The Alchemist

One of his generation’s most respected and industrious beatmakers, the Alchemist constructs dense, rugged yet meticulously arranged productions steeped in soul. His long-running catalog, which stretches to the early 1990s, encompasses contributions to Dilated Peoples, Mobb Deep, Nas, Ghostface Killah, Lil Wayne, and Kendrick Lamar; demand for his input has also yielded full-length pairings with Prodigy on Return of the Mac in 2007, Oh No on the 2010 Gangrene debut Gutter Water, Curren$y on Covert Coup in 2011 and again on the 2022 standout Continuance, Freddie Gibbs on Alfredo in 2020, and Roc Marciano on The Elephant Man’s Bones in 2022. Another peak entry arrived in 2023 when The Great Escape, his project with Larry June, entered the charts, while further albums materialized alongside MIKE and Earl Sweatshirt; Blacks & Whites, credited to Big Hit and Hit-Boy, surfaced the following year. Beyond his behind-the-scenes role, he has issued his own headline efforts, among them 1st Infantry, Chemical Warfare, and Russian Roulette, plus an imposing array of EPs, mixtapes, and instrumental collections. He has additionally served for years as Eminem’s official DJ.

Born Alan Maman and raised in Beverly Hills, he launched his career across Los Angeles. During his teens, performing then as Mudfoot, he belonged to the Whooliganz alongside Scott Caan and to DJ Muggs’ Soul Assassins crew. The Whooliganz placed “Put Your Handz Up” on Tommy Boy in 1993, yet their intended debut Make Way for the W never reached stores. Alchemist kept building tracks, absorbing lessons from Muggs during work on Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom in 1995 and from longtime friend Evidence in Dilated Peoples, alliances that quickly multiplied his opportunities.

After relocating to New York for college, he connected with Queensbridge’s Mobb Deep, supplying “The Realest” and “Thug Music” for the 1999 album Murda Muzik. Subsequent sessions involved Pharoahe Monch, Royce da 5'9", Fat Joe, Ludacris, Big Daddy Kane, Ghostface Killah, Linkin Park, and Morcheeba. Between 2003 and 2004 he unveiled his earliest mixtapes and the debut proper 1st Infantry, on which he both supplied beats and appeared as an MC next to Stat Quo, the Game, Lloyd Banks, Mobb Deep, and Dilated Peoples. When DJ Green Lantern departed Eminem’s Anger Management 3 tour in 2005, the Detroit artist tapped Alchemist as replacement.

In 2006 he compiled The Chemistry Files and No Days Off, two mixtapes blending older and previously unheard cuts. After backing Prodigy on Return of the Mac and crafting “You Ain’t Got Nuthin” for Lil Wayne’s Grammy-nominated Tha Carter III in 2008, he turned to Chemical Warfare, released in 2009 and featuring Eminem alongside Juvenile. The next year he and Oh No introduced Gangrene via the Sawblade EP and the full-length Gutter Water. Throughout 2012 he dropped Rapper’s Best Friend Vol. 2, Gangrene’s Vodka & Ayahuasca, and the solo Russian Roulette, the latter constructed entirely from Russian recordings. A year later he reunited with Prodigy for Albert Einstein and handled every beat on Boldy James’ My 1st Chemistry Set. Continued work with Oh No produced the 2015 set Welcome to Los Santos, modeled on Grand Theft Auto V’s in-game radio, while that same year he assembled the Israeli Salad instrumental collection from radio and thrift-store finds gathered during a trip to Israel.

Over the ensuing seasons he paired with Curren$y, Havoc, and Jay Worthy, released a fourth Rapper’s Best Friend volume, and supplied tracks for Kendrick Lamar (“FEAR.”), Westside Gunn, and Anderson .Paak. Further joint releases arrived with Fetti in 2018 alongside Freddie Gibbs and Curren$y and with the Cool Kids on 2019’s Layups. The year 2020 alone yielded The Price of Tea in China with Boldy James, LULU with Conway the Machine, and another Gibbs collaboration, Alfredo. The 2021 EP This Thing of Ours included appearances by Earl Sweatshirt and Navy Blue. February 2022 brought Continuance, another Curren$y summit featuring Styles P, Boldy James, Larry June, and additional guests; later that year The Elephant Man’s Bones marked his first complete album with Roc Marciano.

The Great Escape, recorded with Larry June, climbed to the Billboard 200’s Top 40 in 2023. That year also saw No Idols with Domo Genesis and VOIR DIRE with Earl Sweatshirt, plus Faith Is a Rock shared with MIKE and Wiki. Two Flying High EPs arrived, spotlighting billy woods, Boldy James, and Action Bronson and accompanied by instrumental editions, while Hall & Nash 2 united him once more with Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine. In 2024 he issued the Theodore & Andre EP with Hit-Boy, the Gangrene album Heads I Win, Tails You Lose, the project Blacks & Whites alongside Big Hit and Hit-Boy, and the standalone single “Seasons Change.”