— Celebrated American rap duo Run the Jewels (aka Brooklyn’s EL-P & Atlanta’s Killer Mike) are proud to announce the release of RTJ CU4TRO, dropping November 11th via Jewel Runners / BMG.
Inspired by recent remixes from Mexican Institute of Sound (“Ooh La La”) and Toy Selectah (“JU$T), Run the Jewels have reimagined their entire 2020 hit album, RTJ4, through the prism of collaboration with a line up of amazing Latin American artists, rappers, producers, singers, musicians, visual artists, & more. To make it happen the group enlisted longtime ally Nick Hook (RTJ, 21 Savage, Young Thug, Fool’s Gold), to help curate & co-executive produce the album, and his deep relationships across LATAM were invaluable in bringing the project to fruition.
From recent Latin Grammy nominees Bomba Estéreo & Akapellah, to Brazil’s Baco Exu Do Blues & Sepultura co-founder Iggor Cavalera, to Sarah La Morena & Zack de la Rocha, to Mexican Institute of Sound & Santa Fe Klan, who combined on the first release “Ooh La La” (featured in the trailer for Pixar’s Puss n’ Boots) & many more, RTJ CU4TRO is an album authentically unique, engaging, diverse, & rewarding. When discussing the project, EL-P has said,
“We are honored and delighted to have had the opportunity to work with the amazing producers, vocalists, musicians, and artists who made this album happen. We set out to make a remix album, but we consider the end result of RTJ CU4TRO to be more than that. it’s a reimagining of RTJ4 through the lens of collaboration and a fusing of numerous musical cultures and influences… a rare chance for us to connect, create and be inspired by people who we may never have had the chance to get down with if we weren’t lucky enough to be in a position to put it all together. We thank them for all their generosity, energy, and creativity. this is a piece of music filled with love, respect and craft and everyone truly gave it their all, genuinely humbling us in the process.”
Today, Run the Jewels have released the lead single from the ambitious project, “Caminando en la Nieve” (Orestes Gomez & Nick Hook’s version) featuring Akapellah, Apache, & Pawmps. Using the original music and verses from “Walking in the Snow” as the jump off, the track maintains the searing insight from Mike and El and musical thump of the original, adding a visceral new layer of lyricism and perspective from Venezualian rappers Akapellah and Apache, Mexican rapper Pawmps (doing her interpretation of the now famous Gangsta Boo hook), and musical reinterpretation from Orestes Gomez and Nick Hook.
The support & enthusiasm of CU4TRO’s collaborators for the project underscores the special quality of the album plus the effort put into creating it. Rapper Akapellah, who was recently nominated for a Latin Grammy says,
“It’s a pleasure for me to be part of such an amazing body of work. CU4TRO will lead to a huge change in the way we connect. We made great music from the bottom of our hearts for the world, and by combining different sounds & views, we hope it will eventually lead to a revolution & revelation within all of our cultures.”
In addition to the album’s release on November 11th, Run the Jewels will be performing at Mexico’s largest music festival, Corona Capital, on November 18th, and will be releasing their 3rd craft beer with Mexico’s Cerveza Minerva. An India Pale Ale also dubbed CU4TRO, the beer is infused with mezcal via RTJ’s partnership with Mexican craft distillery El Tinieblo. There will also be limited edition versions of the CU4TRO craft beer brewed for the release, which will be available via RTJ’s own beverage delivery service BaRTJ.club and the soon-to-be-launched BaRTJ UK, as well as in Mexico via Cerveza Minerva. In addition, RTJ will be releasing a gourmet CU4TRO coffee with Chicago’s Mexican-American brewer Dark Matter, also available via BaRTJ.club & select retailers.
And true to form for Run the Jewels, the group was committed to adding a charitable component to the campaign, aligning with sweepstakes platform Omaze to offer a chance to win their signature ride, a 1985 Buick Grand National, which has already raised $70k & counting, that will be donated to the ACLU to help reunite & repair families who’ve been separated and traumatized at the US/Mexican border. They will also be releasing an exclusive merchandise item with 100% of profits going to help support women’s shelters in Mexico.
Listen to “Caminando en la Nieve” right here, check out the RTJ CU4TRO Tracklist below, and be sure to stay tuned for more news from Run the Jewels soon!
RTJ QU4TRO TRACK LIST
1. yankee y el valiente – (TROOKO’s versión)
2. ooh la la ft. Santa Fe Klan – (Mexican Institute of Sound’s versión)
3. fuera de vista ft. Baco Exu Do Blues – (TROOKO’s versión)
4. santa calamifuck (Eva, Chucho, Yulian x Nick Hook’s versión)
5. goonies contra E.T. ft. Sarah La Morena & El Individuo (Danny Brasco x Nick Hook’s versión)
6. caminando en la nieve ft. Akapellah, Apache & Pawmps – (Orestes Gomez x Nick Hook’s versión)
7. JU$T ft. Pharrell Williams & Zack de la Rocha – (Toy Selectah’s versión)
8. nunca mirar hacia atrás – (Bomba Estéreo’s versión)
9. el suelo debajo – (Son Rompe Pera’s versión)
10. tirando el detonador ft. Lido Pimienta, Javier Arce, Iggor Cavalera – (Mas Aya x Nick Hook’s versión)
11. unas palabras para el pelotón de fusilamiento (Radiación) – (Adrián Terrazas-González x El-Producto’s versión)