Run the Jewels 2

Run the Jewels 2
Studio album by Run the Jewels
Released	October 24, 2014 (2014-10-24)
Recorded	2013–14
Genre	Hip hop
Length	38:56
Label	Mass Appeal RED
Producer	El-P Little Shalimar Wilder Zoby Boots
Run the Jewels chronology
Run the Jewels (2013) Run the Jewels 2 (2014) Meow the Jewels (2015)
Singles from Run the Jewels 2
"Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1" Released: September 2, 2014 "Oh My Darling Don't Cry" Released: September 30, 2014 "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)" Released: October 13, 2014

Run the Jewels 2 is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Run the Jewels, which consists of Killer Mike and El-P. The album was released early for free on October 24, 2014^[1] and the following day on iTunes. It was made available on CD and LP through Mass Appeal Records on October 28, 2014.^[2]

Upon its release, Run the Jewels 2 received widespread acclaim from critics for its darker and more layered production, Killer Mike and El-P's lyricism and chemistry and its guest contributions. Several publications also ranked it as the best album of 2014, including Pitchfork Media, Complex and Stereogum.^[3][4][5] The album debuted at number 50 on the US Billboard 200, selling 12,000 copies in the first week.

Singles

On September 2, 2014, Run the Jewels released a song titled "Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1", as the album's first single.^[6] On September 15, 2014, Run the Jewels released "Oh My Darling Don't Cry", the second offering from the album.^[7] "Oh My Darling Don't Cry", was later released on September 30, 2014, via digital distribution, as the album's second single.^[8]

Remix albums

In 2015, a remix album titled Meow the Jewels was released featuring beats created entirely from cat sounds. Several producers, such as Just Blaze, Prince Paul, The Alchemist, Geoff Barrow, Dan the Automator and Boots, among others, contributed to the project. The creation of this album was funded through Kickstarter, with all of the proceeds going to charities supporting victims of police brutality.^[9]

In addition to Meow the Jewels, a standard remix album was scheduled to be released through Fool's Gold in 2015 as well.^[10]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	89/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
The A.V. Club	A–[13]
Consequence of Sound	A–[14]
The Guardian	[15]
HipHopDX	[16]
Los Angeles Times	[17]
NME	9/10[18]
Pitchfork Media	9.0/10[19]
Rolling Stone	[20]
Slant Magazine	[21]

Run the Jewels 2 received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 89, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 35 reviews.^[11] Pat Levy of Consequence of Sound said, "An album like RTJ2 is rare. Decades from now, this album may just be revered as one of the best hip-hop records of our era, the total synchronicity of two talented artists reaching the apex of their prime."^[14] James Rainis of Slant Magazine stated, "RTJ2 is the rare sequel that bests the beloved original in almost every facet."^[21] Dan Rys of XXL said, "For people looking for soulful, melodic hip-hop, this is not the album to pick up. Neither is it one for the kids who just want to repeat two words over and over again and call it a hook while jumping up and down and punching the air repeatedly. When listening to RTJ 2, those feelings are translated into punches aimed at faces instead of spaces, and they always connect. The beats are grimy—typical of an El-P-produced project—and add even more grit to an album that doesn’t ooze confidence so much as shoves you in the chest with it."^[22]

Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times stated, "Run the Jewels is the team of two indie titans, El-P and Killer Mike, who have upended convention by remaining idealistically true, artistically adventurous and creatively emboldened well into their second decade as rapper-producers. The pair's second album, released as a free download last week, proves it 11 times over."^[17] Al Horner of NME said, "Cranking the urgency and confrontation of last year's self-titled debut to neck-breaking levels of intensity, RTJ2 is an urgent, paranoid album for a violent, panicked time. It's a bleak future Run The Jewels envision for America, but as long as Mike and El-P are collaborating, at least the future of hip-hop is in safe hands."^[18]

Accolades

Rolling Stone named RTJ2 the "Best Rap Album of 2014", noting that "the appeal is still in their giddy disses, labyrinthine boasts, alliteration, bravado, alpha male antics — basically the stuff that Killer Mike and El-P enjoyed about rap in 1989."^[23] Pitchfork Media placed the album at the top of their list of "The 50 Best Albums of 2014", saying that, "occasionally, you receive the anti-heroes you need, and this was the year when we realized how right they’ve always been. No other album distilled such unrestrained fury, nor reminded us how frustratingly little has changed. When this record’s truths become unrecognizable, we’ll know that we’ve finally made progress. We can chart our evolution from here."^[3]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 50 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 12,000 copies in the United States.^[29]

Track listing

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^b} signifies a co-producer
• Credits adapted from liner notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes

Charts

Meow the Jewels

Meow the Jewels
Remix album by Run the Jewels
Released	September 25, 2015 (2015-09-25)
Recorded	2013–15
Genre	Hip hop
Length	42:01
Label	Mass Appeal RED
Producer	El-P The Alchemist Geoff Barrow Just Blaze Boots Dan the Automator 3D Prince Paul Zola Jesus Blood Diamonds Little Shalimar Nick Hook
Run the Jewels chronology
Run the Jewels 2 (2014) Meow the Jewels (2015) Run the Jewels 3 (2016)
Singles from Meow the Jewels
"Meowrly" Released: July 18, 2015

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100[35]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[36]
Los Angeles Times	(Favorable)[37]
PopMatters	[38]
Pitchfork Media	😻 (Favorable)[39]
RapReviews.com	6.5/10[40]
The 405	7.5/10[41]

Meow the Jewels is a cat remix album, made by American hip hop duo Run the Jewels, which consists of Killer Mike and El-P. The album was released for free on September 25, 2015,^[42] the pre-order for the limited-edition 2xLP was made available on the same day.

Meow the Jewels remixes the entire Run the Jewels 2 album using various cat sounds, meows and purrs. The album started as a crowdfunding campaign through the website Kickstarter, and despite the goal only being $40,000, it raised over $60,000.^[43]

Track listing

References