Run the Jewels | |
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.jpg) El-P (left) andKiller Mike in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Origin | United States |
| Genres | Hip-hop |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels |
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| Members | |
| Website | runthejewels |
Run the Jewels, also known by the initialsRTJ, is an Americanhip-hopsuperduo, composed ofBrooklyn-based rapper and producerEl-P andAtlanta-based rapperKiller Mike. They released their critically acclaimed debut albumRun the Jewels as a free download in 2013 and have since released the follow-up albumsRun the Jewels 2 (2014),Run the Jewels 3 (2016), andRTJ4 (2020),[a] all of which have been released for free and received critical acclaim.[1]
El-P was active professionally in music from the early 1990s, first withCompany Flow and then as a solo artist and in-demand producer for others. Killer Mike's recording debut was in 2000 withOutkast on theStankonia album, and his solo debut appeared in 2003.
The duo were first introduced to each other byCartoon Network executive Jason DeMarco in 2011.[2] El-P later produced Mike's 2012 albumR.A.P. Music, which was soon followed by Mike's appearance on the track "Tougher Colder Killer" from El-P's 2012 albumCancer 4 Cure. WhenR.A.P. Music andCancer 4 Cure were released within weeks of each other, the two decided to tour together. The success of the tour eventually led to the decision to form Run the Jewels,[3][4] with the duo taking their name from a lyric in the 1990LL Cool J song "Cheesy Rat Blues".[5]
On June 26, 2013, Run the Jewels releasedtheir self-titled debut album onFool's Gold Records as a free download.[6] They also released "36" Chain" as a free track as part of the 2013 edition of the yearlyAdult Swim Singles Program.
Run the Jewels 2 was released throughMass Appeal Records on October 24, 2014.[7] A light-hearted remix album composed entirely ofcat sounds titledMeow the Jewels was released on September 25, 2015.[8] It features guest production from the likes ofPrince Paul,Boots,Geoff Barrow,Zola Jesus,The Alchemist,Just Blaze and others.[9] Proceeds from the album went entirely to charity.[10] They also announced the release of a traditional remix album ofRun the Jewels 2 which was to be released via Fool's Gold Records in 2015.[11] Like the previous year,Adult Swim released the 2014 edition of their compilation, which saw the release of the lead single fromRun the Jewels 2, "Oh My Darling (Don't Cry)", while the non-album single "Rubble Kings (Dynamite on the Street)" was released in 2015.
Run the Jewels supportedJack White atMadison Square Garden on January 30, 2015.[12] In early 2015, it was announced that the band would perform at theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April and theBonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in June. In addition to these larger festivals, RTJ also announced performances at theBoston Calling Music Festival, the Big Guava Music Festival, the Pitchfork Music Festival, the Austin City Limits Music Festival, and the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta, Georgia;Blink-182 drummerTravis Barker was slated to join them.[13] Trackstar the DJ served as Run the Jewels' DJ during theirRTJ2 tour.[14]
Killer Mike revealed that the duo would begin work onRun the Jewels 3 in January 2015.[15] Run the Jewels released an exclusive12-inch on April 18, 2015, in conjunction withRecord Store Day. The record included a new track ("Bust No Moves" feat.SL Jones) in addition to three previously released songs.[16]
The single "Lie, Cheat, Steal", released in 2015, was later used as the theme song to theNetflix documentary seriesDirty Money.[17][18]
In 2016, Adult Swim was once again used to release "Talk to Me" fromRun the Jewels 3.[19] Run the Jewels then released the song "Love Again" featuringGangsta Boo. "Love Again" went on to win Run the Jewels the UK Music Video Awards for "Best Urban Video" and "Best Editing in a Video".[20]
February 6, 2016, the duo performed three songs ("Talk to Me", "Legend Has It", "A Report to the Shareholders") forNPR's Music Tiny Desk Concert.
At some point in the future they are going to try and label us a political rap group, and that we are not, we do not care what political party you belong to, we don't care who you supported, we don't care what you are doing tomorrow politically, we care that socially every one of you know: you are absolutely born free and nothing has a right to interrupt that freedom. We love you.
— Killer Mike, "Run The Jewels: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert",YouTube (14 February 2017)[21]
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On August 24, 2016,DJ Shadow's single "Nobody Speak" featuring the duo was released, alongside a music video of brawling politicians just before the 2016 election. This song has been featured in several TV shows and movies.[22] The song was produced by the Mass Appeal record label and DJ Shadow, which he calls the standout track on his albumThe Mountain Will Fall. The duo were extras in the video. The video was directed by Sam Pilling. produced by Pulse Films, and starred Igor Tsyshkevych and Ian Bailey. It was shot in NYC, London and Ukraine.
Run the Jewels 3 was digitally released on December 24, 2016,[23] three weeks prior to its previously announced release date of January 13, 2017.[24] Physical release of the album appeared on January 13 in the United States and January 20 elsewhere.[23][25] In the same month, Adult Swim's late-night anime blockToonami promoted the album by replacing regular music with tracks from the album.
In June 2017, the track "Legend Has It" fromRun the Jewels 3 was featured in the teaser trailer for Marvel'sBlack Panther during game four of the2017 NBA Finals, and was viewed 89 million times in 24 hours.[26][27] Multiple Run the Jewels tracks were also featured in the 2017 action filmBaby Driver, which also featured a cameo by Killer Mike. In September 2017, Run the Jewels released "Mean Demeanor", a track created for the soccer video gameFIFA 18.
In March 2018, Adult Swim released a Run the Jewels/Rick and Morty crossover music video for "Oh Mama".[28] The music was a remix of "Oh Mama" fromRun the Jewels 3 accompanied by sound effects from aRick and Morty short. The effort was directed by Juan Meza-León, and was released prior to Run the Jewels headlining the 2018 Adult Swim Festival on October 7, 2018.[29][30]
On December 12, 2019, the single "Legend Has It" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.[31]
On October 11, 2018, Run the Jewels released a new song titled "Let's Go (The Royal We)", which was featured in that year's superhero filmVenom and debuted onZane Lowe'sApple Music's Beats 1 show. It was also confirmed that their fourth album was in the works.[32]
On March 22, 2020, Run the Jewels released "Yankee and the Brave (ep.4)" as the first single fromRTJ4.[33] Four days later, they released the second single, "Ooh LA LA" (featuringGreg Nice andDJ Premier).[34] The album was released digitally on June 3, 2020, two days earlier than their announced released date of June 5, with a physical release in September 2020.[35] It was their first album to be officially titled under its abbreviated name as opposed to the formatting of previous albums, which would have rendered the titleRun the Jewels 4.[36] On June 6, as they had done with the preceding album,Toonami once again promoted the album by replacing regular music in their promos with music from the album. In July, the duo announced the release of their owncannabis strain with a "sweet fruit cake [taste] with a herbal tea finish", named after their single "Ooh LA LA".[37]
In an attempt to increase voter turnout for the2020 elections, Run the Jewels performedRTJ4 in its entirety from a warehouse during aYouTube stream titledHoly Calamavote (a reference to their song "Holy Calamafuck") on October 18.[38] Hosted byEric Andre in the style of a parodytelethon and sponsored by Adult Swim andBen & Jerry's, the performance featured appearances from all of the collaborators on the album, with some appearing in person while others appeared via pre-recorded performances played on large screens in the background.[38]
Alongside several other artists, Run the Jewels provided music for the video gameCyberpunk 2077, released in December 2020.[39] One month before the game's release, they released a song they wrote for the game called "No Save Point", accompanied by a music video which shows them performing the song within the game's world.[40] They were credited as Yankee and the Brave for this song.[41] Around the same time, the video gameSpider-Man: Miles Morales was released, which features an instrumental version of "The Ground Below" fromRTJ4 in the background during a mission.[citation needed] The duo composed the opening theme for the direct-to-videoAdult Swim film,Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm, which released on November 8, 2022.[42]
On October 21, 2022, the group announced a remix album ofRTJ4 titledRTJ Cu4tro. It featured remixes from Latin artists and was released on November 11.[43]
On February 24, 2025, it was announced that Run the Jewels would be joining Wu-Tang Clan on itsfarewell tour as the opening act.[44]
As part of the promotion forRun the Jewels 2, the duo started a "Tag the Jewels" movement encouraginggraffiti artists from around the world totag their rendition of the duo's signature "pistol and fist"hand gesture, as featured on all of their album covers.[45] 30 artists were invited to participate in the movement, creating large murals on six continents.[46]
The same "pistol and fist" gesture was featured on the covers of severalMarvel comic books since 2015. Marvel editor-in-chiefAxel Alonso was the driving force behind the gesture's incorporation intovariant covers forDeadpool #45,Howard the Duck #2,Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars #1,[47][48]Black Panther #2,Cage #1 andDoctor Strange/Punisher: Magic Bullets #1 variant.
A biography of the group and analysis of their cultural impact titledKill Your Masters: Run The Jewels and the World That Made Them was published by theUniversity of Georgia Press in 2024. It is described as "the buddy-movie-like story of how they got there" which "parallels the incredible changes the music industry has gone through over the past twenty-five years."[49] The book was written by Dutch journalist Jaap van der Doelen and received generally favourable reviews in publications likeThe Wire. On theGPB podcastNarrative Edge, host Peter Biello noted how "this book is as much about Run the Jewels as it is about the other half of its subtitle" and lauded the author's skill as a writer and ability at "reminding people of the context".[50]
In the video gameBorderlands 3, one of playable character FL4K's pets will throw up the duo's "pistol and fist" gesture when interacted with. In the video gameGears of War 4, a promotional skin bundle featuring Run the Jewels as playable characters was released in early 2017. For the video gameCyberpunk 2077, a photo mode pose option is the duo's signature pistol-and-fist gesture.[51]
Studio albums
Headlining
Supporting
TheGrammy Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented byThe Recording Academy. Run The Jewels has been nominated for one award.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "Chase Me" (Danger Mouse Featuring Run The Jewels &Big Boi) | Best Rap Song | Nominated | [54] |
TheBerlin Music Video Awards is an international music festivals that promotes the art of music videos.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | meopurrdy | Most Bizarre | Won |
| 2021 | Out Of Sight feat.2 Chainz | Best Director | Nominated |
TheUK Music Video Awards is an annual celebration of creativity, technical excellence and innovation in music video and moving image for music. Run The Jewels have won two awards from six nominations.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | A Christmas F*cking Miracle | Best Urban Video – Budget | Nominated | [55] |
| 2015 | Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck) (featZack de la Rocha) | Best Urban Video-International | Nominated | |
| Lie, Cheat, Steal | Best Urban Video – Budget | Nominated | ||
| Early | Best Lyric Video | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | Love Again (withGangsta Boo) | Best Urban Video-International | Won | |
| Best Editing in a Video | Won |
TheNME Awards is an annual music awards show in theUnited Kingdom, founded by the music magazine, NME (New Musical Express) . Run The Jewels have received three nominations (Best Album in 2015, and Best Festival Band and Best International Band in 2016) and won two awards (Best Festival Band and Best International Band in 2016).
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Run The Jewels | Best International Band | Won | [56] |
The A2IM Libera Awards is an annual music awards show created by theAmerican Association of Independent Music. Run The Jewels have won five awards from eleven nominations.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Meow the Jewels / Tag the Jewels | Marketing Genius Award | Won | [57] |
| Run The Jewels | Hardest Working Artist of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Run the Jewels 2 | Groundbreaking Album of the Year | Won | ||
| Album of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | Run The Jewels | Best Live Act | Nominated | |
| Meow The Jewels | Creative Packaging | Nominated | ||
| #12DaysofRTJ | Marketing Genius Award | Won | ||
| Close Your Eyes (and Count to F*ck) | Video of the Year | Won | ||
| 2017 | Run the Jewels 3 | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| Best Rap/Hip-Hop Album | Won | |||
| Run the Jewels | Best Live Act | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "Nobody Speak"(withDJ Shadow) | Best Cinematography | Nominated | [58] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Run the Jewels | Woodie of the Year | Nominated | [59] |
Media related toRun the Jewels at Wikimedia Commons
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