Released: April 1, 2021

Songwriter: El-P Killer Mike

Producer: El-P

[Verse 1: El-P]
I woke up early once again, that's four days straight
I didn't wake you, baby, I just watched you lay
In the radiation of the city sun
I am in love with you, it is my only grace (Woo)
You know how everything can seem a little out of place?
All of my life, that seemed to be the only normal state
So feelin' normal never really meant me feelin' sane
And bein' clear about the truth and bein' sane have never really been the same
I used to wanna get the chance to show the world I'm smart (Ha)
Isn't that dumb? I should've focused mostly on thе heart
'Cause I seen smarter pеople trample life like it's an art
So bein' smart ain't what it used to be, that's fuckin' dark
You ever notice that the worst of us have all the chips?
It really kinda takes the sheen off people gettin' rich
Like maybe rich is not the holy, ever-lovin'
King of nothin' fuckers, know we know you're bluffin'
You are dealing with the motherfuckin' money-money runners

[Verse 2: Killer Mike]
It'd be a lie if I told you that I ever disdained the fortune and fame
But the presence of the pleasure never abstained me from any of the pain
When my mother transitioned to another plane, I was sitting on a plane
Tellin' her to hold on, and she tried hard, but she just couldn't hang
Been two years, truth is I'll probably never be the same
Dead serious, it's a chore not to let myself go insane
It's crippling, make you wanna lean on a cup of promethazine
But my queen say she need a king, not another junkie, flunky rapper fiend
Friends tell her, "He could be another Malcolm, he could be another Martin"
She told her partner, "I need a husband more than the world need another martyr"
Made in Atlanta, Georgia, where I use to ride the MARTA
With a empty .22 in the front pocket of my Braves Starter
Tryin' to make it out the mud as a baby father is much harder
The same children that you love and adore, the court'll use to break and rob ya
Circumstance woulda broke a weaker man, but I put it on my mama
I'm a man of honor and the hardship made me a better money runner

[Verse 3: El-P]
This is for the never heard, never even got a motherfuckin' word
This is for my sister, Sarah, honey, I'm so sorry you were hurt (Ayy)
This is for the dawn, mama took a knock, had to change the locks
Dusted up and brushed off and I watched, talk about a boss
For the holders of a shred of heart even when you wanna fall apart
When you're surrounded by the fog, treadin' water in the ice cold dark
When they got you feelin' like a fox runnin' from another pack of dogs
Put the pistol and the fist up in the air, we are there, swear to God

[Verse 4: Killer Mike]
Black child in America, the fact that I made it's magic
Black and beautiful, the world broke my mama heart, and she died an addict
God blessed me to redeem her in my thoughts, words, and my actions
Satisfaction for the devil, goddammit, he'll never, ever have it
This is for the do-gooders that the no-gooders used and then abused
For the truth tellers tied to the whippin' post, left beaten, battered, bruised
For the ones whose body hung from a tree like a piece of strange fruit
Go hard, last words to the firing squad was, "Fuck you too"

[El-P]
We're Run the Jewels, and we wanna thank you for watching. We believe the last thing that they want you to do is get out of your house and march down in person, mask on, and cast your ballot for what you think this country is supposed to be, for what you think this country is supposed to reflect. We want you to go down there, and when you get there, tell 'em Run the Jewels sent you

[Killer Mike]
Vote local, vote down the ballot
Vote for your mayor, judges, prosecutors. For the people looking over your life. Vote the bastards out of office and keep the good folks in. Take your neighborhood associations to the polls. Vote, fill out census, make the oligarchs come to their senses
Refuse to lose, refuse to give up. Work everyday to make sure Everybody come up. Healthcare is not wellfare. We got the share America. This is R-T-J

Run The Jewels

No track is safe with the combination of Killer Mike’s aggressive flow straight from the ATL and the lyrical backflips and dense production by Brooklyn son and underground legend El-P.

The duo were first acquainted on Mike’s fully El produced and critically-acclaimed 2012 LP, R.A.P. Music. The two came together in 2013 to release an outstanding self-titled album that was widely considered one of the best Hip-Hop albums of the year. The name of the group is from the intro to LL Cool J’s “Cheesy Rat Blues”:

Just throw your hands in the air