Following the surprise early release of their third album Run The Jewels 3, Run The Jewels have launched their 2017 tour, kicking things off at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Not only was it a special night because it was the opening evening of their tour, but it’s the very first time they’ve performed many RTJ 3 songs live, including Call Ticketron, Legend Has It, Talk To Me and Panther Like A Panther among others.
The tag team of Killer Mike and El-P have long been praised for their incredibly engaging, high-energy shows, and have now performed several songs from the new album for the first time. There’s no official footage, but thanks to social media we’re able to get a taste of what it sounds like on stage, and what lucky ticket-holders can expect for any upcoming shows.
Here, El-P shares a hilarious story of the last time he visited the venue, opening for the Beastie Boys in the late 1990s.
In the video below, an exuberant El-P addresses the crowd: “We’ve never done these songs before, you are the first fucking crowd in the world to hear Run The Jewels 3 live. Write that shit in your diary, like I did. This next jam, I’m scared to see what happens. Let’s go!”
Below, listen to El-P joking about quitting RTJ to become a spoken word poet, before launching into an acapella Panther Like A Panther:
Below, they play their DJ Shadow collaboration Nobody Speak, and new track Hey Kids (Burmaye)
Run The Jewels last visited Australia across New Years 2014-2015, when they played at Falls Festival alongside a headline tour. Fingers crossed they’ll announce a visit down under some time this year – RTJ for Splendour in the Grass, anyone?
Read our 2015 interview with Run The Jewels