Alchemist: A New Battle

It’s hard to say where and when the ‘soopa-producer’ thing started. Maybe it was Premier. Who knows though. It kinda doesn’t matter, but the crop of behind the boards dudes that have risen since the ‘90s have made a bigger impact on the genre than CL Smooth, Jam Master Jay (prior to his murder, of course) or anyone else. One of the most visible producers to have his profile raised to ridiculous heights, who has nothing to do with Neptunes or whoever else, is So Cal’s the Alchemist. And while he’s not quite yet reached the all pervasive media peak that Kanye or Dre has attained, he might get there soon.

The Alchemist (nee Alan Daniel Maman), while currently engaged by Eminem as a tour dee jay, has a pretty exhaustive back log of credits for someone who’s just been working the game for about a decade. The list of guests that graces his newest disc – Chemical Warfare – though, should point out the talent flowing from each one of the Alchemist’s productions. There’s no other way to explain folks as disparate as KRS One, Jadakiss and Blu showing up on a single disc. But the range of guests – and styles invoked by the producer – presents itself as a weird cultural turning point that serves to put on display the innumerable caveats of the genre.

As acutely aware of this backpacker vs. thuggin’ support that he’s amassed, the Alchemist makes it the target and punch line of more than one joke on the album. In Golden Age fashion, a good number of the tracks here end with some sort of skit or other connective theme. Between “Grand Concourse Benches” and “Therapy” a bit of back and forth transpires. With the supposed enlighten backpacker criticizing those nefarious emcees who have apparently lead to the death of hip hop culture, a verbal exchange ensues resulting in the demise of the formers laptop – yeah, he’s a blogger on top of sounding like a nerdy scientist. Of course the fact that the following song features a member of Dialated Peoples, Kid Cudi and Talib Kweli shouldn’t be lost on listeners. Three Six Mafia leads the next track – even astray - but regardless of where one’s rap alliances lay, the ability of these Alchemist productions to buoy any rapper is what should be noticed.

Even when Chemical Warfare moves away from the comedic interludes to some booty track – “Keep the Heels On” – the essence of this disc stems from the producers wide ranging taste. The disc might get a few more spins and rack up some higher sales numbers as a result of Alchemist’s new day job, but that notwithstanding, his future projects display a dedication to the game beyond a number of current performers. Listeners are even treated to a bit of what’s to come as the Alchemist, who grabs the mic on “Acts of Violence,” is joined by Oh No as the two comprise Gangrene. And while the results of that collabo remain to be seen, this disc has already proved itself a monstrous addition to the class of 2009.