On the third and final day of Lollapalooza there wasn’t as diverse and great a lineup as there was the first two days. The rain being on and off much of the day didn’t help much either. One performance that was definitely not only a highlight of the whole day, but possibly of the whole weekend and really stood out was Hip-Hop duo, Run the Jewels, performing on the Palladia stage by the northern side of Grant Park.
With the rain still trickling, the duo of Killer Mike and El-P, showed that the DJ is still a very intimate part of Hip-Hop culture and a performance despite the internet in today’s climate of rap. While most rappers today don’t really care to seem what they say or even how they perform on stage, Run the Jewels is everything exactly the opposite of that and showed it with their DJ, Trackstar the DJ playing a very integral part in helping the duo throughout their set.
From the opening of their self-titled track from their critically acclaimed self-titled album, Run the Jewels, which was released last year to “Banana Clipper” and “36’ Chain,” the duo found their sea legs by the time they reached “Sea Legs” in their very intimate and hardcore packed set.
The duo, who are both really brilliant solo emcee’s and just as good if not better as a pair showed that Sunday afternoon with the undeniable chemistry they had on stage from “Big Beast” to “Tougher Colder Killer” and “Pew Pew Pew.” Their set was undeniably one of the more energetic, hardcore and enthusiastic ones the whole weekend.
In between raps Killer Mike and El-P, where a good source for laughs and each other. As they joked with the crowd in between songs and Mike even took several pictures, even asking fans for one photo to raise their fists and make a symbol like a gun so he could Instagram it.
The duo even brought out DJ Z-Trip before they closed out with “A Christmas F*****g Miracle,” to do scratches and show how much they really do appreciate and love the DJ. Which is rare in today’s culture and they really showed they still love despite it’s mostly non popularity.
With how intimate they were with their crowd you could really tell how much their fans really loved and appreciated the duo’s performance so much. Making it no surprise when El-P asked if they wanted the set to end or to get a preview of a track from their upcoming Run the Jewels 2 release, which is scheduled for later this year, the crowd gave a very enthusiastic, “Heck Yes!”
So the duo quickly gave a preview performance for only the second time of the only five days old and still not mixed Blockbuster Night Pt. 1 from their upcoming album.
With how loud, rile and energetic the crowd was throughout the performance, you could definitely tell they were satisfied with the performance as one of the best not only of the day, but all weekend and possibly that they seen all year.
If you weren’t already a Run the Jewels fan after seeing said performance, it most definitely made several new one’s this weekend with how well of a show and performance the duo put together on Sunday.