The Alchemist is putting the rap game on notice this year with a 2025 campaign that many will deem worthy of the “producer of the year” title by the time the holidays roll around. The producer kicked things off by soundtracking Larry June and 2 Chainz’s tasteful Life Is Beautiful album, then shared a teaser of his long-in-the-works Forensics project alongside Yasiin Bey. Recently, Alchemist reconnected with Freddie Gibbs for Alfredo 2, the sequel to their classic 2020 album – and boy did it live up to expectations. Up next: both Abi & Alan on August 29, his joint album with Erykah Badu, and the accompanying Abi & Alan Luv Is Tour, which comes before the long-awaited ninth album from Mobb Deep.
Things are busy for one of hip-hop’s most talented and tenured producers, but that’s more or less how it’s always been for Alchemist. Though he’s not afraid to talk his talk every now and then, the producer is known for shying away from the spotlight, and because of that fans — especially the newer ones — may only know him for his music. That’s no problem though — it’s what we’re here for.
So, as The Alchemist continues to tear up the music world in 2025, we compiled a list of things you might not have known about the famed producer. Scroll on down and see what you didn’t (or did) know about The Alchemist.
He Was Born In Beverly Hills, California
Nowadays, The Alchemist is most recognized for his association with Midwest and East Coast rappers thanks to collaboration with the likes of Freddie Gibbs, Roc Marciano, Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine, Boldly James, and more. While that may be true, his hometown roots are not to be forgotten. In 1977, The Alchemist was born in Beverly Hills, and it’s here that he discovered his love for music and launched his career as a producer. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that he moved to New York City and connected with future collaborators like Nas, Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Ghostface Killah, and Prodigy. It should also be noted that The Alchemist has never lost touch with his West Coast roots as he’s worked with Kendrick Lamar, Larry June, ScHoolboy Q, Big Hit, and more.
He was in a rap group called the whooliganz with actor scott caan
We’ve seen The Alchemist flex his rap chops multiple times throughout his career, but where did it start? We’d have to go back to the ‘90s to find that answer. As a teenager, The Alchemist discovered hip-hop and quickly fell in love with it to the point that he began to try his hand at the genre. This eventually led to the start of his rap duo, The Whooliganz, with actor Scott Caan. The Whooliganz released their first single “Put Your Handz Up” in 1993 under Tommy Boy Records, but after the track got little airplay on the radio, the duo disbanded after Caan opted to focus on his acting career. Nowadays, Caan — son of the late actor James Caan — is better known for his roles in Ocean’s film trilogy, Hawaii-Five-0, and Entourage. In a 2015 interview on ItsTheReal’s A Waste Of Time, The Alchemist revealed that he and Caan recorded new material together, adding that the Action Bronson has the only new record with a reunited The Whooliganz.
He was mentored by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill
Shortly after The Whooliganz went their separate ways, The Alchemist switched his attention to beatmaking. At 13 he was introduced to DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill who, despite previously rejecting a meeting with The Whooliganz (joking that, when pitched the idea of working with them, thought that they were a “white Kriss Kross”), took a liking to The Alchemist and introduced the young producer to the inner workings of the music industry. “This kid is cool as f*ck, he reminds me of me,” Muggs recalled of his first meeting with The Alchemist during an interview on The Bootleg Kev Podcast. “Just a tenacious f*cking worker, the love, smart, and just work and work and work – just on point.” Muggs went on to teach The Alchemist how to use a sampler and mixing board and even let the youngster help produce a few tracks for Cypress Hill.
He and Earl Sweatshirt’s ‘Voire Dire’ album was orignally hidden on YouTube under a fake alias
The Alchemist and Earl Sweatshirt have worked with each other numerous times over the years. Their most notable collaboration came back in 2023 with their joint album Voir Dire, but prior to its release, The Alchemist revealed that the album had been completed for nearly half a decade, and could be heard by fans on YouTube – that is, if you could find it. “We hid a whole album on youtube under a fake name and youtube page,” Alchemist revealed in a 2021 tweet. “Fake album cover, song titles, the whole 9. Nobody found it yet.” The impromptu scavenger hunt proved to be a strong marketing tactic for what eventually became Voir Dire. “It grew into an animal on its own,” The Alchemist said in a 2023 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “There was no thought put into it, we were just f*cking around. But seeing how people took to it made me trip out.”
Jay-Z once told him to “stop wasting them beats” by giving them to other rappers
Earlier this year, The Alchemist listed off some rappers that he was never able to get in the studio with over the years. The names included Method Man, Redman, and the late DMX. Jay-Z is on that list as well. During his “A Waste Of Time” interview, Al shared the story of how he almost got in the studio with the Brooklyn legend, following an introduction to Jay-Z through his well-known friends Kareem “Biggs” Burke and Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua. Alchemist would recall a night in the club when Jay asked him when he was going to “stop wasting them beats” on other rappers. “It was ill because he was very confident,” he said. “He wasn’t trying to be funny. That was the first thing he said to me, and I looked at him and he was serious.” Alchemist would invite Jay to a studio session after the club, and though he initially agreed, Jay never showed up.
The concept of Nas’ “Book of Rhymes” was mostly Nas’ idea, but the alchemist wanted to do more on the song
Nas’ “Book Of Rhymes,” a standout from the rapper’s sixth album God’s Son, was one of the earlier instances of Nas rapping over production by The Alchemist. The record boasts a sweet concept as it sounds like Nas is rapping through his book of rhymes as we hear him flipping through pages and rattling off bars with no clear direction from start to finish. In a 2012 interview with Complex, The Alchemist revealed that it was all Nas’ idea to construct it that way, and that he originally wanted to add more to the song’s production. “I remember later I wanted to spruce the beat up and put breakdowns in it,” The Alchemist said. “And he was like, ‘Nah, it has a vibe like we’re really just in the studio and you put on a rough beat and I am just going through rhymes. If you put in breakdowns then it’s gonna sound too contrived.’ As a producer, I want to do all the bells and whistles but he made a good call.” I think we’d all agree that it worked out for the best.
He Said Some Of His Best Experiences Were In The Studio With Big Pun
Al’s decades-long career has found him in the studio with a laundry list of rappers, and with that comes an equally long list of memorable experiences. In an interview with Complex back in 2012, he dove into some of those stories and it’s there that he said aside from Snoop, his “most memorable experiences in the studio” were with Big Pun. “I have so many Pun stories,” Alchemist noted. “We didn’t end up getting to release a lot, but the moments I had in the studio with him getting to work were…I can’t even…there are no words to describe Pun. Alchemist flew through memories of Pun’s “exaggerated” clothing, his humor, eating habits, and more all while praising the late rapper for his “great qualities.”
