You have to give it up to El-P and Killer Mike for their willingness to explore unchartered territory in Hip-Hop with the release of their album Meow The Jewels. But we must also thank the fans that brought the interesting remix of Run The Jewels 2 to life.
A Kickstarter campaign smashed its original goal of $40,000 and raised over $65,000 to make this project a reality. After almost a full year and teased with the single “Meowrly,” Meow The Jewels is finally here. Producers like Just Blaze, Prince Paul and The Alchemist lend their legendary production talents to the album.
But how do fans feel?
University of Georgia’s Zach Hansen dissected the album for The Red & Black, in a mixed review of this vanguard release, which will probably usher in a new style/format of remix albums derived from more eccentric sounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEgoBOZ9cug
The album is its most interesting when it ditches the constructs of the original “Run The Jewels 2” tracks, and instead devolves into a cacophony (or “cat-cophony”) of noise. The end of the song “Pawfluffer Night (Zola Jesus Remix)” provides a strong example of this, as the track deconstructs completely by its end, crumbling in a warbling digitized orgy of harsh noise that covers up Killer Mike’s vocals completely.
The turbulent crashing of beats and tones sounds more like something Death Grips would do, added to the more hilarious concepts that reflect jokester personalities of Killer Mike and El-P.
Pawfluffer Night (Zola Jesus Remix)” displays the album’s biggest weakness as well, as it neutralizes El-P’s original arrangements, which were part of what made “Run The Jewels 2” such an enjoyable album to begin with. The original beat to “Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1,” the song’s non-feline source material, made the track what it was.
Read the full review on the University of Georgia’s student newspaper, The Red & Black or listen to the album and decide for yourself below:
