“Chase Me” by Danger Mouse (ft. Run the Jewels and Big Boi)
All lyrics considered, the title of this track (“Chase Me”) serves as a roundabout way of pointing to the notion of the vocalists being paid big men. Moreover, they’re supposed to be akin to criminals or what have you. That is the idea the title most directly alludes to, i.e. the rappers being pursued by those whom they have stolen from.
And that tone is firmly set via the track’s intro, which features a news broadcast detailing a couple violently robbing a bank.
Also to note, the colloquial phrase “run the jewels” is actually a command a robber gives to a victim, i.e. demanding their jewelry. And El-P apparently utilizes it in such a manner at the beginning of the first verse. But said statement is also symbolic of the major paper he and his cohorts are making as musicians, as the rest of the verse implies. Well, something like that.
It’s apparent that he is partially relying on terminology associated with criminal behavior. But in the real world, we all know that El-P is actually a musician. So it’s sort of like all of the unlawful references are based on the motif of the track, as implied above.
So in the chorus, El-P is compelled to go on the run, as there are people out to murder him. As presented this would be due to him making money the fast, i.e. illegal way. And as for those he has beat in the head, if they ‘want their money back’ then they have to ‘chase him’, as he’s not returning it willingly.
Killer Mike
Meanwhile, Killer Mike seems to begin his segment more along the lines of introducing himself as a top-notch rapper. However, the main idea being put across is something like he’s mentally deranged. Or let’s say, more plainly, that he has murderous tendencies.
And it may very well be that the vocalists have tasked themselves with complying to the characters featured on “Baby Driver” (2017), a movie about violent armed robbers that this song is associated with.
Big Boi
After another rendering of the chorus by El-P, then comes Big Boi’s interlude. He is re-asserting the notion that whoever it is that he and Run the Jewels have ‘jacked’ are ‘not going to get their money back’.
Now Big Boi, as some of you already know, is a musician who made a name for himself as part of the high-successful alternative-rap pair known as Outkast. Said act isn’t particularly known for promoting the idea of running with “a crew of killers and dealers”. So again, we have to presume that perhaps Boi is taking on a role this time around in congruence with “Baby Driver” or in the very least the overall theme of this song.
However said vocalist also gives a shoutout to “Magic City” as well as expressing an affinity for “strippers”. And Big Boi is in fact being a well-known aficionado of strip clubs – as is Magic City, the premiere one in his hometown of Atlanta – as well as those employed by such establishments.
But overall, his verse isn’t about fast women as much as it is Boi being mafia connected, if you will, on top of having a few “screws loose” of his own. Indeed he has such a standing of being a well-paid, street-based don that he’s even a “made man” in that regard.
What “Chase Me” is all about
So in closing, we can say that Run the Jewels and Big Boi are mixing the fantasy of being violent criminals with the reality of being celebrity musicians. But of course this is rap music, a genre in which artists presenting themselves as gangsters is more common than it is not.
In other words, it can be hard to differentiate fantasy from reality in such pieces considering occupations such as being a violent criminal actually tend to be idealized amongst rap musicians.
“Chase Me” Facts
Primary Artist(s): Danger Mouse
Featured Artist(s): Run the Jewels and Big Boi
Album/EP: “Baby Driver (Music From the Motion Picture)”
When was “Chase Me” released?
May 18 of 2017.
Awards/Honors
In 2018 “Chase Me” was nominated for “Best Rap Song” at the Grammys. It lost the award to “Humble” by Kendrick Lamar. Below are three other songs that competed in that category:
Movie Appearance
It featured in Edgar Wright’s movie, “Baby Driver”.
