El-P Isn’t Happy With Kevin Hart’s ‘Run the Jewels’ Movie

On Tuesday (June 21), The Hollywood Reporter published an exclusive story on an upcoming Kevin Hart-produced film titled Run the Jewels, which "centers on a group of failed rappers who attempt to rob an eccentric hip-hop mogul." The comedy was acquired by Universal, and adds to Hart's ever-expanding resume, but that title, well, it's sort of already taken by a rap group that was clearly not consulted on the issue.

El-P and Killer Mike have been rapping as Run the Jewels for three years now, and though the extent to which they've trademarked the name isn't presently known, El-P took to Twitter yesterday evening to note that action will be taken. "Excuse me while I go starve a savage pack of lawyers for 7 days," he wrote, making reference to a recent Game of Thrones episode, with his lawyers taking the place of rabid hounds in the metaphor.

El was then asked why Hart, who has his own history working with rappers like Drake and T.I., didn't at least call the group to ask for permission. "Prolly lost our number. It's cool we'll be calling them," he said in response. The Brooklyn-based producer and rapper has made mention of a Run the Jewels film, as one fan dug up a 2013 tweet as evidence, though El clarifies that he meant the project to be for him and Mike.

This seems to be a lesson in how not to step on other people's toes, with a simple phone call likely eliminating any legal repercussion, which looks like where things are headed at this point. While "run the jewels" was slang for robbing someone prior to the duo's inception, in the time since, they have toured and released enough music to become synonymous with the three word phrase. Check El-P's tweets on the subject below, with further film details available courtesy of THR.

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