You might think that El-P, a native New Yorker, would be ecstatic to be listed as a clue in the hometown rag’s fan-favorite crossword puzzle for the day. The New York Times used “Rapper who’s half of Run The Jewels” as its clue, referencing El-P’s duo with Killer Mike. So, he called his latest accomplishment “pretty cool” on Instagram, but he still seemed excited enough to share it. He shared space on the puzzle with other such standout celebrities as Patton Oswalt and Ryan Reynolds, so he was in pretty good company.
Of course, he’s El-P, a guy who’s experienced success across three separate decades of rap history, scored video games inspired by the Blade Runner franchise (along with submitting a score for the film itself), and was even quoted during Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Cool things happen to him constantly. Currently, he’s detailing some of those cool things — as well as many of his numerous contributions to the hip-hop canon — on a podcast with Open Mike Eagle, and in 2022, he’ll be joining Killer Mike to tour with Rage Against The Machine. They’ll be touring with their lauded 2020 album, RTJ4, which was hailed as one of the year’s best behind songs like “A Few Words For The Firing Squad” and “Ooh La La.”
Check out El-P as a New York Times crossword clue above.