Both rappers have had long solo careers, collaborated with other, sometimes more famous artists (many heard Mike for the first time on OutKast’s Stankonia), and had their names secured in the pantheon of crucial indie rap acts (El-P also co-founded the on-hiatus label Definitive Jux with Amaechi Uzoigwe). “I hate sushi,” he says. “But with RTJ, we have a certain criteria as collaborators and that it’s gotta mean something more. “We’ve got solo stuff we’re doing that’s coming out, but we see RTJ as the flagship project. From Kanye West to James Blake to Frank Ocean and back to Yeezus once again, this award is our way of celebrating the one singer/rapper/entertainer who helped define the year in music. Whether in the context of music or just kicking back after a show, El-P and Killer Mike always exude an air of chillness, cracking dick jokes like a couple of rap game The Dudes. We’re all people, and we all deserve dignity and respect.”. I think that has helped add to us and helped to demystify us — that we’re more than some Blues Brothers or Cheech and Chong type shit. You can’t ever control those moments, but you just try and get a general sense and what it meant for the both of us. The nominees (in alphabetical order) for British Artist of the Year are: The nominees (in alphabetical order) for International Artist of the Year are: Hosted by Chris Evans and Fearne Cotton, the show will take place in front of a live audience of 13,500 people at London’s Earls Court and will be broadcast to millions more across the country as all the action is broadcast on BBC One, Radio 1, Radio 2 and at bbc.co.uk/music. More than just a cohesive experience, it’s demonstrative of the entire dynamic El-P and Mike have cultivated over just two albums. Perhaps the most definitive and overt sign of this shift came with something as subtle as the names on the record. Music, which was entirely produced by El-P, and Run the Jewels’ first self-titled album, the latest demonstration of their partnership is Run the Jewels 2. And I was like, ‘Damn, we just finished a sold-out tour of 25 shows, but I’m just happy to be here eating sushi, which I fucking hate, with my friend.’ The music is a great thing, but I just love him as a friend.”, Live Review: Wrekmeister Harmonies at Chicago’s Bohemian National Cemetery (12/6), Dolly Parton Finally Puts Longtime Tattoo Rumors to Rest, Beastie Boys' Final Concert at Bonnaroo 2009 Is Streaming on YouTube All Weekend: Watch, Filter's Richard Patrick on Quitting Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor Told Me to Deliver Pizza, Dave Chappelle Unloads on Critics Upon Winning Emmy for Best Variety Special, Ranking: Every Martin Scorsese Film from Worst to Best, Rolling Stone Updated Its Top 500 Albums of All Time List So It's No Longer Just White Dudes, Meet the Inmate Who Attacked R Kelly with a Pen in Jail, Rick Moranis Makes First On-Screen Appearance in 23 Years Alongside Ryan Reynolds in Cell Phone Commercial, Dave Grohl and 10-Year-Old Nandi Bushell Face Off in Drum Battle: Watch, Great Pop Culture Merch at a Greatly Reduced Price, For Those Very Uninterested in Anti-Maskers' Opinions, These Are Martin Scorsese's Best - and Worst - Films, Dave Grohl Wrote a Theme Song for this 10-Year-Old Drummer. It had to be me and Mike and be a real thing and be even more integrated.”, That’s not to say their process as friends/collaborators is always so carefree and breezy. For El-P, it was an instance of faith in his beloved running buddy, stepping way outside his comfort zone to truly flourish. “If you know [Run the Jewels], then you know that’s who we are already,” he says. As El-P explains, though, the appeal of coming together doesn’t involve financial gain or even bolstered fame, but in finding a niche to exist within after so many years of going it alone. Instead, El-P says that the duo would often have to “fight to get on the same page,” not necessarily as people but “from a purely artistic approach.