Run the Jewels: February 2017’s cover stars revealed!

Photos: Phil Knott

Considering the UK’s Brexit-related shit-show, along with fact that the United States of America now has a hate-filled toupee as its president, the world feels in dire need of a hope-injection. In other words, 2017 has been calling out for Run the Jewels.

Two hugely influential voices in underground hip-hop before they even crossed paths, Killer Mike and El-P have unexpectedly seen their collaboration - originally intended as “a bit of a vacation” - grow into their sole focus over time. Now inseparable, their third album ‘Run the Jewels 3’ sees them breaking down yet more boundaries. There are still dick jokes a-plenty, of course (“‘My dick got a Michelin star,” from ‘Talk to Me’ proving a highlight) and yes, an almost unimaginable quantity of marijuana was consumed during the record’s making. But, alongside that trademark quick-smart humour, and overblown braggadocio, Run the Jewels serve up a giant dollop of hopefulness in a world that can, at times, look fairly hopeless.

“My grandmother used the word hope a lot when I was a kid,” Killer Mike tells us.“She didn’t use it wistfully. She would say ‘oh, I try to hope you all I can’. I think she was trying to say help, but she really meant hope. ‘I will pray and hope for you,’ she’d say,” Mike goes on. “I realised hope is a verb. It takes action.”

“I would love a kid to walk away feeling two things,” adds El-P, pondering the take-away message of ‘Run the Jewels 3’. “That they know where the fuck they stand, and at the same time, that they are determined to be a badass. A middle finger in the face of a tornado of shit,” El adds. “I’m not capable of giving anyone false hope, but what I can say is this. I can give you a little game, I can give you a little swagger, cos fuck all these motherfuckers. We already lost if it’s not ‘fuck you’. If it’s not ‘fuck you’ we’re already gone.”

That’s not all, of course. Elsewhere, we chat to Sundara Karma and VANT about their respective - and straight-up brilliant - debut albums; records which blaze out and state their intentions, as loud and bold as y’like. Cloud Nothings also talk stripping it back for their raw new album ‘Life Without Sound,’ and You Me At Six stake their claims to pole position. Meanwhile, the incredibly chaotic and ridiculously talented LA pop outfit MUNA talk debut record ‘About U,’ and start up their own cult in the process.

It doesn’t stop there, either - oh no! We’ve also rounded up every last particle of goss when it comes to 2017’s biggest incoming albums, and you’ll find updates from the likes of Royal Blood and George Ezra on their in-progress new musical gems.

Our new music know-it-all Neu introduces London bint-dissers Sälen, Brooklyn’s keenest hiker Maggie Rogers, and hyper-talented trio Girl Ray. Then, there’s all the usual news and reviews of every release worth its salt (and some that aren’t). There’s a whole tonne more in here too, but you’ll have to pick up the mag this Friday to find out exactly what. Oooooh, etc.

The February 2017 issue of DIY is out from midday on Friday 27th January, available free via stockists across the UK, readable online, or if you’d rather have a copy posted to you in person, you can do so (or subscribe!) below.