R.A.P. Music

Last updated
R.A.P. Music
Vets large.jpg
Studio album by
Killer Mike
ReleasedMay 15, 2012
Recorded2011–2012
Genre Southern hip hop
Length45:55
Label Williams Street
Producer El-P
Killer Mike chronology
Pledge
(2011)		R.A.P. Music
(2012)		 Michael
(2023)
Singles from Rap Music
  1. "Big Beast"
    Released: February 13, 2012
  2. "Untitled"
    Released: March 16, 2012
  3. "Don't Die"
    Released: April 2, 2012
  4. "Reagan"
    Released: November 6, 2012

R.A.P. Music is the fifth studio album by American rapper Killer Mike. [1] It was released through Williams Street Records on May 15, 2012. The "R.A.P." in the album's title is a backronym for "Rebellious African People". [2] Production was handled by rapper and producer Jaime "El-P" Meline; the album was the first collaboration between Killer Mike and El-P, who would later form the critically acclaimed duo Run the Jewels.

Contents

Music and lyrics

Reagan

In 2012, on NPR, Killer Mike explained that: "Ronald Reagan was an actor. He was a pitchman at first, and so people naturally trust him. He understood how to weave magic when he was speaking, and that's what we as entertainers do. So when Jay-Z tells you to buy some Reeboks, it means more. Ronald Reagan at one point was the biggest pitchman in the world. I think that Reagan was used by a political party, by people who had vested means, to push their own agendas." [3]

Reception

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 8.1/10 [4]
Metacritic 85/100 [5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [6]
The A.V. Club B+ [7]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
The Irish Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
NME 5/10 [10]
Pitchfork 8.6/10 [11]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Spin 9/10 [14]
XXL 4/5 [15]

R.A.P. Music received widespread acclaim from music critics. [5] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an weighted mean average score of 85, based on 27 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim". [5] Among those who reviewed the album positively was AllMusic editor David Jeffries, who stated "rapper Killer Mike already had an incredibly strong discography before R.A.P. Music landed [...] Revolutionary stuff and absolutely no fluff, R.A.P. Music is outstanding." [6] Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club praised the album's production and Mike's politically charged lyrics and wrote "[R.A.P. Music] feels like the culmination of his unusual career." [7] Pitchfork's Ian Cohen designated it "Best New Music" and noted that "even if R.A.P. Music doesn't break enough rules or have enough of a platform to reach the levels of Fear of a Black Planet or Straight Outta Compton or Death Certificate . . . it does come off as the kind of powerful mid-career album those acts should've been able to make as hip-hop's elder spokesmen". [11] Christopher Weingarten of Spin wrote: "A child of the '80s and a student of the Internet, Killer Mike is as exciting and wildly unclassifiable as hip-hop gets: New York noise and country shit, nods to when rap was punk and crunk was pop, Ice Cube before he needed hooks, David Banner before he needed to whisper, and Willie D before he needed anybody." [14] Sputnikmusic staff Sobhi Youssef praised El-P's synth-bass-heavy production and Mike's lyricism, and praised the album as "a hip-hop masterpiece to be remembered for years to come". [16]

In a less positive review, NME writer Henry Barnes stated that "Mike has dabbled with politics in the past, and even made unlikely forays into experimental soul, but R.A.P. Music lacks the fury and vitality that usually sustains him. The ambition is to be applauded, but half the album's a grind. And not the good kind." [10]

Accolades

PublicationAccoladeRankRef.
AllMusic Best of 201215 [17]
Beats per Minute The Top 50 Albums of 201223 [18]
BrooklynVegan 141 Best Albums of the 2010s101 [19]
Chicago Tribune (Greg Kot)Top 10 Albums of 20124 [20]
Cokemachineglow Top 50 Albums 20129 [21]
Complex The 50 Best Albums of 201232 [22]
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 20126 [23]
Crack Magazine The Top 100 Albums of 201266 [24]
Drowned in Sound Favourite Albums of 201218 [25]
Entertainment Weekly 10 Best Albums of 20126 [26]
Exclaim! Best Albums of 2012: Top 50 Albums of the Year3 [27]
Gigwise Albums of the Year18 [28]
Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of 201211 [29]
The Guardian Best Albums of 201239 [30]
No RipcordTop 50 Albums Of 201232 [31]
NPR Music 50 Favorite Albums Of 2012Unranked [32]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 201229 [33]
Pitchfork The Top 50 Albums of 201213 [34]
The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010–14)70 [35]
PopMatters The 75 Best Albums of 20126 [36]
The Best Hip-Hop of 20121 [37]
Pretty Much AmazingBest Albums of 201216 [38]
The Quietus Albums of the Year 201235 [39]
Rolling Stone 50 Best Albums of 201220 [40]
The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time133 [41]
Spinner The 50 Best Albums of 201218 [42]
Spin 50 Best Albums of 20128 [43]
Stereogum Top 50 Albums of 201223 [44]
Time Top 10 Everything of 2012: Albums10 [45]
Tiny Mix Tapes Favorite 50 Albums of 201243 [46]
TrebleTop 50 Albums of 20129 [47]
The Village Voice Pazz & Jop 8 [48]
Vulture Top Ten Albums of 20127 [49]
The Wire 2012 Rewind: Releases of the Year27 [50]

Track listing

All songs produced by El-P.

R.A.P. Music track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Big Beast" (featuring Bun B, T.I., and Trouble)
3:54
2."Untitled" (featuring Scar)
  • Render
  • Terrance "Scar" Smith
  • Meline
3:54
3."Go!"
  • Render
  • Meline
1:54
4."Southern Fried"
  • Render
  • Meline
4:37
5."JoJo's Chillin"
  • Render
  • Meline
2:57
6."Reagan"
  • Render
  • Meline
4:10
7."Don't Die"
  • Render
  • Meline
4:08
8."Ghetto Gospel"
  • Render
  • Meline
4:40
9."Butane (Champion's Anthem)" (featuring El-P)
  • Render
  • Meline
3:18
10."Anywhere but Here" (featuring Emily Panic)
  • Render
  • Meline
3:31
11."Willie Burke Sherwood"
  • Render
  • Meline
  • Wilder Zoby
4:23
12."R.A.P. Music"
  • Render
  • Meline
  • Zoby
4:26

Personnel

Charts

2012 chart performance for R.A.P. Music
Chart (2011)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 [51] 82
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [52] 16
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [53] 12
2022 chart performance for R.A.P. Music
Chart (2022)Peak
position
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [54] 21

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References

  1. ↑ "Killer Mike and El-P Team Up for New Album". Pitchfork Media. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  2. ↑ "Killer Mike: On Ronald Reagan And Raising Daughters". NPR.org. NPR . Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  3. ↑ Killer Mike: On Ronald Reagan And Raising Daughters. June 19, 2012. NPR.
  4. ↑ "R.A.P. Music by Killer Mike reviews". AnyDecentMusic? . Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 "Reviews for R.A.P. Music by Killer Mike". Metacritic . Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Jeffries, David. "R.A.P. Music – Killer Mike". AllMusic . Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Rytlewski, Evan (May 15, 2012). "Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music". The A.V. Club . Retrieved May 17, 2012.
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  9. ↑ Carroll, Jim (June 29, 2012). "Killer Mike". The Irish Times . Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Barnes, Henry (May 15, 2012). "Killer Mike – 'R.A.P. Music'". NME . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  11. 1 2 Cohen, Ian (May 15, 2012). "Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music". Pitchfork . Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music". Q (313): 109. August 2012.
  13. ↑ Dolan, Jon (May 23, 2012). "R.A.P. Music". Rolling Stone . Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  14. 1 2 Weingarten, Christopher R. (May 15, 2012). "Killer Mike, 'R.A.P. Music' (Williams Street)". Spin . Retrieved May 17, 2012.
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  16. ↑ Youssef, Sobhi (May 13, 2012). "Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  17. ↑ "AllMusic Best of 2012". AllMusic. November 27, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  18. ↑ "The Top 50 Albums of 2012". Beats per Minute . December 14, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  19. ↑ "141 Best Albums of the 2010s". BrooklynVegan . December 31, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
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  21. ↑ "Top 50 Albums 2012". Cokemachineglow . Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
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  52. ↑ "Killer Mike Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
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