![]() ![]() Here’s a list of some of his most prominent production credits, in order of release (I know I’m missing tons of classics, but these are IMO the biggest names he’s collaborated with - here is a conclusive list, drop more of your favorites in the comments). He’s also Eminem’s official DJ and an in-house producer for Shady Records. This song put Alchemist into the mainstream, and from there he worked with nearly every prominent rapper from the 2000s and 2010s. This session led to the creation of “ The Realest”, off Mobb Deep’s fourth studio album, Murda Muzik, released in 1999. Al recalls, “I literally threw my ASR in the fucking case and got a cab and went to the studio and when I got there, G Rap was sitting there”. Al was woken up one late night by a call from Prodigy, telling him to come by the studio to play him and Havoc some beats. Al describes this encounter in an episode of B-Reals ‘ The Smokebox’, where he states, “when I moved to New York, Muggs had met Infamous Mobb, which were Mobb Deep’s homies, and Muggs was like, ‘Yo, you gotta hook up with them ’cause you’re our little homie and that’s their little homies.’ So I hooked up with Infamous Mobb first.” From this meeting, Al told Complex, ““They’re not the type of crew who would take to new people, I saw that right away.” Despite this, they took kindly to Al, and introduced him to Prodigy and Havoc of Mobb Deep. With the endorsement of Dilated People, Al became well-known in underground LA hip-hop circles, leading to him touring with Freddie Foxxx, Cypress Hill, M.O.P., and GangStarr in 1999.Īfter the tour, Al relocated to New York for school, where Muggs insisted he meet with Mobb Deep’s crew, who would go on to become Al’s most prominent collaborators. ![]() Over the next few years (1994-1997), Al honed his skills as a beatmaker under DJ Mugg’s guidance, until his first production credit on Dilated Peoples’ single “ Third Degree ” in 1997 (the lyrics page includes a quote from the Alchemist about making this track). After recording an unsuccessful single for Tommy Boy Records in 1993, Caan moved on to acting and Al became interested in hip hop production (it’s worth noting that The Whooliganz reunite on the track “ Byron G”, from the 2014 album Lord Steppington by The Alchemist and Evidence).ĭespite the failure of The Whooliganz, Al’s friendship with B-Real led to him meeting DJ Muggs, who took Al under his wing and taught him to produce hip hop records. ![]() The Alchemist’s long career in hip-hop began in 1991, when, at 14, he formed The Whooliganz, a hip-hop duo with Scott Caan (yes, that guy from Entourage and the Hawaii Five-0 reboot) that got the attention of B-Real of Cypress Hill at a party in LA. Since we all have some more time on our hands, I thought I would do a write up on The Alchemist, and his immense contributions to Hip Hop over the past 25 years (inspired by the skit at the end of “ Grand Concourse Benches” ft. ![]()
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