RTJ4 (an acronym for Run the Jewels 4) is the fourth studio album by the celebrated hip-hop duo Run The Jewels. A sequel to the 2016 third chapter of the collaboration between Killer Mike and El-P, the record was set to be released on June 5, 2020: however, in the midst of the US nationwide protests against the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and, more generally, against police brutality and racism, Run The Jewels eventually decided to anticipate the release of the project.
In addition to making the project available for free download on their own website, the duo has provided fans with an optional opportunity to make a donation to the National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Fund, a move that, according to El-P, has helped the charity gain more than $50,000 just 15 hours into the record’s release.
The album was heavily anticipated in the months leading up to its release, as the duo had teased some material from a week at Rick Rubin’s studio in 2019.
On the production side, El-P, reportedly, returned to 16-bit sampling, using an EPS 16+ sampler to produce the various tracks on the album.