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10.0
92224
10.0 |
The Skinny
Equal parts red-hot fire and cold hard reality, Killer Mike and El-P’s third album as Run The Jewels is a muscular call to arms
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10.0
92251
10.0 |
NME
Hip-hop has seldom sounded this righteous since Public Enemy
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10.0
92252
10.0 |
The FT
Most sequels decline in quality. But rap duo Run the Jewels defy the law of diminishing returns on their third outing since 2013
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10.0
92302
10.0 |
DIY
‘RTJ3’ is a ludicrously consistent assault of a record, with deftness and finesse, but enough surgical precision to land haymaker after haymaker
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9.5
92210
9.5 |
The 405
We've had countless albums predicating calls for mobilisation before, and they're generally provocative and valued but ultimately specious, but on RTJ3 there's a visceral directness that cuts to the aorta
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9.3
92229
9.3 |
Paste Magazine
Run the Jewels was supposed to be as fleeting as a “fuck you,” but the group has evolved by revealing that sentiment is eternal. RTJ3 sharpens that revelation and encases it in lustrous, dazzling gold. The crooks had the jewels all along
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9.0
92226
9.0 |
The Music
It's another near-classic album from an outfit seemingly incapable of delivering anything but
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9.0
92181
9.0 |
Exclaim
Run the Jewels 3 is a rap armoury for hard times, a hip-hop bullhorn that afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted
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9.0
92277
9.0 |
Spectrum Culture
RTJ has continued to rise to the occasion and deliver galvanizing political rap that is equal parts menace and message
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9.0
92383
9.0 |
All Music
In short, RTJ3 is near perfect in its execution. They're so good at this that it seems almost unfair in its effortlessness
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9.0
92398
9.0 |
Drowned In Sound
This is an album that could easily be subtitled Mission Accomplished, but for once, it feels like bowing out on top would be ill-advised. That, in itself, is quite the compliment
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9.0
92860
9.0 |
PopMatters
Run The Jewels’s fine vein of form continues and this is their defining moment so far, a call to arms, to overthrow a perceived failing system and reassert the authority of the forgotten and neglected underclasses
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8.8
92279
8.8 |
Gig Soup
One of the few positives of the political shit-storm that struck the US in 2016 is that it seems to have fired up Run the Jewels once more, helping the two rappers reach previously untouched heights
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8.6
92195
8.6 |
Pitchfork
RTJ3 is essentially the Run the Jewels manifesto, an outpouring of rage and defiance that never loses sight of the objectives: rallying the troops, holding all accountable, and toppling oppression
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8.5
92225
8.5 |
Beardfood
From politics to personal loss, RTJ are here again to comfort us
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8.5
92333
8.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
It's Mike's rare ability to make powerful and relevant political music that sets him apart from the crowd. As a result, Run the Jewels use RTJ3 as a platform to tackle Trump in a more sophisticated (and hilarious) way than YG
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8.5
92494
8.5 |
Earbuddy
Everything seems in its right place at the right time, as if it always was, even before audio conception. The previous albums literally feel like the successful experiments that led to RTJ 3 being a possibility
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8.3
92213
8.3 |
A.V. Club
Three albums deep, Killer Mike and El-P sound as hungry as ever, and the world is still full of Caesars with ripe throats
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8.3
92186
8.3 |
Consequence Of Sound
They’ve summed up the temperature of the country’s last few years twice: Run the Jewels 2 sounded powerful, like an old voice being heard by new masses for the first time. And Run the Jewels 3 sounds powerless, like the masses have left and the choir is all that’s left to preach to again
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8.3
92171
8.3 |
Pretty Much Amazing
The last two songs on Run the Jewels 3 might be the best two songs in their entire trilogy so-far
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8.2
92172
8.2 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
The pair’s poetry remains bold and bizarre, with wondrous lines that variously zing and titillate
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8.0
92231
8.0 |
The Guardian
The formula is probably becoming familiar, but its time is now
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8.0
92233
8.0 |
The Independent
A set of songs that alternate between hard-hitting social commentary and boasts about how great Run The Jewels are
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8.0
92206
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
Run the Jewels can still detonate rhymes like a Molotov cocktail lobbed into a CVS, but now they're strategizing for the long war ahead
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8.0
93040
8.0 |
Under The Radar
The most accomplished chapter in the duo's trilogy of LPs
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8.0
93344
8.0 |
Mojo
Rages hard over bass-driven beats positively thrumming with vitality. Print edition only
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8.0
92280
8.0 |
State
It’s not Run The Jewels’ most in your face album but it is as life-affirming as previous efforts and it provides a lyrical roadmap for dealing with the tough times that El-P and Killer Mike see ahead
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8.0
92399
8.0 |
Crack
If RTJ2 was the emerging sounds of revolt, RTJ3 is the much-needed blueprint for change
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8.0
92405
8.0 |
Q
This is essential listening - now more than ever. Print edition only
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8.0
92384
8.0 |
NOW
Killer Mike and El-P's latest collaboration takes on the politics of the day with relentless energy and biting wordplay
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7.0
92228
7.0 |
American Songwriter
It’s another victory lap from a pair of rappers who are mastering the form, one glorious album at a time
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7.0
92201
7.0 |
Clash
Thankfully there’s enough gold at hand to excuse Run The Jewels for getting a little bit carried away with their own runaway success
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6.0
92271
6.0 |
Slant Magazine
Remains too entrenched in the grammar of the past to ever feel entirely fresh
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