A historically uncompromising and oppressive government is what motivates hip-hop duo Run the Jewels to serve as voices of the people in these hip-hop streets. Virgin ears and uninformed minds may think that Killer Mike and El-P’s rebellious microphone waxing is anti-government, but that’s not the case at all, so stop bugging. You see, one half of RTJ, Killer Mike, enthusiastically endorsed and advocated Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential run. The cogent and fiery Killer Mike, and his intriguing and humorous potna, El-P, are into putting the U.S. on blast with the hopes of waking up the dead.
With the third installment of their self-titled effort, Killer and P continue to vent their frustrations in a disruptive, up-to-date and sauced language that the formally educated or even high school dropouts can understand. RTJ’s rage against the machine comes from an honest place, a space of frustration with the fact that it’s 2017 and minorities still have to protest for their humanity. In fact, just recently, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning the refugee program and temporarily hindering Muslims from seven countries—Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Syria and Libya—from entering the United States out fear of terrorism. This insane executive decision sparked protests at airports in New York City, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco, among others.
So, the #Woke and uncooperative raps of Brooklyn’s El-P and Atlanta’s Killer Mike are very much needed. RTJ 3 does a few things. First, the project raises awareness to a political system that opposes minorities. Secondly, RTJ offers a call-to-action that resonates with today’s bold and fearless Millennials. Lastly, the black-and-white partners-in-rhyme satisfy that rough and raw nostalgic Golden Era of lyricism. Put plainly, these dudes can spit. Since there are vital threads of information throughout the album, VIBE took a closer look at some lyrics on RTJ 3 and connected their rhymes to some important books so you can brush up on your knowledge of social movements and the chess moves of the U.S. government.
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Song: “Talk to Me” Lyrics: On the radio, heard a plane hijack/Government did that like they cook crack/I move in a world of conspiraciesStudy Guide: Behold a Pale Horse by William Cooper
Now, we’re not conspiracy theorists over here at VIBE. However, we do pay attention to what’s going on. Former United States Naval Intelligence Briefing Team member William Cooper wrote a jaw-dropping book on top-secret government information such JFK’s assassination, the Berlin Wall, the War on Drugs and other issues. According to Cooper, Behold a Pale Horse was penned with the help of documents that Cooper read while employed with U.S. Naval Intelligence Briefing Team. -
Song: “Don’t Get Captured” Lyrics: Hello from the Little Shop of Horrors/Ski Mask like the Phantom of Opera/Go cold like the land of Chicago/Child soldiers spraying the chopper/But you don’t give a f**k that’s them, though/Til’ a peasant put a pistol in your window. Study Guide: Black Chicago and the Making of the Negro Ghetto: 1890-1920 (University of Chicago Press) by Allan H. Spear; 2: Ghetto: An Invention of a Place, the History of an Idea (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) by Mitchell Duneier; and 3: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (Crown Publishing Group) by Matthew Desmond
On Don’t Get Captured, Killer Mike and El-P take listeners into the minds of kids of the ghetto and the indifferent thoughts about politicians to our situation. In Black Chicago, Allen Spear examines the history and the making of the black community in Chicago during the thirty-year period from 1890-1920. Mitchell Duneier goes a step further by exploring the idea of the ghetto beginning in the sixteenth century and its reemergence by the Nazis and here in America in his book, Ghetto. In Evicted, Prof. Matthew Desmond follows the lives of several tenants and landlords in Milwaukee, WI. to examine how their lives and jobs are affected based on their housing. -
Song: “Down” Lyrics: 25 Lighters on the dresser/Pound of that pressure/Sitting right next to/Next to a book and a gun/Ballot or bullet/You better use one Study Guide: From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago (UNC Press) by Jakobi Williams
Honestly speaking, many ‘hood cats are inspired by the left-of-center politics of the Black Panther Party. Party members were the voice of the streets long before hip-hop. In From the Bullet to the Ballot, Prof. Jakobi Williams pens a thorough history of Chicago’s Black Panther Party. Williams, who’s also a Chi-City-bred, informs readers on how the young, stylish and fearless Chicago BPP influenced the Windy City’s civil rights movement. Williams also details the violent death of political leader Fred Hampton, who was murdered by the FBI and Chicago police while he was asleep in his home during the wee hours of the morning. -
Song: “Report to the Sharecroppers/Kill Your Masters” Lyrics: I mean a horse is a horse of course/But who rides is important/Sitting high with a uniform/barking orders/Demanding order Study Guide: Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America (Harvard University Press) by Ira Berlin
Many Thousands Gone is one of the most important books on slavery. Prof. Ira Berlin examines the first two centuries of slavery in North America, and how the institution changed over time. -
Song: “Stay Gold” Lyrics: Thirty-Six inch Cuban and I move through Cuba/With a half-Ki of gold on my neck/Call me Gaddafi/Pay me in gold/Cause your money really ain’t worth sh**/Just a piece of paper to promote propaganda to keep you in debt Study Guide: Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class (Oxford University Press) by Ian Haney Lopez; 2: Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas In America (Nation Books) by Ibram X. Kendi.
In Dog Whistle Politics, Prof. Lopez shows us regular folks how shrewd politicians use hidden language such as “states rights,” “inner-city” and “tax cuts” which are code words for “N***er.” Lopez also discusses how these terms appeal to middle-class whites, yet threaten their own interests.
Stamped from the Beginning researches the entire history of white rage. Kendi also shows readers that racists ideas came from the minds of highly intellectual men, who used their brilliance to justify and spread racist rhetoric. -
Song: “Talk to Me” Lyrics: My job is to fight for survival in spite of these #AllLivesMatter a** white folks Study Guide: Survival Pending Revolution: The History of the Black Panther Party (University of Alabama Press) by Paul Alkebulan
Survival pending revolution was one of the Black Panther Party’s slogans. Their aim was to provide daily needs of food, clothing, health care or policing of the police to the poor until the U.S. government recognized that the ‘hood is, in fact, a place of abode to human beings. Panther members gave their lives to fight for civil rights. Prof. Paul Alkebulan, in his book Survival Pending Revolution, pieces together the BPP’s history including its food, clothing and school programs. -
Song: “2100” feat. Boots
Lyrics: How long before the hate that we hold lead us to another Holocaust?
Study Guide: The Black Panthers: A Story of Race, War and Courage: The 761 Tank Battalion In World War II (Westholme Publishing) by Gina M. DiNicoloWhile rescuing Jews persecuted by Nazi Germany wasn’t the United States’ main agenda, the Holocaust was part of broader scope of America’s involvement in World War II. These group of Black Panthers aren’t the Oakland-based political organization. This group of BPs were more like No Limit Soldiers. The Black Panther, a.k.a. 761st Tank Battalion, were the first African-American battalion to carry guns and engaged in actual combat during World War II. In fact, the 761st crew was summoned by General George S. Patton to go toe-to-toe with some of Hitler’s best men.
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Song: “Talk to Me” Lyrics: Went to war with the Devil and Shayton/He wore a bad toupee and a spray tan Study Guide: Trump Syllabus 2.0 by Keisha Blain, Assistant Professor of African American History at the University of Iowa, and N.D.B. Connolly, Associate Professor of History at John Hopkins University
Killer Mike is referring to Donald Trump with the aforementioned lyrics. Bad toupee and a spray tan? That’s Trump all day. Trump’s rhetoric is disturbing, and filled with hate and racism. Brilliant historians Keisha Blain and N.D.B. Connolly put together an extensive list of books that explores the history and political footing of Donald Trump’s presidential election. Warning: Trump Syllabus 2.0 will remind you just how ignorant you are, which is actually a good thing, though.
Check out Blain’s and Connolly’s Trump Syllabus 2.0 here.