Run The Jewels member El-P got on Instagram this week and previewed clips of Meow The Jewels, a project where the "Close Your Eyes" rappers' music is replaced by cat noises. He also revealed special guest spots on the album for noted musicians such as Geoff Barrow of Portishead, hip-hop producer Dan The Automator and...internet sensation Lil Bub, a cat whose tongue constantly pokes from is open mouth.
"Oh my god what am I doing with my life?" the rapper/producer asked retrospectively in a caption. "Meow the jewels is going to be the single silliest fuc*in record ever recorded."
The duo (including emcee Killer Mike) offered the "Meow The Jewels" package as one of its special album release deals, most of which were absurdly expensive and involved ludicrous services intended to be taken as farcical (we think). "Meow The Jewels" was just too enticing for one fan, who created a Kickstarter for the project and raised the necessary $45,000. El-P wasn't one to back down from the deal, accepting the challenge and declaring that the proceeds would go to the families of Mike Brown and Eric Garner.
El-P then went about collecting samples from Brooklyn animal shelters to use during the project. No one's sure exactly how many "meow" clips he got but the royalties could soon get out of control based on recent sampling lawsuits we've seen. Fortunately Run The Jewels has also set aside part of the money raised to go to animal shelters, which will hopefully stave off the feline lawyers for now.
A recent tweet revealed the activity of Lil Bub within the project: "Just got a library of sounds from the great @IAMLILBUB. it's on," El-P tweeted during the week.
After this preview, the world can only wait so long for the full product. Better meow dem jewels fast guys.
