Run the Jewels were recently selected as one of the acts scheduled to play at Banksy's Dismaland theme park. In anticipation of their performance, Banksy has interviewed the duo made up of Killer Mike and El-P. The elusive street artist asked Mike and El about their opinions on art and different megastar artists, including Kanye West and Rihanna, who Mike calls "the new Tupac," but in "feminist form."
Dismaland is a scathing satire of a traditional theme park, designed to expose the darkest realities of capitalism instead of covering them up with fairytale delight. Curated by Banksy, the park includes works from artists around the world, and though dark and grisly themes are at play, the spectacle of it all surely compensates for the £3 admission price.
Also lessening the despair, each Friday night, Dismaland will host performances from status quo-challenging artists, including Pussy Riot, Massive Attack and Run the Jewels.
Banksy is clearly a fan of Mike and El, and he admits that Mike's Ferguson speech made after Darren Wilson's innocent verdict made him cry. Mike then tells Banksy the last YouTube video to make him cry was a speech on Marcus Garvey by Dr. John Henrik Clarke, while El confesses to shedding tears to the clip of Christian the Lion's famous embrace of the people who raised him upon seeing them in the wild years later.
Banksy then speaks on Kanye West's recent Glastonbury performance, when he declared himself "the greatest rock star in the world." Both Mike and El agree that said title might fairly belong to West, but Mike goes on to include Rihanna in the conversation.
"Kanye is amazing and may be the greatest rock star in the world but Rihanna is the new Tupac (in feminist form), and as much as I love rock, ain't nobody do it like Pac! Ri-Ri rules in my book."
Mike also mentions some of his favorite street artists, including Banksy, and El calls graffiti artists the "bravest artists I've ever known."
Read the full interview here.
