thanks for this thoughtful review man really appreciate it. one thing I have to say though... I absolutely produced this album the same as I have every album. the friends who contribute co production are critical to me but there's a reason it says produced by el-p 😂
First of all, I’m extremely honored that you watched my video! Wow. Seriously makes my weekend. Secondly, thank you so much for the clarification on the production credits. I stream on Tidal and for some reason your name is not listed as “producer” on a bunch of the tracks. Composer, but not producer. That was where the confusion came from. Sorry about that!
That's so f*cking crazy to me that El jumped in here to fact ✔ 🤣🤣🤣 I am a 42 year old father in St Louis, MO. I am white. I knew about El from the CoFlo days and Mike from when he got in with BigBoi and 3 stacks. I had the good fortune in 1998 to meet a woman that helped me change my prejudice ways. I didn't think I was racist. I got a new pair of Jordan's every year and I loved yo MTV raps. See... as a kid I lived about 20 minutes outside St Louis in a small town that was about 98% white. At 18, I moved to south St Louis which was crazy diverse. So back to that woman I met at 18. She had a 8 month old, but I didn't care, I had to get to know her. I used to say a lot of dumb sh#t back then. Example, "I don't have any slaves, nor do I know any, so why can't we just move on". Oh yeah, forgot to mention, she also happens to be black. This next part I am about to say now is very important. She took the time to EDUCATE me when I misspoke instead of CANCELING me! That is what we ALL need to do now more than ever. What we have done to an entire group of people over the last 500 years is terrible. Racism exists, and it must be destroyed. Our combined future depends on it. One last thing. I married the woman I met in 98. She is a teacher, she will tell you that reading, or people still not being able to, is a huge problem. So she has dedicated her life to teaching the world to read, she is just starting with 3rd graders in south St Louis. She holds 3 degrees, and is about to get her PHD in education. She probably won't be able to finish her dissertation until next year due to Covid, but she'll get there. My son is a corporal in the Marines. He is in avionics. He likes to draw and also build working robots at a small scale. I can tell that both my wife and son would be very sad at the thought of you not liking them 😔 due to their color. They just want to help people. Why don't you like them?!?! I know that last sentence cut ✂️ you. It was supposed to. Ok, now that a couple of us have wiped our tears...what do we do??? How do fix all the ugly we see??? Well, this...what I am doing now. Having real conversations about what you see and sharing experiences about what you lived. That is what changes hearts and minds. Listen for understanding, speak to be understood Black Lives Matter
Love your presence on yt el-p, seeing you on these smaller channels warms my heart. Great album once again, AOTY guaranteed no question, probably too early to call but imma do it anyway, Album of the Decade
Matt Pfarr hell yeah friend. They may say Marxism is dead, but you and I still kicking around. And I feel like we do need radical change and soon. I think a lot of people feel that way, although there are disagreements on what sort of radical change
this review, is literally all I wanted. This is the format I have been looking for towards rap music. Especially all the other RTJ albums, so thank you for this man, I really appreciate your effort you put in, is amazing dude
In the same way that Charli XCX's album defined the quarantine, RTJ4 is going to define the protests. When people look back on the art made in 2020, this will be an album that everyone should be talking about
END - Splinters From An Ever-Changing Face Dropped the same day as RTJ4 and those two albums are my albums of the year along with The Black Dahlia Murder - Verminous. All albums represent this difficult time in history.
Never, ever rate El-P without listening to Cancer 4 Cure or his verse in The Last Huzzah. While I do think Killer Mike took the spotlight in some of the songs in RTJ4, El-P is still one of the greatest. A lyrical master and very intelligent man.
Really love this album review. Thoughtful. Couple of things. 1. Saw that EL-p commented. Amazing. Around Cancer 4 Cure album he started using wilder zoby and taco (brothers) as co producers for their extra keyboard and percussion and other assistance. He started using BOOTS on Rtj 2/3 and nick hook has been a longtime collaborator. 2. Give Zack a chance man. Of any artist he actually went to Central America and South America and actually embedded with revolutionaries. Go listen to RATM first record. There are things in there that are very relevant to now and that was 92/93.
Fantastic summary of this album. Please don't second guess whether or not you should allow yourself to enter those streams of consciousness types of thoughts. I enjoy your intellectual analysis of these albums. That is what I come here for. Bravo!
I think you missed a little bit on the last track, on mike's verse it's also his friends saying Mike could be a real leader and activist for change, presidential candidate type, but his wife is saying she needs and wants him to stay alive because he'll likely be killed doing that. Kinda struggling between brain and heart. Maybe I misunderstand the lyrics but that's how I took it anyway Great review though! Love the format, you got a new subscriber here.
Idk personally I would recommend trying out rage against the machine again. Idk I love Zach de la Rocha. One of my favorite rappers ever and I love Rage as a whole. But I get it lol Rage isn’t for everyone
I think it’s because although ratm songs have some real deep lyrics they don’t have a lot of lyrics. A lot of songs repeat the same 3-5 sentences over and over. I love em though, but I also love metal and rap.
@@DynamiteProd Totally disagree. S/T for sure does that a lot but that's the *only* album where that happens. You have to remember Zach was in a LAHC band before RATM so I think the short, poignant & on the nose lyrics bled a lot into the first release, not so much everything after.
For real, man - I have never seen anyone with a head and a heart hate on Rage. Someone much cleverer than me (by half) once said, "Zach was woke before they set the alarm clock", and I've always held that to be true. I could go into a LONG screed about why Zach is incredibly intelligent and passionate and an unbelievably important voice (no pun intended) in politically-charged musical discourse, but...shit, man - he rolled with (and had the respect of) Chuck D; what more do you want?
This is exactly the type of thoughtful review that this album deserves. Thank you so much for your analysis, I’ll be looking forward to more content in the future!
This is a great review!. I love when true hip-hop artists receive attention and analysis their art deserves. I also appreciate others who take the time to truly digest well crafted rhymes (I can't stand this I don't write my rhymes era) and tweaked, refined production. Peace!
Landed here because of the "RTJ4 Fan reactions" video, awesome review. I really wasn't expecting a review of this album from a french teacher ahah ( i'm french living in Lyon )anyway, awesome job !
My personal favorite verse in "a few words for the firing squad" is the one where Mike speaks about his wife telling him that he can't succumb to grief and misery and become yet another tragedy. She needs a husband and their kids need a father more than the world needs another martyr. P.S. Thanks to OOH LA LA, every time I hear "First of all," I immediately anticipate to hear "We is fuckin raw," and end up confused when I don't hear it spoken.
Great review! First one I've seen of yours...subbed! I had a feeling you'd say best since Chuck D and you're not wrong. RTJ is now one of the best hip hop groups (IMO) with 4 great albums.
First off, I would like to say that I have never heard Hip Hop broken down like this. I sincerely cannot express how grateful I am for that, for you! For doing this! An impeccable job and a wonderful insightful video! Thank you! Secondly, I love Hip Hop and what it has done for the world, it continuously unites us as one family. It is why I AM Hip Hop, why I got into it and will forever stay. That being said, I'm gonna add my little drop to the bucket. We do not all come from the same places, and at times peoples lives can be put out on display in such a way, with a very important fact being missed. Its not always easy to understand another's experience in life without that same experience. It can be understood if two people are willing to sit down and have that conversation openly and honestly. Let's say someone has a perception of hiphop, or rappers, promoting being very much alone. That can be easily misconstrued from the fact they are far more likely describing what it feels like to live, breathe and eat the street. Which is always alone, you only know that from living it. Few will speak on it that way. Its why I LOVE this album beyond reason. Because it express accurately all that we wish to NOT speak of. I find rappers tend to talk about the same thing once famous. That is for another reason entirely, if you actually grow up on the street you can get a sense of people few people have. Its how you stay alive, avoid house hold abuse and a whole host of other shit I am not getting into right here. So they can easily see in the "game" as everyone so casually puts it, are fake. Only there for what they can get cause you are the commodity at that moment. Really its just people trying to tell you about their pain. We have a very disingenuous way of pulling it off because of all that street conditioning. This is also pointed out on this album. Quite thoroughly. Because its almost all bullshit because we PICK sides and never wanna stop doing that silly shit. We make art to hopefully shed light on these facts. Then end the cycles we are born into. Great video as I said, hiphop is here to unite us all and will, very glad you are a part of it! One love!
Just discovered your channel through this video. Thank you for all of the tidbits of knowledge you added to the conversation around this album! I will definitely subscribe to someone this thoughtful and well spoken!
Thanks for shedding light on some of these lines, I honestly had no idea how far the rabbit hole went in terms of the thought put into this album. Definitely gives me a new appreciation for RTJ4
Wow, you're my top YT discovery of the year. This review is comprehensive as fuck, you make excellent connections across cultural thinking and know your hip hop history. Feels like reading late 90s Pitchfork. Thanks for the content. My simple take on RTJ: they're 21st-century enlightenment rappers.
Awesome review and breakdown. RTJ is by far my favorite group, it's so very rare I've been able to find a group where I can listen to every song and not want to skip, obviously I have my favs but I love their music. So glad I found RTJ because I had essentially given up on rap and was stuck listening to mostly pre 2002 rap because it felt like all the real rappers had stopped and all that was left was mumbling and bumbling nonsense.
Wow 😳 I saw the video was 38 minutes and was thinking no way... but after watching about 5 minutes I was hooked and learn so much. And the Intellectual breakdown was very nice. I never knew any of that history, keep it up 👍🏾
Professor Skye I saw part of this review on a compilation shared on an email list by RTJ. Great review! I heard interview on Rick Rubin podcast where Killer Mike talked about the link between Bukowski and Chomsky and how he embodies both philosophies. I really appreciate the history of the "intellectual" and I find it interesting that it still considered an insult today. As if the act of thinking is an issue when the opposite is true. I bumped into RTJ by accident. Glad you made the Public Enemy connection. RTJ reminds me of Public Enemy but I could not place why. AS you pointed out musically they are different. Love your reviews. Thank you!
I absolutely love your videos! The last one I saw was for Bolt Cutters. It's reaffirming to know that I have a similar taste in music with someone as well spoken and intelligent as you. Just turned on "all notifications" so I don't miss another upload. Thanks for all the insightful commentary!
Subbing for this review, first video of yours I've ever seen, appreciate the hard work. I'm also glad El-p corrected the production credit information, he did awesome work as always on this album.
I don't reply much, but thank you for this. I've been fans of both for almost 20 years and to finally hear someone talk about the intelligence of their lyrics instead of "this is great for a rapper" is refreshing..... Youve gained a new subscriber.
Great review of this album. I don't often listen to hip hop, but RTJ is just on another level and this album is a must listen. I'm curious why you dislike Zach so much. Is it purely his voice and lyrics or?
This is fantastically enlightening, improves the album. RTJ albums can be picked at for years and you might still discover new shit. NGL some of this went over my head but it'll stick eventually
Not only is Zack amazing, influential across multiple genres of music, and one of very few rapping Marxists (his voice was like the lone voice of radicalism in popular music for a good long time), but his featured verses on RTJ3 & 4 are amazing, his flow is on point and he has some truly dope, dense lines. I cant even imagine loving RTJ musically & politically & intellectually, but not liking de la Rocha, who is absolutely an influence on RTJ as a project. And "hating" Rage? Phew, I dunno. Zack was rapping about Frantz Fanon w Rage when popular rap was just money, drug dealing & murder and alternative/metal was varying flavors of existential angst.
I can understand disliking overzealous RATM fans, but they're indisputably influential, and Zach is still remarkably relevant after a quarter century of rebellious rabble-rousing with vicious, seditious rock-rap riffs, so vociferous the shit's ridiculous.
New to your channel after looking for a couple reviews of this record and really appreciate the perspective that your analysis brings. Very well thought out, extremely insightful, and definitely what this album deserves. Thank you. I was surprised that El's deeply poetic approach like im the opening bars of Pulling the Pin didn't get a mention though and totally blown away that you dislike Zack so much. Hearing Evil Empire as a young teenager was such a formative experience for me, introducing me to how systems of oppression function just below the surface of popular visibility, are supported by propaganda, and was my first introduction to Marxism ("Fuck a G ride; I want the machines that are making them"). Even just the inversion of a Ronald Reagan reference present in the title is genius. After 20 years it might deserve a fresh listen. Planning on checking out your other reviews. Subscribed.
I'm 11:11 in and already absolutely fascinated by this review. It is unique among the many I've watched in the past few days. You have a new subscriber. I am, however, curious about your source of information regarding producer credits. Reading straight from the album booklet, though there are often co-producer credits as well, El-P is listed as the producer of every track.
Wow !!!!! I just found your channel . I never heard anyone break down a album the way you do ! You got yourself a new subscriber . Great album ! Awesome review!
This is one of my favourite TH-cam reviews of an album ever. Great job. Love the long format. Fascinating and eye-opening how deep Yankee and The Brave truly are. This was one of my favourite records of the year before this review which has broadened my appreciation for RTJ immensely. Might even be a better record than Fetch the Boltcutters, of course different in theme, but equally powerful. Definitely earned a new sub, and you are going to blow up one day. Amazing content.
This album is amazing!! I’ve been a fan of El-P and Killer Mike for years, but the day they joined forces was ‘just magic!’ 😉 What truly made this album for me was El-P’s Vonnegut reference, honestly. So much so that I finally changed my IG handle from “kilmoore_trout” to “vonnegutpunch”. I love Vonnegut, clearly, and I have never heard him mentioned in hip-hop, and it, simply, tickles me that he gives a “VonneGUT-PUNCH” to that “Atlas Shrug!” Hell yes, El-P!✊❤️ I am proud and appreciative of you, as well, concerning the origin of the word “intellectual.” Js I already knew what you were getting into the second you started in on it, but, I have never (before) heard it explained so concisely. Thank you for that and for this amazing review! You have earned a new subscriber today, Professor. 🙏 ❤️
Someone may have already told you, but Premier is the DJ from Gang Starr, RIP GURU...Greg Nice is from Nice & Smooth another old school group. Great review i love all of these different points of views on RTJ4 especially your pointing out the intelligence in the lyrics as well as the production! Appreciated!!!
Firstly, absolutely love this review and you have a new sub from me. Secondly, El-P is in no way the Scottie Pippen of RTJ. He might sometimes get overlooked with Mike's consistency, but El is a wizard with words. If you haven't already checked it out, listen to Cancer for Cure. That album is fantastic.
Ahhhh. A Few Words From the Firing Squad might be my favorite song on the album. i was surprised to hear your take on that. amazing review overall though. this album is really fun to pick apart, theres alot to dig into. I was living in DC around the time the protest/riots happened. This album was the most accurate backdrop could have asked for. insane time to be alive.
As a Run The Jewels fan and a long time El-P fan I'm really glad I clicked on this review. Keep it up man. Also glad to see more people respect El-P as a rapper and not just talk about his ridiculous production skills.
Great review. This RTJ album is sooooooooo good AND needed. I've been listening to El-p and Aesop Rock for about 20 years and they're the two smartest word-smiths in the world! There's not a bad album in either one of their catalogs. I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on their music ..and if you like exceptionally smart hiphop duos Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic have Hail Mary Mallon
Excellent review. Very thoughtful and I enjoyed watching you passionately break down the lyrics. It's very relatable because talking RTJ gets me equally as excited. IMO, RTJ is really a modern day RATM. So it's a little jarring to hear you say you can't stand Zach. I guess my only real complaint is, I don't understand how @PRODUCTOMART El-P doesnt ever get the respect he deserves lyrically. I feel that he is the smartest, most creative, most hard hitting lyricist of ALL TIME. I met him once in a bar in Fargo ND, along with KOOL AD of Das Racist and I was so star struck, I didn't hear a word he said. I just stood there in my El-P shirt starring at him with my mouth open for 5 minutes. Awkward AS FUCK. Lol Check out El-P's 2002 classic, "Fantastic Damage". It's pure perfection in every way.
Thank you very much for this review. I've been looking for something like this as opposed to the kids with the reaction videos. I've always enjoyed the nuance and many layers of rap music. I started with PE and dissecting the references, samples and humor of the Beastie Boys to being introduced to Albert Camus by Digable Planets. This album is a great piece of work. I subscribed to your channel and I hope there are more "thinking" pieces on here. Thx again
Thanks for checking it out. I bought that Digable Planets album, too. I try to make all of my reviews "thinking" pieces, though some are more thinky than others.
When you mentioned “TV has no temperature” that was famously said to Jay-z by Pimp C during the shooting of the video to the song Big Pimpin. Jay-Z wanted to know why Pimp C showed up with a big fur coat for their shoot in Florida to which Pimp C responded TV doesn’t have a temperature
Great review, but please check out El-P's solo work. You'll actually find that sonically the beats on RTJ4 absolutely sound like El-P productions and lyrically he has been wonderfully showcasing his craftsmanship and intellect for years.
"OH là là" is mostly used to express surprise or disappointment. But we also have "Houlà" (pronounce oola), which is more for indignation or conflict. But very rarely "Ooouh là là", he's right.
But a air conditioner isn't that loud and it's good to have and thank you for reviewing Carly Rae Jepsen I never really realized how good she was I've been listening to her Emotion album's non stop her album Kiss isn't that good in my opinion but it was her early music so I get that and most of the songs of the Dedicated album's isn't my groove but I like a couple from those
Excellent review and I love your passion for the music! I really think you should listen to El-P's solo work. He's kind of held himself back a little lyrically on RTJ projects so far, but his early stuff is chocked full of the kind of dense, esoteric references and philosophical lines that take hundreds of listens to fully appreciate that you're buzzing off here. A little sample from Accidents Don't Happen (2003) to whet your whistle: City life is practice, casket truancy That's the rule of you and me, brash unmasked lunacy Friends used to laugh fast, grasped little truth from me Now they check their bags with a staff claspin' Uzis Who deserves a wrath without warning? The same sky for the martyr with a spork Scorch, New York forfeit Run among the poppy fields order some more clips Store trips are weird but the fear is forceless Bloomey bought the city of Lego and shitty metal hull Jitters to the floor boards, burned almost aborted Flight of the accidental tourist: morbid The advertising gods so oddly court shit Godly corporate squads plot these tortures Holiness is hard and it's costing God fortunes (guess He took a second job on the force to afford it) I don't want a part of these self fulfilled prophecies Man it's too much for my stubbornness, I hate the people runnin' shit Now if you sleep at ground o below, wishing you peaceful sleep Where horror on the surface emerges less frequently Metal bars of ancient Rome dissolved from the scenery (now what the fuck) I'll take a hostage and walk through the mosh pit Pristine untouched, NB703's unscuffed Trust is a commodity crushed by Pol Pottery Your cookie cutter laws contain flaws in philosophy Toppling down a flight of Escher/Bach steps: delight Cause the man who raped my sister won't sleep right tonight Okay it was a big sample haha
As an atheist that's a question that I've been asked many times, how can you be a good person without religion and god in your life to which I generally answer if your god and religion is the only thing making you a good person then you aren't really a good person, if your religion and god is the only thing stopping you from going out and murdering someone then how are you as a person a good person? A lot of religions like to try a corner the market on morality though, especially the religions of Abraham, Judaism, Islam and Christianity but I point them to the golden rule that has been around since the early days of Chinese philosophy or the Code of Hammurabi that was written before the bible etc... It's an interesting conversation to have but can be an awfully frustrating one depending on who you are talking with. People and society shape our morals based on what benefits the society as a whole the most imo, murdering and stealing isn't good for a society so we've deemed them to be wrong for example.
I think it’s just part of being human. Like being born gay or anything else. People are born with morals (some people aren’t and we tend to think of that as a mental illness) if it was just religion keeping people decent we wouldn’t consider it an illness if people didn’t have decency.
Professor, when you have the time, you should do an analysis on Lupe Fiasco's albums (Food and liquor, the Cool, and Tetsuo and Youth). I'm sure you'll have a great time listening to these albums if you haven't already.
thank you for this great in-depth review. I don't listen to a lot of rap. but every now and then I get hooked on one rap album and listen to it on repeat for a while. happened to me with Fugees - "The Score" and with Kendrick Lamar - "good kid, m.A.A.d city "s. RTJ is a whole different ball game. they set a really high bar for rap music.
zacks verse has some interesting references that helps pull the song together imo. Im sure u caught them but didn't mention it as it doesn't really fall under the subject matter: poet pugilist (Muhammad Ali) Zapruder flick (film of Kennedy assassination) Port-au-Prince (Haitian Revolution) I'm probably wrong about this (I'm more of a math person than history) but it seems to be the only references (and verse) to talk about anything anti-slavery related or the rebellion against it.
The beat switch on holy calamafuck is insane... Great review btw. Can i ask you what's your fav el-p project as a producer? My fav is can ox the cold vein.
I know this comment section is littered with our own favorite shit, but 'Pulling the Pin' is my masterpiece. The whole analysis you did on the album was spot on, no arguments, just coming from that other angle. keep on, much love!
I used to not want to have anything to do with Rage. Didn’t hate them, just I didn’t think they were for me. And I thought their fans were just a bunch of Angry White Boys. But I gave them a chance and now adore them. And their fans aren’t all bad. Good, thoughtful review.
![[UNCUT] The Loyal Pin ปิ่นภักดิ์ EP.4 (2/4)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MN-p1DHjPtI/mqdefault.jpg)
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 76 | คู่เอก "ผึ้งหลวง vs สมิงดำ"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9SBshmGQOIM/mqdefault.jpg)
thanks for this thoughtful review man really appreciate it. one thing I have to say though... I absolutely produced this album the same as I have every album. the friends who contribute co production are critical to me but there's a reason it says produced by el-p 😂
First of all, I’m extremely honored that you watched my video! Wow. Seriously makes my weekend.
Secondly, thank you so much for the clarification on the production credits. I stream on Tidal and for some reason your name is not listed as “producer” on a bunch of the tracks. Composer, but not producer. That was where the confusion came from. Sorry about that!
@@professorskye all good man I just needed to say it for the record. worked for 2 years straight on it and im proud of it that's all. ❤️ el
@@PRODUCTOMART this is your best work. The production is amazing.
That's so f*cking crazy to me that El jumped in here to fact ✔ 🤣🤣🤣
I am a 42 year old father in St Louis, MO. I am white. I knew about El from the CoFlo days and Mike from when he got in with BigBoi and 3 stacks.
I had the good fortune in 1998 to meet a woman that helped me change my prejudice ways. I didn't think I was racist. I got a new pair of Jordan's every year and I loved yo MTV raps. See... as a kid I lived about 20 minutes outside St Louis in a small town that was about 98% white. At 18, I moved to south St Louis which was crazy diverse.
So back to that woman I met at 18. She had a 8 month old, but I didn't care, I had to get to know her. I used to say a lot of dumb sh#t back then. Example, "I don't have any slaves, nor do I know any, so why can't we just move on".
Oh yeah, forgot to mention, she also happens to be black.
This next part I am about to say now is very important. She took the time to EDUCATE me when I misspoke instead of CANCELING me! That is what we ALL need to do now more than ever.
What we have done to an entire group of people over the last 500 years is terrible. Racism exists, and it must be destroyed. Our combined future depends on it.
One last thing. I married the woman I met in 98. She is a teacher, she will tell you that reading, or people still not being able to, is a huge problem. So she has dedicated her life to teaching the world to read, she is just starting with 3rd graders in south St Louis. She holds 3 degrees, and is about to get her PHD in education. She probably won't be able to finish her dissertation until next year due to Covid, but she'll get there.
My son is a corporal in the Marines. He is in avionics. He likes to draw and also build working robots at a small scale.
I can tell that both my wife and son would be very sad at the thought of you not liking them 😔 due to their color. They just want to help people. Why don't you like them?!?!
I know that last sentence cut ✂️ you. It was supposed to.
Ok, now that a couple of us have wiped our tears...what do we do??? How do fix all the ugly we see???
Well, this...what I am doing now. Having real conversations about what you see and sharing experiences about what you lived. That is what changes hearts and minds.
Listen for understanding, speak to be understood
Black Lives Matter
Love your presence on yt el-p, seeing you on these smaller channels warms my heart. Great album once again, AOTY guaranteed no question, probably too early to call but imma do it anyway, Album of the Decade
“A Vonnegut punch for your Atlas Shrugged” is like one of my favourite one-liners like... ever. It’s such an awesome line
Code I don’t think the majority of people will know it’s takin a shit on Ayn Rand. And I agree . Kind of a Marxist myself
Matt Pfarr hell yeah friend. They may say Marxism is dead, but you and I still kicking around. And I feel like we do need radical change and soon. I think a lot of people feel that way, although there are disagreements on what sort of radical change
Yeah, a smart jab against ancaps from a socialist perspective.
That's the first time I've heard any rapper drop Vonnegut (my favorite author) in a bar. Big ups to El-P 👍✊✌️
Yeah I fucking lost it when I heard that line hahaha
i feel like i was robbed of my tuition money for never getting a professor as well spoken and engaging as you. another fantastic review sir
lol right
XD this would be one of the only classes i would have happily overpaid my college to be in
PREACH!
i don't think i've ever been this impressed by an album review,
Well thanks!
this review, is literally all I wanted. This is the format I have been looking for towards rap music. Especially all the other RTJ albums, so thank you for this man, I really appreciate your effort you put in, is amazing dude
That is very nice of you to say, thanks.
In the same way that Charli XCX's album defined the quarantine, RTJ4 is going to define the protests. When people look back on the art made in 2020, this will be an album that everyone should be talking about
I feel Fetch The Bolt Cutters represents this time too
@@davidcremin3837 Fetch The Bolt Cutters is the collective anger of the 2010s combined.
@@davidcremin3837 Fiona's never cut it for me...personally
Charli n AG bring it down tho fa sho
-Brain ticklin' bastads-
END - Splinters From An Ever-Changing Face
Dropped the same day as RTJ4 and those two albums are my albums of the year along with The Black Dahlia Murder - Verminous. All albums represent this difficult time in history.
This is the best album review ever. I like the way you break everything down. Never bored for 30 minutes
Thanks! I’m happy it was consistently entertaining.
new fan. RTJ4 brought me here...and I was blown away! Keep it up... Vonnegut opened my world up, nice to hear his name finally dropped!
Never, ever rate El-P without listening to Cancer 4 Cure or his verse in The Last Huzzah.
While I do think Killer Mike took the spotlight in some of the songs in RTJ4, El-P is still one of the greatest. A lyrical master and very intelligent man.
Really love this album review. Thoughtful. Couple of things.
1. Saw that EL-p commented. Amazing. Around Cancer 4 Cure album he started using wilder zoby and taco (brothers) as co producers for their extra keyboard and percussion and other assistance. He started using BOOTS on Rtj 2/3 and nick hook has been a longtime collaborator.
2. Give Zack a chance man. Of any artist he actually went to Central America and South America and actually embedded with revolutionaries. Go listen to RATM first record. There are things in there that are very relevant to now and that was 92/93.
Yeah, I think that I should revisit ratm.
Fantastic summary of this album. Please don't second guess whether or not you should allow yourself to enter those streams of consciousness types of thoughts. I enjoy your intellectual analysis of these albums. That is what I come here for. Bravo!
I generally don’t hold back much, but encouragement like this is appreciated.
i've binged so many of the reviews. i love the format so much
I want to say To Pimp a Butterfly but even Kendrick Lamar shouts out Killer Mike.
I love the way you break down this album. It’s one of my favourites ever. Also never apologize for lecturing. It was very informative.
Thanks!
I think you missed a little bit on the last track, on mike's verse it's also his friends saying Mike could be a real leader and activist for change, presidential candidate type, but his wife is saying she needs and wants him to stay alive because he'll likely be killed doing that. Kinda struggling between brain and heart. Maybe I misunderstand the lyrics but that's how I took it anyway
Great review though! Love the format, you got a new subscriber here.
I think you are right, thanks.
Just so I can jump on the El-P train, the lyrics of his song Step Father Factory made me cry as a grown man. You should check it out. Love the review.
Will do.
Idk personally I would recommend trying out rage against the machine again. Idk I love Zach de la Rocha. One of my favorite rappers ever and I love Rage as a whole. But I get it lol Rage isn’t for everyone
I think it’s because although ratm songs have some real deep lyrics they don’t have a lot of lyrics. A lot of songs repeat the same 3-5 sentences over and over. I love em though, but I also love metal and rap.
@@DynamiteProd Totally disagree. S/T for sure does that a lot but that's the *only* album where that happens. You have to remember Zach was in a LAHC band before RATM so I think the short, poignant & on the nose lyrics bled a lot into the first release, not so much everything after.
F this guy, you're right to hate him
Quite possibly the most in depth and considerate review of a record I’ve ever watched. Brilliant and heartfelt. ❤️🔥🙌👉🤛
Damn, I’ve never met anyone that hated Rage Against the Machine so much lol
For real, man - I have never seen anyone with a head and a heart hate on Rage.
Someone much cleverer than me (by half) once said, "Zach was woke before they set the alarm clock", and I've always held that to be true.
I could go into a LONG screed about why Zach is incredibly intelligent and passionate and an unbelievably important voice (no pun intended) in politically-charged musical discourse, but...shit, man - he rolled with (and had the respect of) Chuck D; what more do you want?
@@FesterSilently yeah
This is exactly the type of thoughtful review that this album deserves. Thank you so much for your analysis, I’ll be looking forward to more content in the future!
This is a great review!. I love when true hip-hop artists receive attention and analysis their art deserves. I also appreciate others who take the time to truly digest well crafted rhymes (I can't stand this I don't write my rhymes era) and tweaked, refined production. Peace!
Landed here because of the "RTJ4 Fan reactions" video, awesome review. I really wasn't expecting a review of this album from a french teacher ahah ( i'm french living in Lyon )anyway, awesome job !
This is the review I've been looking for
My personal favorite verse in "a few words for the firing squad" is the one where Mike speaks about his wife telling him that he can't succumb to grief and misery and become yet another tragedy. She needs a husband and their kids need a father more than the world needs another martyr.
P.S. Thanks to OOH LA LA, every time I hear "First of all," I immediately anticipate to hear "We is fuckin raw," and end up confused when I don't hear it spoken.
Great review! First one I've seen of yours...subbed! I had a feeling you'd say best since Chuck D and you're not wrong. RTJ is now one of the best hip hop groups (IMO) with 4 great albums.
I thought to myself, “Damn! 38 minutes long?” It felt like 5. I love your breakdown. Much respect ✊🏼
This channel needs promotion. What a thoughtful review of an amazing album.
El-p's solo work his lyrics are much denser try out Fantastic Damage. Like your videos on rap
First off, I would like to say that I have never heard Hip Hop broken down like this. I sincerely cannot express how grateful I am for that, for you! For doing this! An impeccable job and a wonderful insightful video! Thank you! Secondly, I love Hip Hop and what it has done for the world, it continuously unites us as one family. It is why I AM Hip Hop, why I got into it and will forever stay. That being said, I'm gonna add my little drop to the bucket. We do not all come from the same places, and at times peoples lives can be put out on display in such a way, with a very important fact being missed. Its not always easy to understand another's experience in life without that same experience. It can be understood if two people are willing to sit down and have that conversation openly and honestly. Let's say someone has a perception of hiphop, or rappers, promoting being very much alone. That can be easily misconstrued from the fact they are far more likely describing what it feels like to live, breathe and eat the street. Which is always alone, you only know that from living it. Few will speak on it that way. Its why I LOVE this album beyond reason. Because it express accurately all that we wish to NOT speak of. I find rappers tend to talk about the same thing once famous. That is for another reason entirely, if you actually grow up on the street you can get a sense of people few people have. Its how you stay alive, avoid house hold abuse and a whole host of other shit I am not getting into right here. So they can easily see in the "game" as everyone so casually puts it, are fake. Only there for what they can get cause you are the commodity at that moment. Really its just people trying to tell you about their pain. We have a very disingenuous way of pulling it off because of all that street conditioning. This is also pointed out on this album. Quite thoroughly. Because its almost all bullshit because we PICK sides and never wanna stop doing that silly shit. We make art to hopefully shed light on these facts. Then end the cycles we are born into. Great video as I said, hiphop is here to unite us all and will, very glad you are a part of it! One love!
Just discovered your channel through this video. Thank you for all of the tidbits of knowledge you added to the conversation around this album! I will definitely subscribe to someone this thoughtful and well spoken!
Thanks for shedding light on some of these lines, I honestly had no idea how far the rabbit hole went in terms of the thought put into this album. Definitely gives me a new appreciation for RTJ4
Really enjoyed this review, I've been a RTJ fan since the beginning and i'm glad someone came out and said just how intelligent they are.
Finally a breakdown worthy of this masterpiece. Thank you for the fantastic insight.
Wow, you're my top YT discovery of the year. This review is comprehensive as fuck, you make excellent connections across cultural thinking and know your hip hop history. Feels like reading late 90s Pitchfork. Thanks for the content. My simple take on RTJ: they're 21st-century enlightenment rappers.
If I didn’t try to stay away from swears on my channel I’d adopt “comprehensive as fuck” as my official slogan. 😀
Awesome review and breakdown. RTJ is by far my favorite group, it's so very rare I've been able to find a group where I can listen to every song and not want to skip, obviously I have my favs but I love their music. So glad I found RTJ because I had essentially given up on rap and was stuck listening to mostly pre 2002 rap because it felt like all the real rappers had stopped and all that was left was mumbling and bumbling nonsense.
Wow 😳 I saw the video was 38 minutes and was thinking no way... but after watching about 5 minutes I was hooked and learn so much. And the Intellectual breakdown was very nice. I never knew any of that history, keep it up 👍🏾
Professor Skye I saw part of this review on a compilation shared on an email list by RTJ. Great review! I heard interview on Rick Rubin podcast where Killer Mike talked about the link between Bukowski and Chomsky and how he embodies both philosophies. I really appreciate the history of the "intellectual" and I find it interesting that it still considered an insult today. As if the act of thinking is an issue when the opposite is true. I bumped into RTJ by accident. Glad you made the Public Enemy connection. RTJ reminds me of Public Enemy but I could not place why. AS you pointed out musically they are different. Love your reviews. Thank you!
I absolutely love your videos! The last one I saw was for Bolt Cutters. It's reaffirming to know that I have a similar taste in music with someone as well spoken and intelligent as you. Just turned on "all notifications" so I don't miss another upload. Thanks for all the insightful commentary!
Loved that you mentioned the samples
Subbing for this review, first video of yours I've ever seen, appreciate the hard work. I'm also glad El-p corrected the production credit information, he did awesome work as always on this album.
I don't reply much, but thank you for this. I've been fans of both for almost 20 years and to finally hear someone talk about the intelligence of their lyrics instead of "this is great for a rapper" is refreshing..... Youve gained a new subscriber.
Thank you!
This elevates the conversation about hip hop as art. Thank you sir! I apologize. I came here for silver and found gold.
Great review of this album. I don't often listen to hip hop, but RTJ is just on another level and this album is a must listen. I'm curious why you dislike Zach so much. Is it purely his voice and lyrics or?
Definitely going to be in my top 5 albums of the year. It's truly engaging and powerful throughout.
This is fantastically enlightening, improves the album. RTJ albums can be picked at for years and you might still discover new shit. NGL some of this went over my head but it'll stick eventually
Dude!! This is a fantastic break down of RTJ4. Thank you so much!
Damn this is a really cool breakdown of the lyrics. Thank you
Loved this review! You intellectually broke things down without being overbearing. Please do more reviews! Love your take! ✊
Subbed. I can't fathom why you would dislike Zack so strongly... Maybe time to reexamine your position there ;)
Zack f**king rules!
I will revisit RATM over the next few weeks.
Not only is Zack amazing, influential across multiple genres of music, and one of very few rapping Marxists (his voice was like the lone voice of radicalism in popular music for a good long time), but his featured verses on RTJ3 & 4 are amazing, his flow is on point and he has some truly dope, dense lines.
I cant even imagine loving RTJ musically & politically & intellectually, but not liking de la Rocha, who is absolutely an influence on RTJ as a project. And "hating" Rage? Phew, I dunno. Zack was rapping about Frantz Fanon w Rage when popular rap was just money, drug dealing & murder and alternative/metal was varying flavors of existential angst.
I can understand disliking overzealous RATM fans, but they're indisputably influential, and Zach is still remarkably relevant after a quarter century of rebellious rabble-rousing with vicious, seditious rock-rap riffs, so vociferous the shit's ridiculous.
The Rock He doesn’t drive a BMW. Nice try though.
New to your channel after looking for a couple reviews of this record and really appreciate the perspective that your analysis brings. Very well thought out, extremely insightful, and definitely what this album deserves. Thank you. I was surprised that El's deeply poetic approach like im the opening bars of Pulling the Pin didn't get a mention though and totally blown away that you dislike Zack so much. Hearing Evil Empire as a young teenager was such a formative experience for me, introducing me to how systems of oppression function just below the surface of popular visibility, are supported by propaganda, and was my first introduction to Marxism ("Fuck a G ride; I want the machines that are making them"). Even just the inversion of a Ronald Reagan reference present in the title is genius. After 20 years it might deserve a fresh listen. Planning on checking out your other reviews. Subscribed.
I'm 11:11 in and already absolutely fascinated by this review. It is unique among the many I've watched in the past few days. You have a new subscriber. I am, however, curious about your source of information regarding producer credits. Reading straight from the album booklet, though there are often co-producer credits as well, El-P is listed as the producer of every track.
I responded to El-P himself (!!!) in a pinned comment on this channel. For some reason TIDAL doesn't label him as a producer on all the songs.
Indeed; that was cool to see! Thanks for the great review. Looking forward to more.
Wow !!!!! I just found your channel . I never heard anyone break down a album the way you do ! You got yourself a new subscriber . Great album ! Awesome review!
thanks!
Your reviews are much needed in the world. Please keep it up
I will keep making these reviews, 3 a week every week!
Your brief breakdown of Bukowski had me in tears 😂
This is one of my favourite TH-cam reviews of an album ever. Great job. Love the long format.
Fascinating and eye-opening how deep Yankee and The Brave truly are. This was one of my favourite records of the year before this review which has broadened my appreciation for RTJ immensely. Might even be a better record than Fetch the Boltcutters, of course different in theme, but equally powerful.
Definitely earned a new sub, and you are going to blow up one day. Amazing content.
Thanks for the kind words. Honestly, I never thought that I'd make it to 100 subs, so 3k feels like I've already blown up!
what an amazing review. thank you. instant sub. thank you.
Someone forgot to mention the A-team - probably the most apropos example of anti-hero fighting the good fight.
This album is amazing!! I’ve been a fan of El-P and Killer Mike for years, but the day they joined forces was ‘just magic!’ 😉 What truly made this album for me was El-P’s Vonnegut reference, honestly. So much so that I finally changed my IG handle from “kilmoore_trout” to “vonnegutpunch”. I love Vonnegut, clearly, and I have never heard him mentioned in hip-hop, and it, simply, tickles me that he gives a “VonneGUT-PUNCH” to that “Atlas Shrug!” Hell yes, El-P!✊❤️ I am proud and appreciative of you, as well, concerning the origin of the word “intellectual.” Js I already knew what you were getting into the second you started in on it, but, I have never (before) heard it explained so concisely. Thank you for that and for this amazing review! You have earned a new subscriber today, Professor. 🙏 ❤️
New subscriber. Big fan of RTJ; loved your disected, in depth review and approach. Feels like I'm in college again.
Someone may have already told you, but Premier is the DJ from Gang Starr, RIP GURU...Greg Nice is from Nice & Smooth another old school group.
Great review i love all of these different points of views on RTJ4 especially your pointing out the intelligence in the lyrics as well as the production! Appreciated!!!
Absolutely fantastic review. Learned a lot about an album I already loved 👍🏽
Firstly, absolutely love this review and you have a new sub from me. Secondly, El-P is in no way the Scottie Pippen of RTJ. He might sometimes get overlooked with Mike's consistency, but El is a wizard with words. If you haven't already checked it out, listen to Cancer for Cure. That album is fantastic.
Man so many people miss so many of RTJ's references and word play and intellectual lyrics, so nice seeing someone who picks up on them.
Ahhhh. A Few Words From the Firing Squad might be my favorite song on the album. i was surprised to hear your take on that. amazing review overall though. this album is really fun to pick apart, theres alot to dig into. I was living in DC around the time the protest/riots happened. This album was the most accurate backdrop could have asked for. insane time to be alive.
Great review. El-P actually as always produced the whole thing, he’s got co producers he works with Wilder Zoby and Lil Shalimar.
This. He has amazing producer buds that add to it but it's El with the backbone to all of it.
Yeah, I was totally wrong in my video. I blame my faith in Tidal's credits which do not list him for every song. Oops!
As a Run The Jewels fan and a long time El-P fan I'm really glad I clicked on this review. Keep it up man. Also glad to see more people respect El-P as a rapper and not just talk about his ridiculous production skills.
Glad to see a professor dissect this album and not just a fan or reaction channel. Really break it down. 👍
Thanks!
RTJ know the craft through and through. They paint masterpieces. If you doubt it you are not paying attention. Great review as well.
Great review. This RTJ album is sooooooooo good AND needed.
I've been listening to El-p and Aesop Rock for about 20 years and they're the two smartest word-smiths in the world!
There's not a bad album in either one of their catalogs.
I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on their music ..and if you like exceptionally smart hiphop duos Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic have Hail Mary Mallon
Excellent review. Very thoughtful and I enjoyed watching you passionately break down the lyrics. It's very relatable because talking RTJ gets me equally as excited. IMO, RTJ is really a modern day RATM. So it's a little jarring to hear you say you can't stand Zach.
I guess my only real complaint is, I don't understand how @PRODUCTOMART El-P doesnt ever get the respect he deserves lyrically. I feel that he is the smartest, most creative, most hard hitting lyricist of ALL TIME. I met him once in a bar in Fargo ND, along with KOOL AD of Das Racist and I was so star struck, I didn't hear a word he said. I just stood there in my El-P shirt starring at him with my mouth open for 5 minutes. Awkward AS FUCK. Lol
Check out El-P's 2002 classic, "Fantastic Damage". It's pure perfection in every way.
Thank you very much for this review. I've been looking for something like this as opposed to the kids with the reaction videos. I've always enjoyed the nuance and many layers of rap music. I started with PE and dissecting the references, samples and humor of the Beastie Boys to being introduced to Albert Camus by Digable Planets. This album is a great piece of work. I subscribed to your channel and I hope there are more "thinking" pieces on here. Thx again
Thanks for checking it out. I bought that Digable Planets album, too. I try to make all of my reviews "thinking" pieces, though some are more thinky than others.
My favourite review ever,
Subscribed also more toby please
Check out Bo and Toby on Instagram! boandtoby
When you mentioned “TV has no temperature” that was famously said to Jay-z by Pimp C during the shooting of the video to the song Big Pimpin. Jay-Z wanted to know why Pimp C showed up with a big fur coat for their shoot in Florida to which Pimp C responded TV doesn’t have a temperature
There are so many things going on in this video and comments that subverts expectations. So refreshing. I’m just sitting here :mindblown:
Great review, but please check out El-P's solo work.
You'll actually find that sonically the beats on RTJ4 absolutely sound like El-P productions and lyrically he has been wonderfully showcasing his craftsmanship and intellect for years.
"OH là là" is mostly used to express surprise or disappointment. But we also have "Houlà" (pronounce oola), which is more for indignation or conflict. But very rarely "Ooouh là là", he's right.
But a air conditioner isn't that loud and it's good to have and thank you for reviewing Carly Rae Jepsen I never really realized how good she was I've been listening to her Emotion album's non stop her album Kiss isn't that good in my opinion but it was her early music so I get that and most of the songs of the Dedicated album's isn't my groove but I like a couple from those
Excellent review and I love your passion for the music! I really think you should listen to El-P's solo work. He's kind of held himself back a little lyrically on RTJ projects so far, but his early stuff is chocked full of the kind of dense, esoteric references and philosophical lines that take hundreds of listens to fully appreciate that you're buzzing off here.
A little sample from Accidents Don't Happen (2003) to whet your whistle:
City life is practice, casket truancy
That's the rule of you and me, brash unmasked lunacy
Friends used to laugh fast, grasped little truth from me
Now they check their bags with a staff claspin' Uzis
Who deserves a wrath without warning?
The same sky for the martyr with a spork
Scorch, New York forfeit
Run among the poppy fields order some more clips
Store trips are weird but the fear is forceless
Bloomey bought the city of Lego and shitty metal hull
Jitters to the floor boards, burned almost aborted
Flight of the accidental tourist: morbid
The advertising gods so oddly court shit
Godly corporate squads plot these tortures
Holiness is hard and it's costing God fortunes
(guess He took a second job on the force to afford it)
I don't want a part of these self fulfilled prophecies
Man it's too much for my stubbornness, I hate the people runnin' shit
Now if you sleep at ground o below, wishing you peaceful sleep
Where horror on the surface emerges less frequently
Metal bars of ancient Rome dissolved from the scenery (now what the fuck)
I'll take a hostage and walk through the mosh pit
Pristine untouched, NB703's unscuffed
Trust is a commodity crushed by Pol Pottery
Your cookie cutter laws contain flaws in philosophy
Toppling down a flight of Escher/Bach steps: delight
Cause the man who raped my sister won't sleep right tonight
Okay it was a big sample haha
Never seen your channel before but damn this is some good content
Thorough and articulate review. Thanks for your thoughts
The Buick Grand National was produced from 1984 - 1987.
This review is something else. You have yourself a new subscriber.
As an atheist that's a question that I've been asked many times, how can you be a good person without religion and god in your life to which I generally answer if your god and religion is the only thing making you a good person then you aren't really a good person, if your religion and god is the only thing stopping you from going out and murdering someone then how are you as a person a good person? A lot of religions like to try a corner the market on morality though, especially the religions of Abraham, Judaism, Islam and Christianity but I point them to the golden rule that has been around since the early days of Chinese philosophy or the Code of Hammurabi that was written before the bible etc... It's an interesting conversation to have but can be an awfully frustrating one depending on who you are talking with. People and society shape our morals based on what benefits the society as a whole the most imo, murdering and stealing isn't good for a society so we've deemed them to be wrong for example.
I think it’s just part of being human. Like being born gay or anything else. People are born with morals (some people aren’t and we tend to think of that as a mental illness) if it was just religion keeping people decent we wouldn’t consider it an illness if people didn’t have decency.
@@DynamiteProd I think you mean empathy. People can have different moral frameworks but their intentions are usually close enough to empathy.
Professor, when you have the time, you should do an analysis on Lupe Fiasco's albums (Food and liquor, the Cool, and Tetsuo and Youth). I'm sure you'll have a great time listening to these albums if you haven't already.
thank you for this great in-depth review.
I don't listen to a lot of rap. but every now and then I get hooked on one rap album and listen to it on repeat for a while.
happened to me with Fugees - "The Score" and with Kendrick Lamar - "good kid, m.A.A.d city
"s.
RTJ is a whole different ball game. they set a really high bar for rap music.
Dude your really good at this
zacks verse has some interesting references that helps pull the song together imo. Im sure u caught them but didn't mention it as it doesn't really fall under the subject matter:
poet pugilist (Muhammad Ali)
Zapruder flick (film of Kennedy assassination)
Port-au-Prince (Haitian Revolution)
I'm probably wrong about this (I'm more of a math person than history) but it seems to be the only references (and verse) to talk about anything anti-slavery related or the rebellion against it.
Walking in the Snow is one of the best hip-hop songs in a decade. Also, check out EARLY. OMG, that song is AMAZING!
First time checking out this site and I am very fucking impressed! Professor you are almost as awesome as RTJ
The beat switch on holy calamafuck is insane...
Great review btw. Can i ask you what's your fav el-p project as a producer? My fav is can ox the cold vein.
Awesome review! Check out Reagan from Killer Mike if you haven't already, one of his best political songs
I love that song,
Incredible review dude. Instant subscribe.
I know this comment section is littered with our own favorite shit, but 'Pulling the Pin' is my masterpiece. The whole analysis you did on the album was spot on, no arguments, just coming from that other angle. keep on, much love!
I wish I could have you on call to give me a live review of every song I listen to lol
Loved this album. I felt pretty much the same as you. Reminded me of public enemy. They’ve been making these types of albums for a while now.
This is awesome. Thank you.
I used to not want to have anything to do with Rage. Didn’t hate them, just I didn’t think they were for me. And I thought their fans were just a bunch of Angry White Boys. But I gave them a chance and now adore them. And their fans aren’t all bad. Good, thoughtful review.
I feel like you could have talked more and you should have talked more.
Thanks for saying that.
+1 to that. If a person got to that point in the video, they likely would have kept going even if there was a few more minutes of content
Great review! Very interesting insights.
Wow. Thank you.