Meow the Jewels is real, and it's ... downright purrrfect. Killer Mike and El-P, aka Run the Jewels, debuted the first track, "Meowrly," off their upcoming remix album today on their new Beats 1 radio show, "WRTJ."
A testament to the power, and absurdity, of the Internet, what started as a half-baked pipe dream to get some quick charity money turned into a successful fan-led Kickstarter. Mike and El had to bite the bullet and make good on their word remove the beats from their beloved RTJ2 LP ... and replace them with kitties.
Luckily, they got some of their most talented friends involved, both human and feline.
The first remix comes courtesy of Beyoncé collaborator Boots, who sang and played guitar on the original "Early." On "Meowrly," Boots finely scratches up a heady mix of meows, purrs and hisses into a woozy electronic static, over which Mike an El's original "Early" verses manage to fit pretty well.
Can they hang on for a full album? We'll find out.
RTJ's bizarre parody album amazingly boasts one of the best production rosters you'll see on any hip-hop project this year this year. Aside from Boots, you can expect contributions from Just Blaze, Baauer, Portishead's Geoff Barrow, Alchemist, Dan the Automator, Zola Jesus and more.
All the proceeds go to charity, so ... they're not gonna apologize.
meow the jewels really only exists to give 40k to victims of police brutality. real shit.
— el-p (@therealelp) July 18, 2015
Last year's RTJ2, Mike and El's second collaborative album together as Run the Jewels, was one of the year's most lauded releases. They plan to release RTJ3 next year. But first, more cats — such as these ones El recently auditioned.
Meow the Jewels should be out later this year.
