If I were El-P I'd sell out too. Sell out shows.

They've made two solid records and when I saw them they put on a fun show. No complaints here

Not bad points and I even sort of agree with you about Killer Mike. I feel like El runs circles around Mike as far as intellect goes. And ultimately their collaborative social commentary comes off as a little half-baked because of this.

And as someone (like maybe everyone?) who also came up on Def Jux it's disappointing that this had to happen in order to break out El-P.

That said, I think Killer Mike is a dope rapper with a much cooler voice and delivery than El, and that alone justifies the collaboration. As for selling out, I actually think selling Jack Daniels is a cool thing to do, I would do it myself if I could, so no argument there. And being on Nas's label (distributed by Sony) seems like something El would have always done if he had the opportunity.

Mostly I disagree that El sold out because I feel like a major consistent theme in his lyrics is his determination to stay in control of his music and his life, which seems to be precisely where he is today.

Most artists are out to make a living performing and selling albums. I don't consider it selling out if you make it big and work with major labels. Good for them. It's only selling out if they put out whatever their "bosses" tell them to and stop making their music. Seems like there is this double standard where regular listeners can enjoy Nike and big name brands but as soon as those brands endorse or collaborate with your favorite indie/underground artist then the artist becomes a sell out. They're regular people too!

^ Right. Any of us in their shoes would sell out too.

Wait, is Run The Jewels considered mainstream?

They aren't. Some exposure on mainstream outlets doesn't make you mainstream.

Wait what? So you think he sold out, why? I think he's still making the music that he wants to make.

:p:

What i meant was that even if some ppl consider him a sellout, i can't blame him for doing it.

Personally i just like his music but i haven't kept up with his career that much so idk if he indeed sold out. maybe he just got to be so popular he's crossing over from an underground artist to a mainstream one.

I don't think that El-P has sold out musically. The image building around his music and the gimmicky stuff is where that comes in. It attracts more fans than the music alone would, which is a good thing I guess because it hasn't affected the music too heavily. With that being said, I'd rather see a new solo El-P album than a new RTJ record.