RTJ 3: "Thieves" & Making Them Remember

I’ll start with an excerpt of lyrics off of Run the Jewel’s latest album, from the song “Thieves”.

“This house is haunted by pain transposed into revenue

("The murdered all stay")

That thing when your mind says "run" but your heart isn't letting you

(Said, "We got an army now")

You strike 'em down, they still live inside hearts, hearts carry them

(The weapon is our memory)

Some get to count sheep, some gotta count kids that they burying

(I don't wanna scare nobody)

Fear's been law for so long that rage feels like therapy

(But I'm gonna make 'em remember me)

Nobody gets no more sleep till we teach them remembering”

This song is about a lot of things, and picking just one of its themes could be seen as doing a disservice to the way in which this acclaimed duo, comprised of Killer Mike and El-P, write songs.  When asked about this particular song’s process, El-P described it as “one of the hardest songs that we had ever pulled off. It was a time that we had to really push ourselves to create a narrative together, in an intertwining way that was about something really heavy, that honored not only our perspectives but also honored the weight of the topic.”  The “topic” he refers to is harder to pin down, but as I’ve listened to the words I’ve come to understand the topic to be rage, in this case specifically rage about the injustices of police brutality.  The lyric “Fear’s been law for so long that rage feels like therapy” is a poignant summation of the eruptions of anger and frustration that have manifested themselves in recent years follow instances of police brutality.  I’m also interested in how the process of activism (organizing, resisting, educating) intersects with the idea of “making them remember.”  I’d love to hear more thoughts/interpretations of the lyrics, if y’all have the time to give it a listen!

You can find the song here.