Run the Jewels 2 | |||||
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Studio album by Run the Jewels | |||||
Released | October 24, 2014 | ||||
Recorded | 2013–14 | ||||
Genre | Hip hop | ||||
Length | 38:56 | ||||
Label | |||||
Producer | |||||
Run the Jewels chronology | |||||
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Singles from Run the Jewels 2 | |||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 8.4/10 |
Metacritic | 89/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
The A.V. Club | A− |
The Guardian | |
The Irish Times | |
Los Angeles Times | |
NME | 9/10 |
Pitchfork | 9/10 |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | |
Slant Magazine |
Run the Jewels 2 is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Run the Jewels, which consists of Killer Mike and El-P. The album was released early for free on October 24, 2014, and the following day on iTunes. It was made available on CD and LP by Mass Appeal Records and RED Distribution on October 28, 2014.
Run the Jewels 2 received widespread acclaim from critics for its darker and more layered production, Killer Mike and El-P's lyricism and chemistry and its guest contributions. Several publications also ranked it as the best album of 2014, including Pitchfork,Complex and Stereogum. The album debuted at number 50 on the Billboard 200, selling 12,000 copies in the first week.
A parody remix album, Meow the Jewels, was released for free featuring beats created entirely from cat sounds. In addition to Meow the Jewels, a standard remix album was scheduled to be released by Fool's Gold Records in 2015 as well.
On September 2, 2014, Run the Jewels released a song titled "Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1", as the album's first single. On September 15, 2014, Run the Jewels released "Oh My Darling Don't Cry", the second offering from the album. "Oh My Darling Don't Cry" was later released on September 30, 2014, via digital distribution, as the album's second single.
Run the Jewels 2 received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 89, based on 35 reviews. David Jeffries of AllMusic stated, "If the first album was the supernova, RTJ2 is the RTJ universe forming, proving that Mike and El-P's one-off can be a going, and ever growing, concern." Brian Josephs of The A.V. Club stated, "The sequel takes the simplistic thrills of the debut and expands the duo's natural chemistry. With Killer Mike grounded at the album's emotional core, El-P is free to indulge in his intrepid production tendencies." In The Irish Times, Jim Carroll dubbed the album "a case of upping the ante all round and then some" highlighting "both principals at the top of their game". Pat Levy of Consequence of Sound said, "An album like RTJ2 is rare. Decades from now, this album may just be revered as one of the best hip-hop records of our era, the total synchronicity of two talented artists reaching the apex of their prime."