Thursday, November 6, 2014

Rap Superduo Run the Jewels Talk Keeping Their Momentum and Why Cat Remixes Are in Their Future (Seriously)

In 2013, Run the Jewels, the superduo consisting of veterans Killer Mike and El-P, released its self-titled debut, a confrontational barrage of rap ruthlessness. For follow-up RTJ2 (Oct. 27, Mass Appeal Records), they have doubled down on the aggression and injected more of the sociopolitical commentary found in their solo work. On the eve of the album's release, Killer Mike and El-P discuss their group dynamic, why Mike's parents are scared for him, and Meow the Jewels, their upcoming Kickstarter-funded remix LP featuring nothing but cat noises (seriously).

Run the Jewels Can't Stop Putting Albums Online for Free

Why did you immediately record another Run the Jewels album instead of returning to your solo work?
El-P: It just felt right. One record would have been a moment; two records makes us a group.
Killer Mike: When the team is clicking, you don't break it up. There's no sense f---ing up this momentum.

Run the Jewels Drop 'Blockbuster Night' Song

How is RTJ2 different from the first album?
Mike: The foundation is the foundation: Anytime you pick up Run the Jewels I think the cornerstone is brutal shit-talking. This time we went in. We didn't go self-righteous, thinking we were making songs to change the world, as much as we were determined to say things in a more confrontational way -- criticism of religion, government, police brutality.

Mike, on Run the Jewels' "DDFH," you said your mom told you to stop rapping about those subjects.

Mike: My mom tells me that all the time: "I love you. I'm proud of you. But I really get worried. Why don't you dumb down and talk about this bullshit?" I'm like, "I don't have it in me." She's afraid because I'm her only son. She asks me not to go hard on the government. She fears for me. And now my dad doesn't want me to rap about weed or talk about weed on television.

Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha Teams with Run the Jewels on New Track

Meow the Jewels started as a joke, but then fans raised more than $40,000 on Kickstarter to make it happen. How are you preparing -- hoarding strays?

Mike: I want tiger growls.
El-P: Honestly, I've just been bookmarking YouTube cat videos. I have no idea how I'm going to do this shit, but I'm going to figure it out. I'm auditioning cats, talking to different cats, seeing where their heads are at. I've met a couple I think have some untapped potential. Cats are apparently popular on the Internet.

An edited version of this article first appeared in the Nov. 1 issue of Billboard.

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HORROR SLEAZE TRASH

Two years in the making, Ben John Smith's second hard cover collection of poetry, and predecessor to Air a Boire, is finally here, and ready to be flogged! Featuring the extremely brilliant composition work and inlay design of German trash artist THS (www.ths.nu).

My horrible typos and silly word slinging has been painstakingly edited by my good friend and fellow writer for HST, Ian Shearer; with special thanks to Mike Daily for being such a dude. This is not the collection of artists featured in HST over the past few months, this is a book i started long before the HST was even thought about.

108 pages; 6" x 9", jacket-hardcover binding, cream interior paper (50# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color exterior ink. Jacket Wrap and gold embossing on cloth spine.

While i have tried to keep the price as absolutely low as possible (I'm making about 1 dollar from each book) i know it's still scrapped in a little steep but with out pissing in my pocket - it really is worth the money spent, not only for my poetry but for the entire feel and complete package only a hard cover like this can embody.

Obviously for adults only, i am very pleased to send this sucker out into the world and hope for a wide reception of feedback in any form, from any one! Please DO NOT buy this book if you are easily offended, have any shred of respect for me at all, don't want to hear stories about my penis, fear you may be exposed in one of these poems, are a family member of mine of D'Arnes,if you drink soy latte's or enjoy poetry about flowers and rivers. Any one else, please check it out with a grain of salt and a giggle and i thank you in advance for your support and on going communication.

Lets all get pissed and say silly things!

Double Peneteration

Double Penetration is Horror Sleaze And Trash's first publication; featuring the poetry of Ryan Quinn Flanagan and Ben Smith. A collection of 70 off-beat and low brow poems you imagine the pair to come up with in this mix of madness. 10 Aussie bucks will get this sucker to your door. A5 in size, about 80 pages, soft card cover with black and white insides. Buy it now, or don't, and wish you hadda, 25 limited copies. Great gift idea for your Grandmothers!