THE ALCHEMIST (September 2006) | Interview By: Nima

       Dubcnn were in New York earlier this month and met up with Alchemist at his studio with Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Sam Scarfo and G-Unit's 40 Glocc and spent some time at his crib. We took time out with Alchemist to discuss what he is currently working on which included talk of the current Eminem, Shady Records material, his mixtape/album "No Days Off," how he met up with Mobb Deep, his success over the years producing for an array of acts, how he came to New York from Los Anglees where he grew up and much more in this exclusive, detailed video interview.

As always we have both the transcript and the video for you to check and please feel free to send any feedback regarding the interview to: nima@dubcnn.com

 

Interview was done in person in September 2006

Questions Asked By : Nima

Alchemist Gave Dubcnn.com A Shoutout! Check That Here (Video)

Prodigy (of Mobb Deep) Gave Dubcnn.com A Shoutout! Check That Here (Video)

40 Glocc Gave Dubcnn.com A Shoutout! Check That Here (Video) - Drop 1

40 Glocc Gave Dubcnn.com A Shoutout! Check That Here (Video) - Drop 2

Sam Scarfo Gave Dubcnn.com A Shoutout! Check That Here (Video)

 

Full Alchemist Interview In Video : Here

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Dubcnn: Wassup Alchemist? Where we at right now?

Yo yo! What up man! Dubcnn, what up!


Dubcnn: We're right here with Alchemist, at the crib.

Yeah this is the hideout right here, this is the laboratory where we get a lot of music done, bang out the hits, chop up the samples, and do the shit that we do!


Dubcnn: So what you doin' right now man?

Right now, I'm in the mist of a lot of different projects, we just got off the road from overseas, Japan, Australia. A muthafucka like me stays real busy. So basically we just banging out hits everyday. I can run down the list for you, but I might forget somebody. So, most importantly, I'm working on a new Alchemist album, I know a lot of people have been waiting. I've been waiting! So, stay tuned cause I got a lot of things for ya'll.

But right now I'm in the mist of finishing up the album. Banging out beats for everybody in the game, working with Em [Eminem], Shady on a project right now for the end of the year. Just staying busy and doing the things that I do!


Dubcnn: The "Blood Money" album didn't do what it was supposed to do. How has the reception been, what's the feeling in the camp right now?

I mean, we're just happy to have another product out in the world. We're rocking with G-Unit and 50 [Cent], it's a beautiful thing. Sometimes numbers don't add up on the sales side of things, but you can't let that stop your hustle. We're out in the world doing everything we gotta do to keep it popping, doing the remixes, banging out new songs. Basically, this machine that we got, Mobb Deep, Alchemist, it's unstoppable creatively. We approached one mountain, we climbed that and stepped to the next one! So basically, we're non stop so we're still banging out.


Dubcnn: Looking at this wall [camera moves over to certification plaques], and that's only some of your achievements, how does it feel to be looking at that and you're like "This is all shit that I did."

It's cool! I'm missing a lot of plaques. People don't understand that sometimes the artists don't come correct and get you your plaques. Basically, it's something for me to look at as a reminder sometimes. I might think one day that I'm not that dude, but then I turn left and I see the achievements and it's like it reminds me, puts me in check every time I'm not confident like "Muthafucka, you did this, and you can do it again!"


Dubcnn: You're from Los Angeles. A lot of people don't know that you're from the West Coast cause you've been mashing with the East Coast a lot...

I'm L.A. all day! *throws up L.A. sign* Basically a lot of people don't know that I grew up and I started in L.A. till I was 17. All my life, I repped L.A. till death, always West Coast. It's in me! Cypress Hill, Soul Assassins, for those who don't know! If you really wanna take it back, I was a dude in the camp, I was with with a group called The Wholigans, 1993, if you really wanna go back and do the math. I had an album and everything, Soul Assassins. West Coast Clique. It's just a blessing for me to pop it off on the West, I just felt like my calling was on the East. So I just made that move, but I always stayed down with my camp. I always told Muggs like "Yo, I'm gonna go to New York and start getting it popping." And he co-signed that, that's the big homie.

I moved out here and I was doing my thing, underneath Soul Assassins, and I eventually figured out that it was time for me to blow this Alchemist up. I gotta get this name everywhere, it's gonna be good for everybody. Through my connects with Mobb, linking up with them early when I got out here, hooking up with Premier, early when I moved out here, he was like a mentor to me. I always looked up to Premier as a producer, it's crazy now he's like one of my best friends. Like if you wanted to compare, let's say you were a new actor and you were kicking it with Robert De Niro everyday. That's how I felt when I first came out here. Like kicking it with Al Pacino or something that's how I felt about Premier. He helped me a lot when I moved out here, to transform it.

It's crazy cause when I first moved out here... the music is so powerful, a lot of people I meet they be like "Yo, you're from Queens right?" They think I grew up in Queensbridge! That's how powerful this music is. I put it down on a lot of different levels, but I'm bringing it all full circle, I got this new mixtape coming out real soon. I'm sure you'll find out on dubcnn! It's called "No Days Off", and it's heavy with the West Coast!


Dubcnn: We're going to get to that later on! You mentioned that you hooked up with Mobb Deep early on in your career. How did you meet them the first time?

It basically fell off the same tree as Soul Assassins, because God bless the dead, there was a man by the name of Bigga B, he's definitely legendary in the West Coast rap game. He used to be with Loud Records, and he really popped off anything related to Loud Records in the West Coast. Wu-Tang, Alkaholiks, Mobb Deep... He started working with Muggs and Soul Assassins around the time that I moved to New York. He was hooking Muggs up with Mobb for the Soul Assassins first album, so Muggs kind of had a little relationship with them.

So when I moved out here he was like "Yo, you gotta hook up with them." That was one of the first people I hooked up with though, Infamous Mobb. Ty Nitty, Twin Gambino, and Godfather, that's the three cats who make Infamous Mobb, that's Mobb Deep's clique. So I started working with them, and they were like "We gotta bring you over to Hav and P." This was way before the making of Murda Muzik. So I just started coming over to the studio a lot, I was in New York kind of by myself, and they noticed that there was a young kid out here who was hungry, grinding. I used to come to the studio all the time with beats. It was gradual!

Let me tell you something about Mobb Deep, they don't let new people in their circle, there have been a lot of deaths with them, a lot of tragedies in life. They keep it tight. So it took a while for them to understand and realize that this kid is somebody we gotta utilize, let's put him down. That's what I am, I'm a team player all day! You put me down with the team I'ma work! That's how it began and look where we're at now!


Dubcnn: You're a white dude in the middle of a lot of black dudes. Did that ever have an influence on you, how did you view that?

I mean this world is black and white. The music business is black and white, it's mixed. Even though rap music started more on the black side of things, I've always put my music and my accomplishments first. So it was a handful of people stuck in the ignorant mind state, and they had to come full circle, they had to give me my props, cause the music was speaking for itself. It was my accomplishments and my music where I was getting my respect. Just like when I was young, my crew in L.A., my original crew who I grew up with... I had a bunch of bad asses down with me, a bunch of kids who got all the pussy, some of them used to beat everybody up, some of them was selling drugs. Me, I always got my props by being that dude who could write that rhyme or make a beat. Creativity was how I shined, that was my thing, from day one.

So it was inevitable that I was gonna grow and use that to get my props. I always used that. It helped me get over a lot of humps, because it was all about playing that music. I remember people saying to me "Damn! A whiteboy made that shit? Damn!" Every now and them I would come across that... It happens still to this day! It's ironic that at the day I ended up hooking up with the biggest white artist that ever existed in rap music. Shoutout to Eminem, Shady Records, Paul Rosenberg my manager. So it's just like a blessing that I came full circle. I respect that man a lot.


Dubcnn: *camera sweeps through studio equipment... then points back at Alchemist* We're still live right here, Alchemist. I was just taking a look at your production equipment...

It's the minimum! I keep it to a minimum. Like maybe some people think that when you go to Alchemist's studio it's gonna be racks of equipment and all types of shit! I always keep it to a minimum, cause to me it's about the creativity and not getting caught up in the machinery. You don't need much, these days, to make a beat! New producers know that cause they use the computers. I mean you could have a laptop and make beats now. But this is the low key version of how I get down over here. You know what I'm working with, so it ain't the machinery, it's the man behind the machinery! Cause anybody can have this equipment, it's nothing expensive.


Dubcnn: A lot of people say what makes Dr. Dre's beats stand out is the mixing and mastering part. Why is that so important to the final product?

I mean it's the finishing touch! Just like in a movie, you can't take a rough edit of a movie and throw it out! You gotta edit it up and put that final touch on it. That's important, cause that's how people are going to hear it. The first impression comes from that final mix. Everybody has different formulas, like with me, I got a couple of engineers who I work with and that's my dudes. I trust them, cause I spend so much time making the beats and hooking up the songs. When a song comes out that I like, I'm a team player like I said, you gotta hand off certain things to people to do with the mixing. I trust my doggs, my engineers are the shit, just like Dre got his dudes, most top producers got their dudes who they can trust. I don't have to be on top of them all the time I can sometime let them work for hours and then come in and make my adjustments. That's how we work as a team, the mix down is real important.


Dubcnn: You know, you've been doing your thang for the last decade, but when you listen to Mobb Deep's interviews since they signed to G-Unit, it's like they feel that G-Unit brought their career back to life again. Why did they need that, seeing as they were already established in the game?

I don't think that they needed it. Because they weren't calling 50, 50 was calling them. It was mutual though, because of the respect they had for each other, plus they've all been affiliated through the Violator camp. I think that it made a lot of sense, because you got Fif & G-Unit who blew up originally with a similar style and sound to Mobb. He came with that gutter in the beginning and still comes with the gutter, nobody can front on G-Unit and 50 Cent. But I think Mobb saw that and saw how he kind of uses a similar style and blew and became more successful commercially than they ever were.

So when came the time that he reached out and was like "Yo I always fucked with ya'll." The respect was mutual and it was there, they decided "Let's run with this, because we've done 6 or 7 albums with our formula. It's great, our fans love it, let's take it a step further, we're still going to be Mobb Deep! Let's just take it a step further and go a little harder with it, how Fif does it. I support them to this day, through all of this. I support them 100%, I was there all the way. And I'm not a Yes-Man, if I felt something was wrong at a certain time, I would've told them. But I never felt that way, I'm confident 100% all the way. I'm happy that they made that move and where they're at now is better than they've ever been regardless of the numbers that's coming.

As artists, we're not Interscope Records. We're Mobb Deep, Alchemist, G-unit, 50 Cent. At the end of the day, we hand our product over to a company who's got to move them units. Everybody knows Interscope is the biggest and best machine in business, but sometimes the stars don't line up. So, that's just how I think it went down. To me it was the greatest thing ever, and the fans who were hurt a little bit because it became like a G-Unit style album, stay tuned. Cause P's solo is coming, Infamous album is coming, there is so many products. 40 Glocc album, Alchemist new album, Hav working on his album production... We ain't stupid, you know? Plus I'm Mobb Deep's biggest fan, so if you're a fan of Mobb Deep me and you are probably thinking the same thing. We're doing it, this is about to me the same way it was always supposed to be musically. So all the fans out there just keep your ear tuned it, cause you're going to be real happy in a minute.


Dubcnn: We saw you in the studio last night with 40 Glocc and Sam Scarfo. Who are some new cats that you are working with? We know Mobb Deep is your crew, but you're staying in touch with the new cats too.

Yeah it's a lot of new artists I'm fishing out right now, cause I'm a producer at the end of the day so that's what I do. I do beats. I'm working with a couple cats, there's a crew out here called Hard White out of Far Rock, affiliated with the Mobb as well. I got my man his name is Un Pacino, and he's nice! Ya'll gonna hear about Un in a minute! On this new mixtape I got, he's got a joint on there. I fuck with Un a lot man, he's dope. There's a lot of other kids I'm working with but until it gets to the point where I'm really confident, I don't really like to put weight on it. But yeah stay tuned cause I'm working with a lot of new artists now.

Cause that's the one step I don't think I really took in my career. In the beginning I was always working with known artists to get my name out there. Now that my name is popping, it's like I'm looking towards blowing up new artists. I'm looking forward to hearing Sam and 40 like that. Even though 40 Glocc, his name has been ringing for a minute! He's kind of like a veteran, but he's brand new! 40 is in a genuine situation, he's the truth and everybody is gonna see that in a minute. We're working on 40's project right now, just doing a lot of things. But new artists, that's what's up!

Any other new artists that's watching this that got that shit, come to me. But don't come to me with no nonsense cause I'ma keep it 100 and tell you it was cool but it wasn't really all that. Anybody new in the game, that has music, you gotta understand that. Be ready to accept criticism. One thing I say for any new artists, if you wanna blow up in this game man, you gotta be able to take that to even a more extreme level. You gotta be able to go out on a stage in front of the crowd one night, and get boo'd and still hold it down, go home and write something hotter. You can't let nothing crush your spirits. To all new artists, I'm looking for ya'll! Holla!


Dubcnn: Alright man, who's your Top 5 to blow from the East and the West, give me a couple names..

I say definitely put some chips on Papoose to do some things. My man Un [Pacino], I definitely put him in that category as well... I'll say it like this, one of the biggest albums that's gonna come out in the next couple of years is going to be Lil Wayne. I'm feeling him right now, I'm feeling how he's growing and developing, he's bigger than he's ever been. So I definitely think he's going to pop. On the West, I put my money behind 40 Glocc, my man Evidence from Dilated, who is not new but coming with a new album soon...

Producers, you gotta check for my man Sev, check for Jake One, you gotta check for Sid Romes, out of the West Coast producers who's on the East now. It's a team with my homie Joey Chavez, and his kid Bravo. Who else man... My man Info who's managed by my homie Spliffington Management, he did some things for Cam'ron and Dipset, he's dope. I keep my ear to all the new jacks. Also, definitely check for Bobby Creek, one of the new artists on Shady, he's stupid with it! Bobby Creek. Also on the West Coast is a new artist by the name of Cashis. On Shady. He's fire, too! I definitely, not just cause I'm down with Shady, think that they're going to do big things.

That's a couple of names to look for, but I'm all about what's new. Out with the old, in with the new! I don't like old artists that try to hold on to the game and not let new cats in. Stop that shit man, if you've been in the game, let these new muthafuckas in man, let the new shine. You can't fight it! It's like technology. You can't find technology. You can't be mad at downloading and the internet, we gotta find ways to work with it. So I support what's new, I'm all about what's new.


Dubcnn: The Eminem situation was pretty big for you, how did that come together?

Well the whole Eminem thing, for those who don't know, I am Eminem's DJ. Basically the way it came about, there was a situation with my homeboy DJ Green Lantern, who is still a good friend of mine. Things happened, whatever happened... And I've been affiliated, a lot of people don't know cause I don't put it on my chest all the time, but I've been affiliated with the Shady camp, Golliath artist management company, they've been managing me for the last 4-5 years, my big brother Neo. Whatup Neo? He works over at the office and manages me with Paul Rosenberg. So I've been down with Em for a minute. A long time ago we did a joint on the Tony Touch album with him and Proof, Rest In Peace Proof. That was probably one of the first records Proof ever rhymed on as far as majors, cause he's been rhyming for days.

So I've been down with Eminem for a minute, and for some reason people know me not as the super DJ, but I think one of the reasons was that at this point in Em's career, they wanted to fill in that spot with somebody they can trust, somebody they know, nobody knew. That's how I fit in. I'm down with the camp, and it just made sense in more ways that one. Just like that, I got put on and it's a blessing man. My career has been incredible, and I've seen a lot of shit, but once I got on that stage with Em and started seeing 60,000 muthafuckas going bezerk, and I'm rocking with him, then we do the song with him and 50, they're on stage rocking, and that shit just put my mind somewhere else, like "This shit is bigger than I ever was." But I'm Alchemist before I'm Em's DJ, so even though Eminem's DJ is bigger than the name Alchemist, I'm still put Alchemist on my chest and Shady/Eminem on my back. I'm not embarrassed of it, I just don't want to ride off of it. That's how I get my respect.


Dubcnn: You're working on a new mixtape right now. Is it an album? A mixtape? What is it?

For those who don't know, the mixtape game is like an ever changing game. It changes by the weeks. You've got your top dogs like Whoo Kid, Kay Slay, Green Lantern and those cats, Clue. So you've got your main dudes who stay dropping, always been in the game, but over the years, because it's so easy to get exclusives off the internet, you've got all these new DJ's that's popping up, who got mixtapes and exclusives, trying to to what everybody else is doing. And it's saturating the game!

So the way I do my mixtapes is like albums. I'm not screaming over the shit, I spent a lot of time putting them together, I make sure the quality is right, the mixing. I put records on them that nobody has. That's where I premiere all my songs, and then I leak them out to all the other DJ's. But what I do with my mixtapes, I always have a couple songs nobody heard before. One thing I got over these exclusives DJ's is that they've got the stuff that's on the internet and the matrix, but me, we make this music, so I can really have a joint that nobody has yet. Then when I put it out there it's the first time the worlds gonna hear it. I love that power, but I don't ever abuse it, I treat it the right way.

That's how I do my mixtapes. The first one I dropped years back was called "Cutting Room Floor". The concept of that was like all the old stuff that never made the cut. I'm working on Part 2 right now to "Cutting Room Floor". Then we dropped Insomnia. That was right before the Alchemist album. Now, I recently dropped "The Chemistry Files" Mixtape, which featured a lot of joints that didn't make the Mobb album, like streets joints and in between the cracks records that was hot to me. A couple exclusive things, a couple of joints with me spitting on it, so people can see where I'm at.

The new tape, I'm real hyped up, it's like... It really solidifies the fact that I'm from the West because it's real West Coast heavy. I got Xzibit on there, I got Mitchy Slick on there, I got 40 Glocc, Ras Kass, Kokane, Dogg Pound... This new tape is West Coast to the fullest, however it's not all West. I ain't wanna make the whole concept of it West Coast mixtape cause I felt like that would be corny. Prodigy's on there, a lot of New York things, that's what I always do. It's always a good medium of both for me.

That's the new mixtape, it's called "No Days Off". When you see it, you're going to know cause you're going to see how I flipped the Raiders logo. That's how you kinda know that it's a West Coast thing. The new mixtape is hard, dubcnn, ya'll going to get a little preview of it, so go into the area of this site where you can hear the music and I'm sure there will be something about this Alchemist mixtape "No Days Off".


Dubcnn: You had a D.P.G. record that didn't make their album, what was the situation there?

It was just a sample clearance issue. Those are good friends of mine, Snoop, Daz, Kurupt, Ted Chung, those are all friends of mine. They came out to New York one time and we banged two songs out right here, we did two songs in a day. I kept one for my new album and they took one, which is the one that most people know "On The Rise". They had a problem clearing the sample or something, and for one reason or another, it didn't make the cut. But it did leak out, people got a chance to hear it and I put it on my new mixtape, so whoever didn't get a copy of it, get that new Alchemist mixtape "No Days Off" if you want that new Dogg Pound joint. I wanted it to be on that album, but it didn't happen. It wasn't cause it wasn't hot though, and everybody knows that, cause they perform it on stage and everything.


Dubcnn: You know the East Coast and the West Coast are kind of in a slump right now, because the Dirty South is doing all the record sales and everything. What do you think the East and the West need to do to get back on top.

Well, I don't even think it's a battle. I think, if you really ask my opinion, that that whole "East is not poppin', West ain't, the South is.. To me, that's a publicity stunt and a ploy for powers that be who don't like rap music, so rap music could have a civil war, and everybody could fight, the regions could beef with each other and argue over who's hot... Yo straight up and down man, if you do rap music or anything that can be considered Hip-Hop, I'll fuck with you. Straight up, you'll never catch me hating on any style. Yeah there's some stuff out there I don't like, of one Coast or one reason or not, or a certain artist or whatever... But you won't catch me talking shit about none of them man. Cause I'm a fan of rap music period. That's what's most important for me.


Dubcnn: Throughout the last years, the internet has become a real important medium for artists, especially independent artists who want to promote themselves. How do you view the internet?

It's incredible! We're right in the mist of a huge transition in this business. You might not notice it until 30-40 years from now, and you'll look back and this 5 or 10 year chunk is gonna be a huge turning point in this business. Since the internet has become so accessible, downloading, places like myspace and stuff like that that's opening doors for artists to be heard worldwide. One thing is, I think this industry underestimates quality music, all the time. They always act like it's this big business machine, and you gotta be marketed and promoted, that's bullshit. If you're dope, and people like your music, that's what created this business in the first place. It's coming back to that now man, cause it's talent all over the world. Because the industry is more about who you know than how dope you are. It's true but the future is not gonna be about who you know. Cause with this internet, everybody knows everybody now. I've been reaching out to people all across the globe, people reaching out to me. It's incredible what's going on with this internet thing. Anybody who wants to fight it, you're a fucking fool. Figure out how to use it to your advantage. Don't be sour. Technology is not something you can fight. You have to learn how to use it to your advantage. That's what I'm in the mist of doing right now. I got friends who're straight hood, from the block, off the street, and they're like "the internet is the new block. That's my new strip." Like they're getting money there like they're getting money on the streets! On the internet! Not illegally, legally! Doing whatever they do! It's a new avenue for the world, it's incredible what's going on. I'm impressed. I'm right on the edge. I'm trying to link up with all the young kids who have more knowledge about the internet and how to use computers than me. Cause when we were young that was the very beginning. I remember in 5th or 6th grade when I was little in the 80's, we had these huge computers. We had computer class, the computer was like as big as me! The screen was only green and black... We've come a long way. Nowadays I see in schools kids got laptops! That's what's up. I support it all the way man.


Dubcnn: You've come a long way. What's the hardest obstacle you had to overcome in your career?

I mean... My hardest obstacle hasn't even been approached yet. Just like I say my best beat ain't been made yet, and my best achievements have been made yet. Everyday is another obstacle, and I couldn't really put one on top of the other. This whole business is an obstacle, but I think the hardest things are still in the future, because when you think about it, when you get better and better at something, taking it a step further and further, it becomes harder. Everything becomes harder, everytime. If you wanna always get better at something, then you've always got to top yourself and you're just continuing to rise the level of what you do. So it's constantly going to be a new obstacle, if you intend to grow. Cause my career I like to go up regularly. Not fast, and not level-off and drop. I want it just steadily climbing until the day I die. That way all the music that I created will be here and I'll live forever! Because my music will be here in 100 years cause of what I'm doing now. And in 100 years, there may not be vinyl stores, CD may be gone in 100 years, they might have old CD stores like they got old record shops right now! And some kid in 100 years from now might be going to the CD's and dust off an old Alchemist CD and throw that shit in, and it's banging 100 years from now! I'm alive again, coming out the speakers! So that's really why I do it.


Dubcnn: To end this off, I'ma give you a couple names and you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind.

Dubcnn: Scott Storch

Crazy!


Dubcnn: Lil Jon

Retarded!


Dubcnn: Battlecat

Incredible!


Dubcnn: Fredwreck

The funkiest arab man on the planet!


Dubcnn: DJ Premier

My mentor. The greatest that ever did it.


Dubcnn: I see you have nothing negative to say about anybody which is pretty rare these days. You give props.

Never man, I never preach negativity cause it comes right back around and bites you in the ass man. I don't put negative in the world. I believe if you put positive out, positive comes back, in any way. And I practice everyday of my life. Living in New York, you could be negative in a lot of ways man. Just driving down the street, you gotta be aggressive out here. New York can make you negative, so I fight that power everyday. Even as far as letting somebody cross in front of me, when they don't need to. Doing positive comes full circle, so anytime I get a chance to speak good on something, I do. You ain't gonna hear me preaching negative. Straight up.


 

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