The Alchemist — 1st Infantry

Daniel Alan Maman was born in Beverly Hills, California, and musically grew up alongside Evidence and Scott Caan: with the latter form The Whooliganz, they're both noticed by B-Real (Cypress Hill) and included in the DJ Muggs group, the Soul Assassins, but the album that the duo is expected to release in 1993 is shelved by Tommy Boy. Caan deviates to an acting career, while rapper Maman recycles himself as a producer, aided by veteran DJ Muggs. In the late nineties, Maman, under the moniker The Alchemist, begins producing beats for several rappers, particularly some of the biggest exponents of gangsta rap / hardcore rap, who are dazzled by his almost perfect production for their dirty lyrics.

After five years of work, The Alchemist debuts with his solo album: sixty-five minutes of listening, nineteen tracks, three interludes and twenty guests including Mobb Deep, G-Unit, The LOX, MOP, Devin the Dude, Dilated Peoples, Chinky, B-Real, Nas and TI. After the triumphal intro, The Game and Prodigy of Mobb Deep are on a boom bap for "Dead Bodies", a good banger.

First interlude, then LOX cut on a dark, tense rhythm, perfect for the style of the trio. In 2004, Alchemist gained a good reputation as an underground producer, but virtually no one had considered him capable of making a chart hit until he released the single "Hold You Down / Stop the Show". Here you see much of this guy's talent, the work he did here borders on perfection: the beat is light, simple, relaxed, dope, short melodic intro by Nina Sky, then light drum and the chipmunk soul sample, brilliant. Look at the work he has done with this unknown sample! He goes to get "Love Theme From 'The Landlord'", which is a hidden b-side of a single by Al Kooper, a track extracted from the soundtrack of the movie "The Landlord" (1970) on which the singer himself worked. The song is short, but Al Kooper never says "hold you down": Alchemist cuts out another word from one of Al Kooper's next lines in the same song and creates a fantastic sound. Prodigy opens and closes the song with two verses, The Alchemist decides to spit out a few bars and Illa Ghee is also right, while Nina Sky's simple hook gives it sparkle and cements the whole song as a classic.

Interlude, then Stat Quo – unfortunately today is a name that doesn't tell you anything, but at the time it was one of the hottest names of the period: he was one of the few rappers to have signed for Eminem's Shady Records – along with MOP: beat rough, dirty, perfect for these guests. "D-Block to QB" is a posse with Styles P (LOX), J-Hood (D-Block), Havoc (Moob Deep) and Big Noyd (affiliated with Mobb Deep), on the dark and tense rhythm of Alchemist: it has the feeling that the performers have not fully exploited the choice of the beatmaker. Lloyd Banks has a good punchy beat on "Bangers", but for some strange reason he doesn't kill the cut and performs with his usual style, almost lacking the right energy.

The production of the album becomes funky and smooth in "Where Can We Go", sexual tune of Devin the Dude. Moob Deep show up on "It's a Craze", skinny dry drum machine, cheap synths and a not too inspired delivery from the duo. Dilated Peoples perform on a competent production of Alchemist, good rhythm suited to the smooth delivery of the group, before "Boost the Crime Rate", generic g-ish song with a discreet but not excellent beat.

"Strength of Pain" is a solo by Chinky, Alchemist continues to outdo himself, the production is obviously lighter than usual, but equally incisive and the singer is in shape. "Bang Out" is a banger without a few doubts, B-Real annihilates the rhythm, follows "Tick Tock", another banger: perfect boom bap, with looped piano samples in the background, good bass, soulful production, Nas and Prodigy in the same cut while spitting street bars, after a sort of non-publicized feud; simple hook, excellent deliveries by the rappers. Unlike P$C, T.I. goes well on another good rhythm of Alchemist in "Pimp Squad", closes "Different Worlds", back and forth track by the same producer with Twin: simple, vibrant boom bap, excellent delivery of the two performers.

Overall, The Alchemist doesn't disappoint in his debut: the production is solid and varied, at times brilliant, and the artist proves to live up to the reputation of his talent. The lyrics are pretty generic and mediocre gangsta/thug, but they're not attributable to the work of the producer. Released by Alchemist's label ALC Records, distributed by the independent Koch Records, the album, with the formula of the typical mixtape, is welcomed in a enthusiastic way by specialized critics and gets a good commercial success, led by the single "Hold You Down", entering the top ten of underground records, rap records, charting in France and among UK Independent Albums, and peaking #1 in the US Heatseekers chart.

Highlights: "The Essence", "Hold You Down", "Stop the Show", "Where Can We Go", "Strength of Pain", "Bang Out", "Tick Tock", "Different Worlds".

Rating: 7.5/10.