Run the Jewels

CTL-E-5799 · Person · group · 2013–present

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07062 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-5799.

Run the Jewels is the hip-hop duo of Brooklyn rapper-producer El-P and Atlanta rapper Killer Mike. The partnership grew directly out of El-P's production of Killer Mike's solo album R.A.P. Music (2012); the two formed Run the Jewels in 2013 and released their self-titled debut that June on Fool's Gold Records as a free download. Run the Jewels 2 (2014) moved the duo from underground acclaim to the Billboard 200, and its crowd-funded cat-sound remix, Meow the Jewels (2015), sent its proceeds to charity. Run the Jewels 3, released digitally on December 24, 2016, became the duo's first number one on Billboard's rap and R&B/hip-hop album charts, and RTJ4 (2020) reached the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The duo's work with Danger Mouse and Big Boi on 'Chase Me' (2017) earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song. AllMusic characterizes the pair's records as hard-hitting and ominous in production, trading aggressive and wry rhymes on social issues, life and death; the graph already holds Killer Mike's record (CTL-E-5677), and this record is the duo endpoint it was missing.

The record

• Also known as: RTJ

Notes

STAGED 2026-10-16 (747 Program, Named Remainders & Further Gaps, Batch D) — not merged; awaits founder merge go. Gate A: no match in the live graph (3,443 entities) under exact or name screening, 2026-10-16. Typing: Person/subtype 'group' per PPL-001 precedent; a duo is typed 'group' on the Public Enemy/X-Clan pattern. Vital status: active duo — listed as a supporting act on Wu-Tang Clan's 2025 'Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber' tour (Wikipedia tour listing, accessed October 2026). Minor dating note, shown not blended: RTJ3's digital release was December 24, 2016 (discography); some retail/biographical copy dates the album to 2017 (its physical-release window) — this record carries 2016. Photo HELD — see media. MEDIA LAYER (staged 2026-10-16; full per-asset PHOTO-001 records + embed specs in the packet's staged JSON, Drive packet folder): map = N/A (Person records carry no map slot under the media-layer rule; maps attach to places and institutions.) | visual_assets = HELD: No file-page-level PHOTO-001 license verification completed at staging; slot held rather than filled on mirror | chart = FILLED (CTL-created timeline built only from this record's sourced facts; CTL-branded palette (black / deep red / gold) | video = HELD (No CTL Short bills Run the Jewels. Short #178 bills member Killer Mike by name and rides his record (CTL-E-567) | audio = HELD (No CTL-owned or rights-cleared matching-entity audio exists at staging. RTJ recordings are Jewel Runners/BMG a)

Referenced by

• Killer Mike — related to → this record

Sources

• AllMusic, 'Run the Jewels' biography — Grammy-nominated duo of El-P and Killer Mike; formed after El-P produced R.A.P. Music (2012); debut (2013, Fool's Gold); RTJ3 a U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop number one; RTJ4 (2020) Top Ten in the U.S. and U.K. [primary] (primary source · build store)
• Wikipedia, 'Run the Jewels' and 'Run the Jewels discography' — debut released June 26, 2013 as a free download; RTJ2 October 24, 2014; Meow the Jewels September 25, 2015, proceeds to charity; RTJ3 December 24, 2016, Billboard 200 No. 13, Rap/R&B-Hip-Hop No. 1; RTJ4 June 3, 2020, No. 10; 'Chase Me' Grammy nomination (Best Rap Song, 2018 ceremony) (build store)
• CultureTechLens graph record CTL-E-5677 (Killer Mike) — R.A.P. Music (2012) produced by El-P; the two formed Run the Jewels in 2013 and released four albums (build store)

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Record CTL-E-5799 · Combined Graph record U-07062 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 3 sources · 1 mapped relationship.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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