Run the Jewels announce politically charged 'Ju$t' music video that takes a dig at America's 'slave masters'
Run the Jewels have announced the official music video for their politically-charged track 'Ju$t' on Sunday, July 26. The song appears as the seventh track on their new studio album 'RTJ4' and features Pharrell Williams, and Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha who previously collaborated with Run the Jewels on the 2014 track 'Close Your Eyes (And Count To F**k)'.
The hip-hop supergroup duo (aka RTJ) consisting of rapper-producer El-P and rapper Killer Mike took to their band's social media to tease the new 'JU$T' music video. Announcing that the video will arrive on Monday, July 27, RTJ posted a preview clip with Monty Python-esque animation. The visual shows obscured imagery of political figures who appear on dollar bills, including a robotic version of George Washington, who gets the American Flag driven into one ear and out the other. At the end of the clip, we see guns folded piece of paper with firearms and ammo forming a skull image. Once unfolded, the image has a hand flipping the middle finger at the camera which then gets multiplied as the video fades out.
The video notably points out the hypocrisy of certain American values with lyrics like, "Look at all these slave masters (Ayy) posin' on yo' dollar (Get it? Yeah)" on repeat in the chorus and Killer Mike's verse, "Make a dollar, government, they want a dozen dimes (No cap). The petty kind, might kill ya 'cause they see you shine (Stay strapped). I done had to have a talk with myself plenty times (For real). Am I a hypocrite 'cause I know I did plenty crimes? (Yes, I'm is). I get broke too many times, I might slang some dimes (Back to trappin').
Killer Mike digs even further with, "You believe corporations runnin' marijuana? Ooh (How that happen?). And your country gettin' ran by a casino owner (Ooh). Pedophiles sponsor all these f**kin' racist bastards (They do). And I told you once befo' that you should kill your master (It's true). Now that's the line that's probably gon' get my ass a-assassinated (Yeah-yeah, yeah)."
'RTJ4' was released digitally through their own Jewel Runners imprint via BMG Rights Management in June, with physical editions slated for release later in September. As with their previous albums, a download of the album is available for free through their website, with the option of paying for it via other digital providers. Other guest appearances on the album include Greg Nice, DJ Premier, 2 Chainz, Mavis Staples, and Josh Homme.
The album received widespread acclaim from critics and debuted at No 10 on the US Billboard 200, marking their first top 10 album on the chart.