Run the Jewels

[WIP]

About

Run the Jewels is an American hip hop duo consisting of rapper Killer Mike and rapper and producer El-P. Formed in 2013, the duo would gain recognition for their hardcore hip hop style while also touching upon topical subject matter such as police brutality and class inequality, with three acclaimed studio albums, and an upcoming 4th album in 2020.

History

While both Killer Mike (real name: Michael Santiago Render) and El-P (real name: Jaime Meline) have been active in music for years, with Killer Mike being an associate of rap duo Outkast in the early 2000s and El-P producing underground hip-hop throughout the 90s as a part of the group Company Flow, it wasn't until 2011 when both would meet through Cartoon Network executive Jason DeMarco. In 2012, the two would formally collaborate, with El-P producing Killer Mike's fifth studio album R.A.P. Music and Killer Mike making a feature appearance on the track "Tougher Colder Killer" with Despot from El-P's third studio album Cancer 4 Cure.

After a successful co-headlining tour due to the close releases of both albums, the two decided to form Run the Jewels. On June 26th, 2013, the duo released their self-titled debut album for free download through Fool's Gold Records, preceded by the release of the songs "Get It", "Banana Clipper" featuring Outkast's Big Boi, and "36" Chain," to very positive reviews.

The album would be followed up with Run the Jewels 2 on October 24th, 2014 and released through Mass Appeal Records. Featuring appearances from artists such as Zach De La Rocha of Rage Against The Machine, Travis Barker of Blink-182, and Gangsta Boo of Three 6 Mafia, the album was received even more positively, with the album making the near top of album year end lists for 2014 and critic Anthony Fantano giving the album a 9/10.

In 2015, the group released Meow the Jewels, a remix album of Run the Jewels 2 with the instrumentals based completely around cat noises after an online campaign by fans to raise money for a $40,000 package offered on their storefront where the duo would re-record RTJ2 with cat noises. After the campaign raised over $60,000, the two would release the remix album for free, featuring contributions from a number of producers including from El-P himself, while the money raised would go to charity. The album was notably rated a "😻" by Pitchfork.

In December 2016, the followup album Run the Jewels 3 was released, featuring once again a collaboration with Zach De La Rocha as well as Danny Brown, Boots, Tunde Adebimpe, Kamasi Washington and Trina. Prior to the album's release, two singles, "Talk to Me", released through the Adult Swim Singles Program, and "Legend Has It" were released for its promotion, with the song "2100" also being released on the day Donald Trump was elected as the 45th president of the United States of America.

In March 2018, Adult Swim released a collaborative video with Run the Jewels directed by Juan Meza-León, acting as a music video for the song "Oh Mama". The video consists of animation based on the Adult Swim cartoon Rick and Morty soundtracked by the song.

RTJ4

In 2020, the duo released their fourth studio album, RTJ4, preceded by the release of the singles "yankee and the brave (ep. 4)" and "ooh LA LA" featuring Greg Nice and DJ Premier. Originally slated for a release date of June 5th, the album was released two days earlier on June 3rd for free download. In a letter posted to all social media platforms, they said:

Fuck it, why wait. The world is infested with bullshit so here’s something raw to listen to while you deal with it all. We hope it brings you some joy. Stay safe and hopeful out there and thank you for giving 2 friends the chance to be heard and do what they love.
With sincere love and gratitude, Jaime + Mike.

The album was released in the wake of protests amidst of the deaths of persons of colour such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

Reputation

Run the Jewels is recognizable by their signature "pistol and fist" hand gesture, used by the band for their albums artworks. In an interview with Spin, the band explained the meaning of their symbol throughout the albums:

"For us, the RTJ1 hands were about "taking what's yours" – your world, your life, your attitude. The RTJ2 hands were wrapped in bandages, signifying injury and healing, which for us represented the growth in ideas and tone of that album. For RTJ3 the bandages are off, the chain is gone and the hands have been transformed into gold. For us this represents the idea that there is nothing to take that exists outside of yourself. You are the jewel."^[1]

The pistol and fist have been referenced in the video game Borderlands 3, where the playable character FL4K can perform the gesture when interacted with.

Online Relevance

Search Interest

External References

^[1] Spin – Run the Jewels Announce RTJ3, Share New Song “Legend Has It”