1. Run The Jewels – Run The Jewels
This thing is a monster. It stood out immediately as the best tape of the month, and it’s currently running neck and neck with Acid Rap and The Patriarch as my favorite mixtape of 2013. Last year, Brooklyn rap vet El-P linked up with Southern powerhouse Killer Mike and the result was R.A.P. Music. Without giving us a chance to catch our breath after that excellent project, Mike and El-P are back. This time they’re calling themselves Run The Jewels and they’ve unleashed a 10-track masterpiece. El-P’s beats are chaotic and experimental but they never lose their bounce and both of these guys sound great rapping over them. (Download)
Killer Mike on “Job Well Done”:
Every word murderful
Surgical, painful, purposeful
And I take getting’ left off you fuck list personal
Woo, they done let that fuckin’ Mike out
It’s like Tyson in the ’80s, nigga snap and punch your lights out
It’s like Tyson in the ’90s, if I’m losing take a bite out
El-P on “Sea Legs”:
In fact, better scram, I’m a bastard
On the lam in a hatchback blasting some rap shit
Trying not to slam into traffic
With my feet on the wheel and my hands through the moon roof laughing
Let’s crash this
2. Shad & Skratch Bastid – The Spring Up
Shad is a highly-underrated Canadian rapper (listen to TSOL to get caught up) and he’s teamed up with Skratch Bastid to bless us with a five-track EP. This is a fairly conservative classic Hip-Hop tape (Jazzy Jeff co-produces the first track for crying out loud). But few people are doing throwback-rap on this high of a level. Shad is clearly an intelligent dude, but he keeps things laid-back and avoids getting overly wordy or boring on The Spring Up. (Download)
3. Trev Rich – Heights 2
Heights 2 isn’t a great tape (some of the beats are forgettable and Trev Rich’s lyrics can be clichéd) but the project’s best moments are worth checking out. The beats on “Eat”, “Find My Way”, and “Untitled” are full of crisp drums and hazy samples that wouldn’t feel out of place in a great Clams Casino track. When Rich digs deep on “I Would Have Told Her” he proves that he can be a great lyricist. (Download)