R.A.P. Music
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = R.A.P. Music
| type = studio
| artist = Killer Mike
| cover = Vets large.jpg
| alt =
| released = May 15, 2012
| recorded = 2011
| studio =
| genre = Southern hip-hop
| length = 45:55
| label = Williams Street
| producer = El-P
| prev_title = Pledge
| prev_year = 2011
| next_title = Michael
| next_year = 2023
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Rap Music
| type = studio
| single1 = Big Beast
| single1date = February 13, 2012
| single2 = Untitled
| single2date = March 16, 2012
| single3 = Don't Die
| single3date = April 2, 2012
| single4 = Reagan
| single4date = November 6, 2012
}}
}}
R.A.P. Music is the fifth studio album by American rapper Killer Mike.{{cite web|title=Killer Mike and El-P Team Up for New Album|date=13 February 2012|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/45404-killer-mike-and-el-p-team-up-for-new-album/|publisher=Pitchfork Media|access-date=8 April 2012}} 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".{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/06/19/155308252/killer-mike-on-ronald-reagan-and-raising-daughters|title=Killer Mike: On Ronald Reagan And Raising Daughters|website=NPR.org|publisher=NPR|access-date=2012-06-27|archive-date=March 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324061902/https://www.npr.org/2012/06/19/155308252/killer-mike-on-ronald-reagan-and-raising-daughters|url-status=live}} 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.
Music and lyrics
In 2012, on NPR, Killer Mike explained his song "Reagan": "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."[https://www.npr.org/2012/06/19/155308252/killer-mike-on-ronald-reagan-and-raising-daughters Killer Mike: On Ronald Reagan And Raising Daughters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324061902/https://www.npr.org/2012/06/19/155308252/killer-mike-on-ronald-reagan-and-raising-daughters |date=March 24, 2021 }}. June 19, 2012. NPR.
Reception
= Critical response =
{{Music ratings
| MC = 85/100{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/rap-music/killer-mike|title=Reviews for R.A.P. Music by Killer Mike|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=February 10, 2014|archive-date=December 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121228190644/http://www.metacritic.com/music/rap-music/killer-mike|url-status=live}}
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Jeffries|first=David|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/rap-music-mw0002330220|title=R.A.P. Music – Killer Mike|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=March 12, 2020|archive-date=December 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222155533/https://www.allmusic.com/album/rap-music-mw0002330220|url-status=live}}
| rev2 = The A.V. Club
| rev2score = B+{{cite web|last=Rytlewski|first=Evan|url=https://www.avclub.com/killer-mike-r-a-p-music-1798172809|title=Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music|work=The A.V. Club|date=May 15, 2012|access-date=May 17, 2012}}
| rev3 = Chicago Tribune
| rev3score = {{Rating|4|4}}{{cite web|last=Kot|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Kot|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-killer-mike-album-review-rap-music-reviewed-20120518-column.html|title=Album review: Killer Mike, 'R.A.P. Music'|work=Chicago Tribune|date=May 18, 2012|access-date=May 18, 2012}}
| rev4 = The Irish Times
| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite news|last=Carroll|first=Jim|author-link=Jim Carroll (journalist)|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/album-reviews/killer-mike-1.1069610|title=Killer Mike|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=June 29, 2012|access-date=June 29, 2012}}
| rev5 = NME
| rev5score = 5/10{{cite web|last=Barnes|first=Henry|url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/various-artists/13141|title=Killer Mike – 'R.A.P. Music'|work=NME|date=May 15, 2012|access-date=May 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130526/http://www.nme.com/reviews/various-artists/13141|archive-date=March 4, 2016}}
| rev6 = Pitchfork
| rev6score = 8.6/10{{cite web|last=Cohen|first=Ian|url=http://www.pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16537-killer-mike-rap-music/|title=Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music|work=Pitchfork|date=May 15, 2012|access-date=May 15, 2012|archive-date=May 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517222620/http://www.pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16537-killer-mike-rap-music/|url-status=live}}
| rev7 = Q
| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|title=Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music|journal=Q|issue=313|date=August 2012|page=109}}
| rev8 = Rolling Stone
| rev8score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Dolan|first=Jon|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/r-a-p-music-20120523|title=R.A.P. Music|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=May 23, 2012|access-date=June 15, 2012}}
| rev9 = Spin
| rev9score = 9/10{{cite web|last=Weingarten|first=Christopher R.|url=http://www.spin.com/reviews/killer-mike-rap-music-williams-street|title=Killer Mike, 'R.A.P. Music' (Williams Street)|work=Spin|date=May 15, 2012|access-date=May 17, 2012|archive-date=May 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518012632/http://www.spin.com/reviews/killer-mike-rap-music-williams-street|url-status=live}}
| rev10 = XXL
| rev10score = 4/5{{cite web|last=Lelinwalla|first=Mark|url=http://www.xxlmag.com/reviews/2012/05/killer-mike-r-a-p-music/|title=Killer Mike, R.A.P. Music|work=XXL|date=May 15, 2012|access-date=May 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720220747/http://www.xxlmag.com/reviews/2012/05/killer-mike-r-a-p-music/|archive-date=July 20, 2012|url-status=dead}}
}}
R.A.P. Music received widespread acclaim from music critics. 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". 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." 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." 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". 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." 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".{{cite web|last=Youssef|first=Sobhi|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/49694/Killer-Mike-R.A.P.-Music/|title=Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music|publisher=Sputnikmusic|date=May 13, 2012|access-date=May 14, 2012}}
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."
= Accolades =
Track listing
All songs produced by El-P.
{{Track listing
| headline = R.A.P. Music track listing
| total_length =
| title1 = Big Beast
| note1 = featuring Bun B, T.I., and Trouble
| writer1 = {{hlist|Michael Render|Bernard Freeman|Clifford Harris, Jr.|Mariel Orr|Jaime Meline}}
| length1 = 3:54
| title2 = Untitled
| note2 = featuring Scar
| writer2 = {{hlist|Render|Terrance "Scar" Smith|Meline}}
| length2 = 3:54
| title3 = Go!
| writer3 = {{hlist|Render|Meline}}
| length3 = 1:54
| title4 = Southern Fried
| writer4 = {{hlist|Render|Meline}}
| length4 = 4:37
| title5 = JoJo's Chillin
| writer5 = {{hlist|Render|Meline}}
| length5 = 2:57
| title6 = Reagan
| writer6 = {{hlist|Render|Meline}}
| length6 = 4:10
| title7 = Don't Die
| writer7 = {{hlist|Render|Meline}}
| length7 = 4:08
| title8 = Ghetto Gospel
| writer8 = {{hlist|Render|Meline}}
| length8 = 4:40
| title9 = Butane (Champion's Anthem)
| note9 = featuring El-P
| writer9 = {{hlist|Render|Meline}}
| length9 = 3:18
| title10 = Anywhere but Here
| note10 = featuring Emily Panic
| writer10 = {{hlist|Render|Meline}}
| length10 = 3:31
| title11 = Willie Burke Sherwood
| writer11 = {{hlist|Render|Meline|Wilder Zoby}}
| length11 = 4:23
| title12 = R.A.P. Music
| writer12 = {{hlist|Render|Meline|Zoby}}
| length12 = 4:26
}}
Personnel
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
- Bun B – vocals
- Regina Davenport – production coordination
- Jason DeMarco – executive producer
- DJ Abilities – scratching
- El-P – engineer, producer, programming, vocals, composer
- Nicholas Howard – vocals
- Killer Mike – vocals, composer, executive producer
- G.G. McGee – lyric transcription
- Emily Panic – vocals
- Fahamu Pecou – paintings
{{col-2}}
- Bradley Post – engineer
- Joey Raia – mixing
- Scar – vocals
- Glenn Schick – mastering
- Torbitt Schwartz – guitar
- Shanna Sheets – lyric transcription
- T.I. – vocals
- Trouble – vocals
- Trey Wadsworth – design
- Wilder Zoby – composer, co-producer
{{col-end}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ 2012 chart performance for R.A.P. Music ! scope="col"| Chart (2012) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{album chart|Billboard200|82|artist=Killer Mike|rowheader=true|access-date=April 20, 2023}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardIndependent|16|artist=Killer Mike|rowheader=true|access-date=April 20, 2023}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|12|artist=Killer Mike|rowheader=true|access-date=April 20, 2023}} |
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2022 chart performance for R.A.P. Music ! scope="col"| Chart (2022) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{album chart|UKR&B|21|date=20220520|rowheader=true|access-date=May 20, 2022}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Killer Mike}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rap Music}}