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The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

    Album remixed to feature cats

    Cats: they’re what the people want, and they’re what the people will get!

    Since the dawn of the Interwebs, cats have trolled through notorious memes and YouTube videos, winning the hearts of millennials and even making our grandmothers chuckle.

    As fine and dandy as that is, what could possibly make the beloved feline even more popular in our hearts? If you were thinking of producing an album version exclusively with cat noises, Run the Jewels has you beat!

    The experimental, hip-hop super-duo consisting of bigger-than-life rap veteran Killer Mike and dauntless beatmaker El-P are planning on releasing a cat-remixed version of their popular album, Run the Jewels 2, which was released in 2014.

    To make matters beyond paw-some, the two are naming the feline-infused work of art Meow the Jewels.

    How did this kitten-blended idea come to life? Well, funny story — it all started on the popular crowdfunding website, Kickstarter, in late September of 2014. Native Phoenician Sly Jones decided to respond to a joke El-P told Billboard.

    “I wrote the Meow the Jewels pre-order package as a joke, never imagining that anyone would crowd fund it (although secretly I think I hoped I could make the album). When I saw the [Kickstarter] and spoke to the guy who started it, I realized it was an opportunity to do something good in a fun way.”

    Forty-one days and $65,783 later, Meow the Jewels was no longer a joke.

    According to a meet-up video featuring Jones and Run the Jewels, conducted by Phoenix New Times, the duo had no idea that the Kickstarter would reach its goal.

    In order for a Kickstarter project to become a reality, it must be funded by others, and in most cases, there are specific donation incentives. In the video, Killer Mike mentioned that the money raised for the cat-centric album would be donated to fight social issues involving police brutality.

    “[I will donate] directly to the families of [Eric] Garner and [Mike] Brown. If not, to anything to fight police brutality,” he said.

    Holly Kerrigan, a junior studying agricultural technology management and education, believes Killer Mike’s donation promises are gifts that will keep on giving.

    “I think that’s really awesome,” she said. “If they give the money to the families, those families could turn that money around and use it for good in the community.”

    According to Journalist’s Resource, surveys from recent years indicate that minority communities—specifically Latinos and African-Americans—believe that the police are likely to use excessive force.

    Criminal justice freshman Maya Velasquez agrees that police brutality affects minority groups more frequently than non-minority groups.

    “We [Hispanics are] more likely to be attacked by an officer since we’re judged more on crimes we’ve done in the past,” she said. “African-Americans are usually judged based on gangbangers, violence, drugs and other stereotypes.”

    Not to say that Killer Mike is the better half of Run the Jewels, but he is definitely the most outspoken.

    According to Diffuser, Killer Mike hosted a lecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which was part of the university’s Hip-Hop Speaker Series, and discussed topics ranging from race, to the music industry, to police brutality.

    Besides those topics, he made statements regarding President Barack Obama, saying he hasn’t made any momentous improvements on race relations when compared to other presidents.

    Political science freshman Amanda Flexas agrees with Killer Mike.

    “I haven’t noticed anything different; it seems like it’s gotten worse,” she said.

    Meanwhile, El-P sticks to using Twitter and being one of the most daring producers in today’s hip-hop music scene.

    If you haven’t already, listen to Meow the Jewels’ track “Meowrly” and expect to cough up a hairball of radness.

    Get a run for your money when Run the Jewels hits the Rialto Theatre on Sept. 29th!


    Follow Mark Flores on Twitter.


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