav rap guy

          1. Nipsey isn’t my favorite “rap guy”. I don’t have one. I just speak facts. Forbes doesn’t interview every rapper. Masses don’t check for artists not on major labels.

          2. teddbrukshut22 says:

            honestly i listen to it and after hearing it …..i would be mad i paid $100 4 it despite i was payin 4 concert tickets so i think #8 on the list is pretty good.. at least he mad the list..and forbes only worte that article because he was selling a $100 mixtape so thats not really a valid point…you can be hype he made it but it WAS NOT CUZ HE HAS MONEY!!!!(which is the whole point of forbes)…..

          3. LuckyP757 says:

            exactly. i remember forbes interviewing 2chainz and was like what the fuck.

      2. Gmillz says:

        Just a thought but their is a $60 Run the Jewels collectors edition.

    2. TruthSerum813 says:

      I cant remember hearing anybody big up that album other then saluting Nipseys ability to convince a bunch of idiots into paying $100 for a CD

      1. It was actually $100 for a Proud2Pay concert as well as the signed physical copy. Do your research before you make dumb statements.

    3. polopolo1 says:

      it sparked some interest and attention but i wouldn’t say it impacted the culture nobody was really talking about the music on the album just how much the album costed, and he got on the twitter boasting talkin bout some i sold you all throwaway tracks, i mean what kinda artist who actually cares about their craft says shit like that?, so if there was any chance to rinse and repeat he basically blocked himself from being able to do so. it was commendable business move, but nobody really out here talkin bout”you heard that new nipsey?” it was a momment in time

      1. LuckyP757 says:

        i agree. but to be perfectly honest fam, he doesn’t write all his own shit so id imagine everything being a throwaway track. i think nipsey feels himself a bit too much. perhaps thats in an attempt to evoke feelings into the raps he doesn’t write

  6. Caposet303 says:

    I mean it was a free download and this is not the right cover.

  7. Word says:

    This…this was an album right? Either way I guess I have to listen now.

  8. Trappin' Trev says:

    this was an awesome project and i would have never heard of it if it weren’t for rap radar’s top 5 mixtapes. thank you YN and thank you rap radar.

  9. TruthGod says:

    this a very dope album these are some real mc’s

    check the soundz

    https://soundcloud.com/crownking97/ima-produce-by-blackdust

  10. YallFuckinUp says:

    WRATH OF CAIN tho

  11. Frank says:

    LOL at using the wrong album art. Great pick for #1, but c’mon guys.

  12. Viva La Raza says:

    fuck all the kitty litter chatter, Nipsey aint in the convo..
    Run The Jewels running over your fav rapper though.

    crazy production, proper NWA meets Public Enemy lyrics.
    Run The Jewels are one the best things in hip hop right now…

    Chance, Nipsey, Migos, etc. – lotta hype, dont deliver 100%
    RTJ deliver 100%..at least Rap Radar gives em shine, regardless of the lists & their personal tastes..Run The Jewels deserve the shine

  13. Sajjad Al Jabiri says:

    im cashed out, i would have loved to support their music. Im going to possibly get it though for the foreseeable future

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