One of our favorite live acts of last (and this) year, Run the Jewels, have been building a media fervor as their next album, RTJ2, inches closer to an October 28th release. Killer Mike has made multiple appearances on cable news outlets in the wake of the Michael Brown tragedy and Ferguson protests, two dope new songs have been released as of late, and as we wait in anticipation for the new record, a genius collection of deluxe package offerings have stolen our hearts.
The bonus packages offered by Run the Jewels this past week have achieved for the duo a free round of viral advertising that might extend into unprecedented territory, while completely staying true to form and style.
If you haven’t checked out the bonus package choices yet, do it for a good laugh at least, but most attention has been given to the 40k bonus offering called “The Meow The Jewels Package”, promising “Run the Jewels will re-record RTJ2 using nothing but cat sounds for music.” Almost immediately, someone from Phoenix, Ariz., started a Kickstarter campaign and accompanying social media channels to crowd-fund the would be project.
Run the Jewels have captured the cultural zeitgeist by opening up their world to all cat-sourced production (Run the Jewels part one only had one cat’s meow.) El-P, whom is the sole producer of Run The Jewels, immediately confirmed that he will make this a reality if the Meow the Jewels Kickstarter total of $45,100 is met. And all the proceeds will go to charity.
Meow The Jewels hit 10k in funding on Sunday, with 622 total backers. With 36 days left to go (as of September 21st) there’s plenty of time to spread the word and bank small donations like the early days of the Obama campaign (There have been 16 backers whom have given $100 or more and no 1k backers…yet).
For backing Meow The Jewels, a plethora of sick swag is promised in return. Meow The Jewels stickers, “MTJ” branded lighters, shirts, bags of catnip, and final product vinyl signed by Mike and El-P are promised, and for being a 1k donator, you can submit your very own cat’s ridiculous utterances to be worked into the production of Meow The Jewels.
Killer Mike and El-P released one of the best albums of 2013 with their self-titled debut, self-producing the entire thing and releasing it as a free download a full year before U2 tried it. It was through the duo’s captivating live performances that word continued to spread about Run the Jewels — and now the guys are ready to catapult to the top tier of rap acts.
Even though cats may be providing all original sources of sound production for an RTJ2 remix album, Run the Jewels is still not for your children.
