Jeff The Jewels
The only thing that will unite America is a new Girl Talk album. Please Mr. Talk, we need this. I need this.
They would pluck us from the lives we're living
With no fucks given and profit from the pain
Forcing you and I to feel like children
Cause if they didn't, we wouldn't be too scared to say that
We don't wanna live inside a hellhole
And waste our energy on all these assholes
We don't wanna live inside a hellhole- Jeff Rosenstock
We out of order, your honor, you're out of order
This whole court is unimportant, you fuckers are walkin' corpses
I'm a flip wig synonym, livin' within distortion
I'll bite into a cyanide molar before you whores win
I'm a New Yorkian, I’m fucked from the jump- Run the Jewels
Run The Jewels (RTJ) and Jeff Rosenstock both go as hard as they possibly can. For me, no other artists express my frustrations with the current status quo than these two. Both RTJ and Jeff Rosenstock realize that the world we live in is, to quote RTJ’s El-P “fucked from the jump.” More than that however, they don’t let the world’s darkness make them a cynic. They’ve faced it head on, screamed into the void, and decided to throw fists of rage against it. While at first glance they may seem dissimilar, they’re music and political stance closely align.
RTJ, made up of El-P and Killer Mike, constitute one of rap’s best success stories. Before meeting El and Mike toiled on the edges of hip-hop stardom. Mike in Atlanta and El in New York. Both had lots of critical praise and limited tastes of commercial success but nothing approaching the levels of acclaim they reached after they released their first album Run the Jewels. Since that 2014 release they’ve dropped two more albums and have headlined festivals over the world. Mike in particular has been politically active, acting as a campaign surrogate for Bernie Sanders in the last two elections, and with the Labour Party in Britain as well. He also had a Netflix series as well, touching on political topics in his hometown. While we may not agree on everything, we do have a lot of common ground politically.
Jeff Rosenstock, while younger than the RTJ guys by a few years, has a similar story. While he hasn’t reached the pop heights of RTJ he has conquered the DIY scene, first with his group Bomb! The Music Industry, and now with his solo act. With New York as his homebase, he started out in the ska-punk scene and has gravitated more toward the punk-rock side in recent years. Performing at sold out shows across the country his music has consistently addressed social issues as well. A proponent of the indie scene, he provides space for smaller known acts through his tours.
Their biographies aside, RTJ’s and Rosenstock’s willingness to express their anger makes them stand out. Proclaiming anger at the system through music is not new, but the clarity and the targets of their rage are a breath of fresh air. Think less Eminem and more pissed off Occupy protestors. Both also get very personal. Killer Mike and El-P have both told very painful stories through RTJ and Rosenstock has done the same. All of these serve to make their music more powerful.
The most appealing thing that these two artists offer however, is the catharsis of their concerts. The release offered by screaming “But we don't have to live inside a hellhole / And give our money to some fucking asshole / We don't wanna live inside a hellhole” with hundreds of others at a Jeff Rosenstock show is an experience matched only from shouting “And I’m a mixture of MJG and the Weathermen / A revolutionary bangin' on my adversaries” with thousands of people at a RTJ show. In a time when everything seems to get worse by the day, sometimes screaming looks like the only way out. Yelling with a bunch of other people while some music plays, while it might not make any material difference, sure as hell feels good.
These musicians might not have the best politics or have perfect praxis. But they make music that sheds light on the injustices in this world. They make music that makes you feel something. And in a world where the corporations that own the majority of our media frown on that, it’s something special. So someone please make me a mashup album of Worry. and Run the Jewels 2 post-haste.