The Alchemist (producer)

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The Alchemist
Birth name Alan Maman
Origin Beverly Hills, California
Genre(s) Hip Hop
Occupation(s) Rapper, record producer
Years active 1993–present
Label(s) Shady Records
ALC
Koch
Decon
Associated acts Prodigy, Mobb Deep, Infamous Mobb, Evidence, Dilated Peoples, Nas

Alan Daniel Maman, better known as The Alchemist, is a hip hop producer. He hails from affluent Beverly Hills, California.[1] After rising to prominence in the late 1990s as a close associate of Dilated Peoples and Mobb Deep, he went on to produce for many of hip hop's leading artists in the 2000s, and has been hailed as one of the genre's leading producers.[2]

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Early

As a teenager, Al began to identify strongly with the rebellious lyrics and urban sounds of hip-hop, and he began writing his own lyrics as a creative outlet. He joined up with other like-minded artists who wrote lyrics and rebelled strongly against their "uptight" suburban surroundings. He was also associated with Shifty Shellshock of Crazy Town, Evidence of Dilated Peoples and Scott Caan, son of James Caan. Al and Scott decided to become a duo named The Whooliganz.[1] While rhyming at a party in L.A., they attracted the attention of B-Real of Cypress Hill. He invited the teens to join his crew, The Soul Assassins, which also included the groups House of Pain and Funkdoobiest.[1] In 1993, the Whooliganz released their first single, "Put Your Handz Up." The song received little radio airplay and their record label, Tommy Boy Records, decided to shelve their album.[1] Rejected, Scott focused his creative energy on acting while Al became interested in process of making hip-hop beats

DJ Muggs took Al under his wing and taught him how to use a sampler and mixing board.[1] After helping to produce a few tracks for Cypress Hill, Al became the main producer for his childhood friend, Evidence and his group Dilated Peoples.

[edit] Late 1990s-Present

When Dilated debuted in 1998, they were an underground sensation creating a huge buzz about the man behind the beats. Alchemist also produced several tracks on the debut album Focused Daily by Defari, another Dilated and Alkaholik affiliate. In 1999, Muggs introduced Al to his good friends, the popular hip-hop group Mobb Deep. Al produced two songs for their Murda Muzik album.[1] Impressed by his production skills and street smarts, Mobb Deep took him under their wing, using his beats on all their subsequent albums. As Alchemist's profile increased, he went on to produce for many of hip hop's most successful and prominent artists, such as Nas, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Ghostface Killah and Snoop Dogg.[1] He has also remixed songs for bands and artists in other genres such as Linkin Park and Morcheeba.[1] Al stayed loyal to his old friends, continuing to produce for Dilated, Cypress Hill, Everlast (formerly of House of Pain) and Crazy Town. He also enjoys producing for lesser-known underground rappers, often giving them some of his best beats. In 2004, 11 years after his rapping career folded, The Alchemist returned with his long-awaited debut album, "1st Infantry." The album yielded the hit single "Hold You Down" (featuring Prodigy, and Nina Sky), which hit number ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2005.

[edit] Rass Kass feud

In 1999, The Alchemist was set to produce 3 tracks for rapper Ras Kass' upcoming album, "Van Gogh", which was scheduled for a late 2000 release at the time. One of the said tracks was "Home Sweet Home", which was to be the lead single for Rass Kass' album. After The Alchemist received the first half of the payment for the beat, he says Ras Kass' record label (Priority) was ignoring him. They later met up in August at the Source Awards in Pasadena, California. He let him know he'd been show casing it to other artists. Jadakiss would then go on to record "We Gonna Make It" over the same beat, on his 2001 release, Kiss Tha Game Goodbye. When Ras Kass took notice, he attempted to stop the release by releasing his version of the song on mixtapes, but to no success.[3] This prompted Ras to dis Alchemist in freestyles and on a track from Van Gogh. Eventually the beef ended so he could concentrate on his legal problems but still cites a loss of respect for the producer. However, during 2006, The Alchemist was featured on a skit in the Revenge of the Spit mixtape. Furthermore, in an interview with www.hiphopgame.com, Ras admits that he was being stubborn and refused to listen to what the Alchemist was trying to tell him. The two have squashed the beef and Alchemist produced the song "Past, Future, and Present" and did the intro for the song that appeared on Revenge of the Spit.

[edit] Anger Management Tour

Alchemist was signed on as the official tour DJ for Eminem on the 2005 Anger Management 3 Tour, replacing the recently-ousted DJ Green Lantern. [4] However on July 13 2005, the tour bus carrying Eminem's entourage (including rapper Stat Quo as well as Alchemist) swerved off the road and turned over. Alchemist was treated for broken ribs and a collapsed lung. [5]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Mixtapes

  • The Cutting Room Floor Vol. I (2003)
  • No Days Off (2006)
  • The Chemistry Files Vol. 1 (2006)
  • The Cutting Room Floor Vol. II (2008)

[edit] Instrumentals

  • Action/Drama (2001)
  • Gangster Theme Music (2000)
  • The Ultimate Music Machine (2002)
  • Lab Tested (2004)
  • Rapper's Best Friend (2007)

[edit] Singles

  • "Block Value/ More Like Us" (Feat. Mobb Deep & Big Noyd) (2001)
  • "We Gonna Make It" (Feat. Jadakiss, Styles P, Eve)
  • "The Man: The Icon" (Feat. Big Daddy Kane) (2001)
  • "Different Worlds/ B.I.G. T.W.I.N.S." (Feat. Twins) (2001)
  • "Bangers" (Feat. Lloyd Banks) (2004)
  • "Hold You Down" (2004)

[edit] Production credits

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Brown, Marisa "The Alchemist Biography", allmusic, Macrovision Corporation
  2. ^ Birchmeier, Jason "1st Infantry review", allmusic, Macrovision Corporation
  3. ^ Alchemist Responds To Claims Of Double Dealing
  4. ^ http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?I=4380
  5. ^ Anger Management Tour Bus Crashes; Stat Quo, Eminem's DJ Among Those Injured | News | VH1.com

[edit] External links

Official websites

Interviews

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