el-p

El-P Calls MF DOOM’s Death ‘A Severe Blow To The Writing World’ On Open Mike Eagle Podcast

by
Getty Image

MF DOOM‘s peers and admirers are still grieving his loss. When his death was announced on New Year’s Eve last year, many lamented the untimely demise of one of the foremost underground rappers in hip-hop and a pioneer for the genre. Run The Jewels member El-P took it a step further during the latest episode of Open Mike Eagle’s Stony Island podcast What Had Happened Was, calling DOOM’s death “a severe blow to the writing world” as a whole.

“I don’t just mean the rap world, lyric writing, [but] human writing,” he clarified. “The world lost an important writer.”

The episode, which was recorded in early January after the news broke, mainly focuses on El-P’s experience producing Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music LP, which laid the groundwork for their future partnership as Run The Jewels. It’s part of a multi-part series exploring El-P’s near-30-year career as a producer and rapper, from his beginnings in the New York underground as a member of Company Flow through his work as a label owner and near-mythic figure in the hip-hop world, much like DOOM.

Open Mike Eagle, meanwhile, paid tribute to his fallen collaborator in January, recording and sharing a freestyle borrowing DOOM’s iconic flow and paying tribute to the villain’s penchant for trolling his fans with doubles at one point in his career. You can listen to Open Mike and El-P’s latest episode of What Had Happened Was here.

Run The Jewels And Rage Against The Machine Will Finally Tour Together In 2022

by
Getty Image

Run The Jewels and Rage Against The Machine were supposed to team up for the “Public Service Announcement Tour” in 2020, but naturally, that did not come to pass. Dates were later pushed back to 2021, and now, both groups are set to finally hit the road together in 2022.

The new set of dates begins in Texas in March and features a number of North American stops before wrapping up with a week of Madison Square Garden in August.

Check out the full list of tour dates below and get tickets here.

03/31/2022 — El Paso, TX @ Don Haskins Center
04/02/2022 — Las Cruces, NM @ Pan American Center
04/04/2022 — Glendale, AZ @ Gila River Arena
04/06/2022 — Glendale, AZ @ Gila River Arena
04/26/2022 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
04/28/2022 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
04/30/2022 — Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
05/02/2022 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
05/05/2022 — Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum
05/07/2022 — Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
05/09/2022 — Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
05/11/2022 — Winnipeg, MB @ Bell MTS Place
05/13/2022 — Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center
05/15/2022 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
05/16/2022 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
05/18/2022 — Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center
05/20/2022 — St Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
05/22/2022 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
05/23/2022 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
07/09/2022 — East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
07/11/2022 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
07/12/2022 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
07/15/2022 — Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Bluesfest
07/16/2022 — Quebec City, QC @ Festival D’ete de Quebec *
07/19/2022 — Hamilton, ON @ FirstOntario Centre
07/21/2022 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
07/23/2022 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
07/25/2022 — Buffalo, NY @ KeyBank Center
07/27/2022 — Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
07/29/2022 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
07/31/2022 — Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena
08/02/2022 — Washington DC @ Capital One Arena
08/03/2022 — Washington DC @ Capital One Arena
08/08/2022 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/09/2022 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/11/2022 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/12/2022 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/14/2022 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden

* Run The Jewels not performing

Open Mike Eagle Will Collaborate With El-P On His ‘What Had Happened Was’ Podcast

by
Getty Image

In addition to being an art-rap pioneer and a fixture of the stand-up comedy circuit, Open Mike Eagle also records a podcast titled What Had Happened Was on his own podcast network. In its debut season last year, Mike interviewed guest Prince Paul for 12 episodes of the tales behind some of the legendary producers most storied works, including the Gravediggaz album, De La Soul’s Three Feet High And Rising, and more. Today, Mike announced that the show will return for a second season featuring another storied but sometimes overlooked producer: El-P.

While El-P has become something of an indie favorite in recent years due to his work with Adult Swim and Run The Jewels, his career spans all the way back to the mid-90s and includes underground rap staples like Company Flow’s debut album Funcrusher Plus, Cannibal Ox’s The Cold Vein, Cage’s Hell’s Winter, and his own string of widely-respected albums like Fantastic Damage and Cancer 4 Cure. El-P has plenty to talk about, and as Open Mike Eagle has proven to be an empathetic, enaging host, the second season of What Had Happened Was is sure to be a must-listen for indie rap fans.

The second season debuts 3/31 via Open Mike’s Stoney Island Audio network and continues weekly every Wednesday.