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If you've managed not hear the news, Kendrick Lamar's new album To Pimp A Butterfly was released a week early. One of the songs on the effort, "Hood Politics," shows Lamar taking on hip-hop's critics while giving a shout out to Run The Jewels rapper Killer Mike, who K. Dot feels doesn't get the respect he deserves despite delivering the exceptional raps critics keep asking for. -
Run the Jewels Share "Lie, Cheat, Steal" Music Video [WATCH]
Hip-hop duo Run the Jewels have shared the music video for their song "Lie, Cheat, Steal," which you can check out below. The Ruffmercy-directed clip features El-P and Killer Mike simply rapping in front of a graffitied wall, though there is also some intense animation that punctuates every beat with flashes of red, which makes for quite a visually unique video. -
Meow The Jewels: El-P Releases Preview of 'Run The Jewels 2' Mock-Up on Instagram, Announces Special Celebrity Cat Guest [LISTEN]
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. -
Killer Mike Pens Op-Ed for Martin Luther King Jr., Encouraging People to Be 'Revolutionaries' Like the Civil Rights Leader
Musicians and celebrities are often in a unique position to share their personal views on politics, race, sexual orientation and any other social issues of their time period. The ones who resonate with the public, though, are the artists who share their ideals within and outside their craft. Killer Mike of Run the Jewels has been on a mission as of late, penning opinion pieces for publications about his feelings toward race relations following the unfortunate deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten Island. His post yesterday on Martin Luther King Jr. Day might have been his finest. -
Tyler, The Creator Cries on Eric Andre Show [WATCH]
Tyler, The Creator is not known for keeping his thoughts and emotions to himself. His appearance on the Eric Andre Show reveals a very real side of the rapper — a side that shamelessly is able to cry real human tears during an interview. -
Run the Jewels Song Plays in ESPN Commercial for NFL Playoff Game [WATCH]
Run the Jewels received more national attention this weekend when ESPN aired a promo for yesterday, Jan. 3's NFL playoff game between the Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Cardinals. The commercial features players from both teams getting psyched for the game while the band's lead single from their self-titled debut plays, "Deadspin" notes.Killer Mike and El-P had a big year in 2014. The duo dropped its second studio album, "Run the Jewels 2," in October. It hit No. 50 on the "Billboard 200" behind singles like "Blockbuster Pt. 1," "Oh My Darling (Don't Cry)" and "Close Your Eyes (And Count to F--k)." The effort topped year-end lists by tons of media outlets."On their second album as Run the Jewels, noise-loving Brooklyn rapper-producer El-P and Atlanta's Killer Mike make the most explosive hip-hop you'll hear all year. The best tracks give criminal-minded menace a radical edge: 'Close Your Eyes (And Count to F--k)' is a prison-riot fantasy, and on the blazing 'All Due Respect,' Mike hints at the roots of his messed-up ways," "Rolling Stone" wrote, giving the album four out of five stars. -
Joey Bada$$ Shares New Track "On & On" Featuring Maverick Sabre And Dyemond Lewis [LISTEN]
Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$ has shared a new single from his upcoming debut album B4.DA.$$, titled "On and On," which you can check out below. In true Joey Bada$$ fashion, "On and On" is yet another excellent '90s east coast throwback, with some crackling, jazzy production courtesy of Freddie Joachim. British singer-songwriter Maverick Sabre contributes the soulful hook, while Joey's fellow Pro Era rapper Dyemond Lewis drops a verse. -
Music Times 25 Best Songs of 2014: Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Hozier, St. Vincent & More
2014 was the year of a thousand controversies: Taylor Swift pulled all of her music from Spotify, Sun Kil Moon started a feud with The War On Drugs, Jack White accused The Black Keys of ripping him off (again), and almost nobody went platinum. When you put all of that aside, however, what you're left with is a bunch of incredible songs, which is really what it's all about. Here are the 25 best songs from 2014, as determined by Music Times writers Ryan Book, Caitlin Carter, Joey DeGroot, Kyle Dowling, and Carolyn Menyes. -
Killer Mike, Young Thug, 34 Others Featured On 42-Minute Track "The Rap Monument" [WATCH]
Have you ever listened to a rap song and found yourself wishing that it was about 40 minutes longer and had a thousand guest verses? If you have, then you're in luck, because Noisey has released its massive, Hudson Mohawke-produced "The Rap Monument," which features 36 rappers doing what they do best (rapping) for 42 minutes, more than twice as long as Eminem's 16-minute "Detroit vs. Everybody" remix. If you'd like some context, it's about two minutes longer than the entirety of Illmatic. -
DJ Premier, Royce Da 5' 9" Share 'PRhyme Time' Music Video [WATCH]
Hip-hop duo PRhyme have shared the music video for their new single "PRhyme Time," which you can check out below. The video features footage of Royce da 5' 9" and DJ Premier working in the studio, filmed on what looks like a warbly 1990s camcorder — the date in the corner even claims that this was filmed in November 1992, though it probably was not. There is plenty of Fila product placement throughout, probably because Beats by Dre did not exist yet in 1992.You can check out the music video for PRhyme's "PRhyme Time" here: -
Run the Jewels to Start Work on Third Album in January, Collaborate Again with Zack de la Rocha
One of the most welcome surprises on "Run the Jewels 2" was the guest appearance of former Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha on the track "Close Your Eyes (And Count to F--k)," but according to RTJ producer El-P, that was not the first time he and de la Rocha had collaborated, and it apparently will not be the last, either. During an in-store event at Rough Trade East in London, according to "NME," El-P revealed that he and de la Rocha worked on music together as far back as 1999 and have plans in the near future to continue that work."In 1999 I spent a month in my apartment in Brooklyn with Zack de la Rocha just before he split Rage Against the Machine, working on music that will never see the light of day," El-P said. "I can't speak about his future but I will say that I'm going to L.A. to spend another month with him in January."Though it was widely assumed that the break-up of Rage Against the Machine in 2000 would signal the start of de la Rocha's solo career in hip-hop, he has yet to release a solo album, or a full-length album of any sort since Rage Against the Machine's final LP "Renegades." -
DJ Premier, Royce Da 5' 9" Announce PRhyme North American Tour [FULL SCHEDULE]
Even though they just made their live debut this past Friday (Dec. 5) in New York, PRhyme, the collaboration between Slaughterhouse's Royce da 5' 9" and Gang Starr's DJ Premier, have announced a month-long tour in support of their recently released self-titled debut album. According to Billboard, "PRhyme: The Tour" kicks off on Feb. 18 in Baltimore and finishes up on March 19 and 20 at Austin's South By Southwest Festival. Tickets for the tour go on sale this Friday, Dec. 12, through PRhyme's website.
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