Album Review: THE ALCHEMIST – The Genuine Articulate

ONCE AGAIN, IT’S ALCHEMIST O’CLOCK!

The Alchemist continues putting in work whether it’s earlier this year making his Gangrene album with Oh No, doing production on albums from Benny The Butcher, Action Bronson, Big Hit and Hit-Boy among others, and producing one of the grimiest and darkest diss tracks from Kendrick Lamar this year with “Meet The Grahams.” And yes, out of all the diss tracks Kendrick made, that one was my favorite.

Now one thing I didn’t expect was another Alchemist project coming soon. I also didn’t expect it to be a solo project. This is him not only on production but rapping as well, and lately we have gotten more of Alchemist’s rapping side whether it’s the recent Gangrene album or some verses here and there, especially on the single “Ferraris in the Rain” with Schoolboy Q. And now that the project is out, being a lean and mean 22 minutes with only 8 tracks (and other features such as Conway The Machine, Havoc, Action Bronson, Big Body Bes & Larry June on there), there’s no room for error.

I can safely say after a bunch of listens (well, it’s only a 22-minute album, it went on repeat a lot), this might be my favorite Alchemist project all year. All of the tracks here hit in a way that made me like or love it in a different way than usual. I already liked the aforementioned single, and then it got to “Something Light,” and the beat is just hypnotic (one of my favorite instrumentals on here). Also, hearing the Alchemist rap, with him being someone from California, this dude’s gruff and ruff delivery almost make you think he’s a New York rapper at some times.

My music is binge-worthy, I been dirty, three hours short of 10:30
Mercedes Benz swervin’ and get money like JG Wentworth (Looks like we hit the jackpot)
I’m on a bread adventure explicit, everything that I said is censored
Chain is the Prime Minister of Defense, the Rolеx is Presidential (Ah, ah, ah)
Inside my hеad I’m mental, the hose drench you when you play [?]
Stab you with a broken pencil and ship you back to whichever bozo sent you (Ah, ah, ah)
Your body made a lot of noise when it dropped to the floor, chalk up the score
They put a padlock on the safe house, we had to chop up the door (Chop, chop, chop, chop)
Draped in a linen tux, smoke blowin’ out the air condition ducts (Ah)
Ice skate, might do the spin-and-tuck with a triple-toe lutz, I’m goin’ nuts (Brrt)

“Minnesota Fats” with Action Bronson & Big Body Bes has that psychedelic, wavy feel that’s very appropriate and fitting for Bronsolini to deliver bars on here, and now it made me hungry for some chicken with jerk sauce. Oh, and I don’t know what Big Body Bes is saying but whatever it is, it sounds funny as hell and reminds me that I want to watch Fuck, That’s Delicious again.

“Scientology” with Havoc is the hardest track on the album with ALC and Havoc snapping on here, and with Prodigy on the outro, it just reminded me that I miss Mobb Deep. “Everybody’s Favorite Uncle” has that wavy and eccentric vibe going on, and it also goes with Alchemist being referred to Uncle Al, and given that he has been producing for rappers that are slightly younger than him, we do see that. “Diego Maradona” with Conway The Machine is another hard track on here, and this just shows me that whenever Conway is rapping on an Alchemist track, it’s tough as hell, and it’s probably my favorite Conway track this year.

‘Chine come through, gun shoot extended cartridge (Brrt)
Used to sleep on the sofa in a friend’s apartment (Ah)
Now I frequent the Yves Saint Laurent department (Hahaha)
Yeah, blew twenty in the Louis V men’s department (Huh? Yeah, drip)
Yeah, I don’t care what so and so said, I am him regardless
My pen is sharp, lines flyin’ over your head like Vincent Carter, nigga (Talk to ’em, huh)
(Look, up in the sky)
Think it’s a game, until little bro blowin’ that bitch like Nintendo cartridge

Then in comes “Details” with Larry June and it’s about as breezy and light as you can think of when mentioning these two, with a gorgeous soul sample that I know nothing about . The closer “Seasons Change” has that an alt-rock guitar vibe to it and is a smooth way to end the project.

Yes, this is one of the shortest Alchemist-related projects to come out this year (next to his collab EP with Hit-Boy), and yet this is another damn good project. It’s short and sweet, has some of the best beats I heard from him this year, and the features nailed their contributions here, especially Conway The Machine. I know there might be something else on the way from Alchemist but all we know is that he continues to be one of the best producers in the game for 30 years.

FINAL VERDICT: BUY IT.  This album is the genuine best rap album of the year… so far.

THE GENUINE ARTICULATE is on ALC Records and is available on streaming services.