Killer Mike and El-P had storied careers before they formed Run The Jewels. Mike was a Grammy-winning rapper linked with Atlanta’s legendary Dungeon Family while El Producto had his underground rap history with Company Flow. But now, Run The Jewels has become one of Hip Hop’s favorite modern duos.
Speaking on Viceland’s Desus & Mero show, they discussed the moment they realized that remaining a duo was in their best interest.
“I realized right after we went on our first tour and opened for each other,” said Mike. “I would open, El would come on and we would come back as Run The Jewels. There was a group of kids there — I distinctly remember we were in Phoenix. So, the crowd had to be separated. You got your El-P/Company Flow/Def Jux fans, you got your Killer Mike/Grind Time/DF fans. There was a group of kids that would be active during the show, but they were like ‘Ok, alright.’ When we came back on as Run The Jewels they were like ‘Ahhhhhhh’ like we were two different dudes, but we were wearing the same goddamn black T-shirts.”
El-P continued, “We had the same clothing. We would be like, ‘Thank you good night next up is Run The Jewels.’ We’d walk off and come back 10 minutes later and the same kids in the same spot and we had the same shit on … and they were like ‘Oh my God! Fuckin’ Run The Jewels!'”
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Following their first tour, fans were all asking the same question.
“When is the next one?” said Killer Mike. “That’s when I remember my management — shout out to Joel over there — was like, ‘So man, are we going to go back to solo shit?’ and I was like, ‘I don’t give a fuck about a solo album’ … And I’ve been rockin’ with my main man all the way through.”
Run The Jewels has continued to tour in promotion of the RTJ3 album, which dropped last year. More recently, Outkast’s Big Boi premiered a track with Killer Mike.
During the Desus & Mero interview, El-P also talks about his engagement to his fiancée.
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For those who haven’t seen our Run The Jewels timeline, check it out here.
