The Music Man: I’m already waiting for Run The Jewels to come back to Kansas City
October 23, 2015
In Run The Jewels’ 2 ½-year career, the hip-hop duo has done a lot. Members Jaime “El-P” Meline and Michael “Killer Mike” Render have topped critics’ best-of-the-year lists, played sets at festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo and even remixed their second album, “Run The Jewels 2,” using cat sounds. Despite the duo’s expansive resume, Run The Jewels hadn’t performed in Kansas City until Thursday night, when the “Jewel Runner” tour stopped at the Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland for a show that was worth the wait.
Before Run The Jewels, El-P and Killer Mike were both well-known solo artists in the world of alternative hip-hop. El-P made a name for himself as a producer and rapper, especially with his critically acclaimed album “Cancer 4 Cure.” Killer Mike became well-known in southern hip-hop, frequently collaborating with Big-Boi and earning a Grammy for “The Whole World,” an Outkast song he was featured on. The two have made two albums together, “Run The Jewels” and “Run The Jewels 2,” both of which met critical acclaim upon release. After hearing the albums for myself, I just had to see Run The Jewels when they came to Kansas City on the “Jewel Runner” tour.
The openers put on a show by themselves, getting the crowd more than hyped for Run the Jewels. Cuz Lightyear performed first, and, while it was a little odd for him to spend over half his 15-minute performance wearing a mask, he impressed me with an a capella rap toward the end of his set. Next was Fashawn, a more experienced rapper who worked the stage and crowd extremely well, and DJ Fresh, his live producer who performed two songs from the from of the stage using separate, carryable DJ equipment. Introduced to the audience by El-P, Boots brought the opening acts to a close as he rapped, sang and danced over some ambient, bass-heavy backing from a band of two keyboardist/vocalists and a drummer.
Run the Jewels took the stage to Queen’s “We Are The Champions,” which felt oddly fitting to precede a hip-hop performance. El-P and Killer Mike were all smiles as they led the audience in a singalong. But, once the song was over, they turned strictly business as Killer Mike said they were going to burn it down (in more explicit terms, of course) and they launched into the aptly titled “Run The Jewels.”
El-P and Killer Mike started the show energetically, and kept that going throughout the night. Once a song’s beat dropped, they ran and jumped around the stage while rapping with unrivaled passion. Run The Jewels’ live producer, DJ Trackstar, made the show even more exciting as he backed their hard raps with equally hard beats.
“Run The Jewels” and “Oh My Darling Don’t Cry” started the show fantastically by setting a precedent for El-P and Killer Mike’s energy levels. The duo got the audience to go absolutely wild during “Close Your Eyes,” and I’ve witnessed few more exciting things than that performance. Toward the end of the show, “All Due Respect” combined amazing production with great rapping to make the song especially memorable.
The duo also knew how to get serious, though. El-P brought up politics toward the middle of the set, and, while Killer Mike said he feels the Bern (that is, he supports Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders) “like the Holy Ghost,” El-P used his distrust for politicians to transition into an impassioned performance of “Lie, Cheat, Steal.” Afterward, the duo gave a heartfelt performance of “Early” — a song written in response to police brutality — and Boots came out to sing the chorus and amplify the song’s power.
Nothing was more powerful than Run The Jewels’ ending songs, though. To end its regular set, the duo performed “A Christmas F—ing Miracle” (my absolute favorite Run The Jewels song) and dedicated it to anyone who’s ever lost someone close. I thought Mike and El had left it all on the stage for that song, but they clearly had more to give as they took the stage again for an encore of “Angel Duster.” The song gave El-P, Killer Mike and DJ Trackstar all opportunities to shine, and, once they left the stage for good, I was more than impressed.
Throughout the show, El-P and Killer Mike had many compliments for Kansas City, on everything from its barbecue to what Strange Music and Tech N9ne have done for independent hip-hop music. Within the first few songs of their set, they even made a promise to come back to Kansas City. Let’s just hope it’s soon.
Senior Justin Curto is an avid music lover whose tastes range from alternative rock to dance pop. He enjoys supporting the Kansas City music scene by listening longer to 96.5 The Buzz, rocking out to local music and seeing artists live at his favorite venues in the area.
