Get ready - work has begun on Run the Jewels 3

They’ve been building up to it right since ‘Run the Jewels 2’ came out, and now El-P and Killer Mike have officially started work on their third album.

El-P took to Instagram earlier this week to confirm they were “just getting started” on their next LP. He also shared a tiny, six-second snippet of new music.

Run the Jewels haven’t exactly been quiet in-between records. They gave good on their pledge to make an album consisting entirely of cat sounds (‘Meow the Jewels’). And they continued to establish their place as one of most prominent voices in hip-hop. They ranked at #5 in our rundown of the acts who defined 2015 - catch up with that list here.

Speaking to DIY earlier this year, Killer Mike confirmed that ‘Run the Jewels 3’ would be a free release. “It cuts out the marketing meeting to try to do people into buying a record that’s already leaked. That relationship works really well for us and our audience. We can’t tell you that’s the secret for everybody in music, but it looks like it worked for us.”

Photo: Grady Brannan / DIY.