
El-P has been reading angry messages from Taylor Swift superfans ever since he dissed her new song “Welcome to New York” yesterday (Oct. 20), but we think we’ve found one thing they could agree on — cats.
Back on Oct. 15, El and Killer Mike’s keep-it-real hip-hip collaboration Run the Jewels reached its Kickstarter goal of $40,000, making the completely bonkers idea of Meow the Jewels — their new album remixed entirely via cat noises — a reality. In that spirit, El-P headed down to Brooklyn’s Bark Animal Shelter to audition some real cats for spots on the album.
The trip isn’t as productive as El-P may have hoped, but rest assured, the man who has an astronaut cat as his Twitter avatar resolved to keep looking for eager young cats looking to hop on a track. Strangely absent, though, is Killer Mike. (If he’s afraid of cats, we completely understand.)
Run the Jewels play ‘How Well Do You Know Your Band Mates’ @ Lollapalooza 2014
When it drops, Meow the Jewels will feature producers like Just Blaze, Alchemist, and Gaslamp Killer working amongst, and with, the meows.
who am i? the type of guy who can interview cats in a flowered hat without even the slightest hint of shame. i need to call my mom.
— el-p (@therealelp) October 21, 2014
Run the Jewels’ cat-free (we assume) album, RTJ2, the follow-up to 2013’s self-titled debut, drops Oct. 27.