Abbie Eastman — O Superman by Laurie Anderson

This song is a commentary on the hegemonic role the United States has assumed. While this song was released in the 1980s, it is still relevant today even as political scientists question America’s hegemony. In O Superman, Anderson plays with double meanings, Greek choruses, and a vocoder to give this song its unique sound. These components bring many commonplace ideas of American culture into question, even using the unofficial United States Postal Service creed to do so. 

Jack Roche — Land of the Free by Joey Bada$$

This is a self-reflective track where Joey analyzes his place as an African American man in the United States. He meditates on how long they have struggled, how he realizes and continues to fight to change the situation despite the cards are stacked against him. The cards being the State and cultural roadblocks that continue to oppress African Americans.

Jaden Amjadi — Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine

Wake Up is a perfect example of how focused Rage could be in their prime. Above an instrumental which shifts between droning guitars, laid back bass grooves, and funk rock riffs, Zack de la Rocha spits a biting indictment of former FBI director J Edgar Hoover, referencing the wealth of evidence indicating that the bureau had a hand in the murders of Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and Fred Hampton during Cointelpro. Just before the song reaches its peak, Zach abandons his usual scream to calmly reads quotes from a leaked FBI memo: “…should he abandon his supposed ‘obedience’ to ‘white liberal doctrines’ (nonviolence) and embrace black nationalism….Through counterintelligence it should be possible to pinpoint potential troublemakers and neutralize them…” This often-overlooked and seldom-taught piece of history is important to keep in mind today, as throughout Iowa and the rest of the nation, law enforcement continues to make arrests of peaceful protest leaders.

Ella Heckman — Holiday by Green Day

Holiday was written at the beginning of George W. Bush’s second term as president and a year into the Iraq war and it slaps. In interviews from the American Idiot era, members of Green Day speak about their disenchantment with American politics and their rage against administrations that do not represent their or other voter’s values. Every chord of Holiday cries out against ongoing American imperialism and warmongering. Armstrong says it best in an interview with Spin, “It was attacking America, but it was American at the same time. Patriotism isn’t about being pro-anything. It’s not about being pro-Bush or pro-Kerry. It’s about what you stand for and what you think America represents.”

Jake Jones — Speak To Me by The Relatives

Beautiful song that crosses between gospel, soul, and psychedelic. Such a gem. “What is wrong with America?” 1971, Lewis Records. 

(I prefer the original 1971 version to the 2013 “what’s wrong with America?” from Yep Roc Records.) 

Luke Bonner — Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen

This song is probably one of his most famously misunderstood songs, as it was turned into a patriotic anthem its reality is anything but. Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” is a critical, almost satirical anthem of a song written from the point of view of a working-class man forced to kill in the racially charged Vietnam War. Springsteen sings about the plight of the veteran coming back from war lacking government assistance, social services, and empathy as he struggles with the harsh post-war reality. With its depressing verses yet jubilant chorus, it was famously misunderstood by Ronald Reagan himself who used the song at campaign rallies for his 1984 re-election campaign and even mentioned Springsteen in a campaign speech. However, the true meaning of the song isn’t the patriotism some imagine in it, the triumphant sounding chorus, or even the American flag on the album’s cover. The meaning is the harsh reality in the verses that state being American is constantly feeling lost and searching for truth.

Elsa Richardson-Bach: Stevie Wonder – Big Brother by Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder, inspired by Geoge Orwell’s 1984, wrote “Big Brother” in the midst of Nixon’s re-election campaign and the Vietnam War. The song’s lyrics reference the novel while simultaneously criticizing the American government’s hypocrisy and failings to citizens. Particularly powerful lines are “You say that you’re tired of my protesting / Children dying every day” and “I live in the ghetto / You just come to visit me ‘round election time.” The first lyric refers to the Vietnam War and the young soldiers drafted to fight, as well as the innocent Vietnamese citizens being killed in the crossfire. The second line calls out the hypocrisy of Nixon’s campaign, criticizing an indifferent government that pretends to care about Black Americans and poverty-stricken areas only when it benefits them. These specific lyrics, along with the rest of the song, had layers of meaning at the time Wonder wrote them, and they continue to be relevant nearly fifty years later.

Elisabeth Oster – Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday

Sometimes, to fully understand the dire nature of systemic racism ingrained in a country’s structure, you have to go back to its beginnings of protest. The song, first performed by Billie Holiday in 1939, is credited for inspiring many leaders of the Civil Rights Movement decades later. Holiday’s delicate voice doesn’t take on the song’s explosive lyrics until over a minute into the song; the lyrics themselves only span three verses, but those three verses are biting and visceral. A direct response to the overwhelming number of lynchings of Black citizens in the South, the poetic and upsetting verses compare these victims to fruit on a tree. Holiday criticizes not only the lynchings that America allowed, as she sneers at the facade and romanticism the country hoisted onto the South to hide the uglier backside entrenched in racism: “Pastoral scene of the gallant South / the bulging eyes and the twisted mouth / scent of magnolia sweet and fresh / Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.” The graphic nature was uncommon at the time, but allowed the song to transcend and resonate for generations to come around the structural racism that festers in America. This haunting and atmospheric rally cry particularly resonates now. Holiday criticized the country for treating Black Americans as lifeless objects—”a strange and bitter crop”—a heartbreaking reality still evident in current headlines today as the bitter injustice is ripped from behind the facade yet again. 

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Since 2012, Run The Jewels has been hip-hop’s surprise powerhouse. Constantly exceeding expectations, Killer Mike and El-P have proven time and time again that they are indeed dope, and only getting better. With the release of their uncompromising spit-in-your face follow-up album Run The Jewels 2, they have solidified themselves as a force to be reckoned in the rap game.

Run The Jewels consists of two emcees. Company Flow alumni EL-P, who’s steady skills have earned him the titles of rapper, producer, and CEO throughout his solo career since the early 2000s. His partner, ATAlein Killer Mike  has been holding it down ever since his start with a free-styled feature on Outkast’s classic album Stankonia.

First collaborating in 2012 on Mike’s R.A.P Music record, the two wasted no time announcing the release of a joint-project together entitled Run The Jewels for free digital download. The release gained a lot more attention than either of them had initially thought, flinging them both into a whirl-wind of touring and press, leading to the creation of their follow-up release, Run The Jewels 2.

Darker and more confrontational than their previous release, this album expands on what’s expected of RTJ while giving us more jewels to explore. Tracks like “All Due Respect,” featuring Travis Barker, and “Blockbuster Night Part 1” still deliver the oh-so-fun, absurdist, braggadocio verses that keep the sensors reeling. Tracks “All My Life,” “Early,” featuring BOOTS, and “Crown,” featuring Diane Coffee explore topics of violence, regret, and frustration with the status quo–presenting a more intimate and urgent perspective than their previous release. Through their time together, Killer Mike and El-P have learned to embrace one another’s strengths while staying true to their own styles.

This chemistry is emboldened by El-P’s fantastic reactionary build-up/knock-down production. Provoking each emcee until the track mushrooms into a dangerous amount of sound. The best example of this is on the single “Oh My Darling Don’t Cry”. A trap-fruit salad that escapes from underneath the deep bass blanket just in time for Killer Mike’s second verse to smack it back into submission. EL-P’s choice to not only step up the intensity, but also the responsiveness within these tracks, keeps the album interesting, giving the rappers more freedom to switch up their styles within each track.

Mastering their voice as a group,  RTJ to choose the perfect features to compliment each track. The most surprising being “Close Your Eyes (And Count To F***)” features a hook and verse from Zack De La Rocha of Rage Against the Machine. Merciless and compulsive, this track leaves you incapable to believe that such a wonderful collaboration did not happen sooner.

With this successful release, the unlikely partnership of Killer Mike and El-P has continued to give the music world nothing but good things. With another tour started, the promise of a Run the Jewels 3, and the internet’s wet dream, Meow the Jewels, is actually happening next year. Run the Jewels 2 is just the beginning of what is sure to be the year of the Jewels.

RATING: 9/10

TOP TRACKS:

“OH MY DARLING DON’T CRY”

“LIE, CHEAT, STEAL”

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