Current events got me thinking of this classic banger. Many will only know El-P for his more recent work as the frankly better half of Run The Jewels but that’s a shame because his solo albums are phenomenal as was his work with Company Flow not to mention his work with other artists like Cannibal Ox, Aesop Rock, and other artists on El-Ps “Definitive Jux” label. He leaned hard into a dystopian, industrial, spacey, maybe even cyberpunk kind of sound, especially on his favorite album of mine “I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead”. Dealing with themes of substance abuse, addiction, domestic violence, disillusionment, and strong anti government sentiment. This song, Drones over Bklyn, paints a picture of a seedy, violent New York city scape where life is cheap and the drones are hovering above you, somewhere, and you can’t even see them. For more songs in an anti establishment vein, check out “Dear Sirs” or “$4 Vic/ Nothing But Me and You” or “For My Upstairs Neighbor”. Other favorites of mine include “Deep Space 9mm”, “Tuned Mass Damper”, “Tasmanian Pain Coaster”, “The League of Extraordinary Nobodies”, and “Poisenville Kids No Wins”.
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I know elp thru the weathermen stuff and got into rtj because of him…
That reminds me, Yak ballz just dropped something…
I haven’t listened to him in years, but reading each of those song titles, they instantly start playing in my head
I found a YouTube link in your post. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
It might not be quite as focused and prescient as The Bug’s London Zoo but it always had the same sweaty, zeitgeisty, claustrophobia of inevitable ‘progress’ vibe.
And yeah, even before the landlord, Dem-party- pro-sherriff stuff El-P was the interesting bit of RTJ and I say that as someone who loves Killer Mike’s flow, a lot of the older stuff, and bars he put in in contrast to a lot of the young blood at the time.
