RTJ4, Run the Jewels' fourth album, arrived on Friday (June 5) in a country in upheaval. It begins at war with the police: the duo of Killer Mike and El-P tries to evade a swarming force of militant cops, draws the mob in, shoots back and escapes. Pitchfork's review notes that this is a fantasy, and that the reality comes later.

On walking in the snow, Killer Mike raps about a Black man choked by police and repeats the phrase that became a protest cry across the United States. The lyric was written about Eric Garner and was being read in 2020 in reference to George Floyd.

According to the review, the pair are still taking it to the streets against a tyrannical ruling class and racist policing, but have leveled off to a more manageable degree of righteous indignation. The result keeps the political bite without giving up the braggadocio.