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Big Boi Joins Run the Jewels for Enemy-Neutering ‘Banana Clipper’

Run the Jewels Big Boi Killer Mike El-P 'Banana Clipper'

When SPIN visited Run the Jewels in the studio, producer/MC El-P explained the project’s larcenous name as “probably like the hardest shit you can possibly say.” He and Killer Mike maintain a commitment to that very cause in their songs as a duo, and on the freshly shared full version of “Banana Clipper,” Big Boi joins them in that excellent, often eloquent endeavor. The duo’s constituents trade fierce bars for most of the song, dissing all possible opponents while big-upping each other with aplomb: “Producer gave me a beat, said it’s the beat of the year / I said El-P didn’t do it, so get the fuck outta here.” El, in turn, defines his rap style as “Chernobyl talk,” before leveling the field for the entry of Daddy Fat Sax himself. Though kinda tacked onto the end, Big Boi sounds right at home over the squalling track, rapping lithely and bragging with the best of them. We dare you to find something wrong with it. Come July, the pair hit the road supported by Def Jux affiliate Despot and former Das Racist member Kool A.D. Get it.

Run the Jewels tour dates:

July 10 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Blues Fest
July 11 – Toronto, ON @ Hoxton
July 12 – Mariaville, NY @ Camp Bisco
July 13 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Altar Bar
July 14 – Louisville, KY @ Forecastle Festival
July 16 – Nashville, TN @ Exit In
July 17 – St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
July 18 – Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s Oasis
July 19 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
July 20 – Madison, WI @ Uw Memorial Union
July 21 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Festival
July 24 – Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room
July 25 – Calgary, AB @ Republik
July 26 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore
July 27 – Seattle, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party
July 28 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
July 30 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
August 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
August 2 – Sana Ana, CA @ The Observatory
August 3 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
August 5 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
August 6 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
August 7 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
August 8 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
August 9 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
August 10 – Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
August 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
August 13 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
August 14 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall