Run The Jewels recently released their new album, RTJ4, a couple days early. So, for charting purposes, the album’s debut week consisted only of listening data from last Wednesday and Thursday. In spite of that, RTJ4 is already the duo’s highest-charting album ever thanks to its No. 10 debut on the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, El-P is an active presence on Twitter, and after the news of RTJ4‘s chart placement was revealed, El found himself in what ended up being a sort of impromptu question-and-answer session: Last night, he spent a good chunk of time responding to tweets from fans asking questions about RTJ4.
One fan asked about a sample that El-P previously mentioned he was trying to clear so he could use it on the album, and he revealed that he wasn’t able to get permission to use the audio in question, whatever it was: “it wasn’t cleared so it didn’t make the album so you’ll never know.” Somebody else asked if that prevented the track from appearing on the album at all, and El-P revealed that he “remixed the whole song.”
it wasn’t cleared so it didn’t make the album so you’ll never know https://t.co/e0NUD3Aak2
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
remixed the whole song. https://t.co/w9Fm6SO0Rm
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
Speaking of things that didn’t make the album, El noted, “we also have a version of walking in the snow where the last section has about 12 more bars of me and mike going back and forth.” A number of RTJ4 songs went through multiple phases, like “Ju$t” and “Out Of Sight.”
we also have a version of walking in the snow where the last section has about 12 more bars of me and mike going back and forth. https://t.co/Z5uDsYPz8k
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
if only the world knew how many versions of the walking in the snow beat i made before i settled into the final one. every album has one.
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
that one too went through about 4 different iterations. https://t.co/uMsLtWLXv8
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
out of sight was always that beat although i chopped it about 1000 diff ways https://t.co/K165msVlyn
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
Check out some more inside info about RTJ4 from El-P below.
i do that yes but it gets debated. https://t.co/G3wTyAUSzQ
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
ok that originally had a diff beat and the hook you hear on the album version is a pitched down version of me singing that i demo’d up and originally intended for elton john. i’m not even kidding. https://t.co/FPSty9kU5r
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
true story: the OG waking in the snow hook was just me but pitched up and i was stoned and thought “this sounds like a shitty version of @GangstaBooQOM why don’t i get boo wtf was i thinking”.
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
yes he only contributed to pulling the pin. the guitar in the intro to walking in the snow was played by @littleshalimar who’s been my go to guitar guy for years. https://t.co/i35O0nWpCe
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
nope we sampled our friend nicholas ryan gant singing. https://t.co/aJXKsQQsEJ
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
that’s not a sample we got the great Cutty Ranks to say the line for us and i chopped it up https://t.co/uGZKFh70VZ
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020
our friend david ferguson https://t.co/ayph7e3AlZ
— el-p (@therealelp) June 9, 2020