The Alchemist - Rapper's Best Friend 6 ALBUM REVIEW
Might as well shoot my shot with this one: Al, you’re fucking awesome. If you’re reading this, my DMs are open. Hit me up, I missed out on the This Thing of Ours drop.
It’s no question that The Alchemist is one of my favorite producers working right now. He’s worked on some of my favorite hip-hop projects in the past couple of years and has consistently put out solo instrumental work that may not get as much attention as his collaboration albums with Freddie Gibbs, Action Bronson, Boldy James, or his most recent one, Armand Hammer, but they deserve just as much attention. Unlike his This Thing of Ours EP from earlier this year, the sixth release in his Rapper’s Best Friend series, which is essentially a compilation of his favorite/best beats from the past couple years. This time around, these beats were rapped over by Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, Freddie Gibbs, Roc Marciano, Mach-Hommy, Boldy James, Navy Blue, YOUNGQUEENZ, Tvoy, Eto, Nas, Benny the Butcher, India, Big Twins, Action Bronson, and Earl Sweatshirt. It’s a hell of a list, and these beats were tailor-made for all of them. How do they stand on their own? Let’s get into it and see.
Two albums that I’ve covered already that are featured on here are Westside Gunn’s Pray for Paris and Freddie Gibbs’s Alfredo, two of my favorite hip-hop albums of last year. Ironically enough, both of these beats had Freddie Gibbs on them. “$500 Ounces” was a highlight off Pray for Paris and still is one here with its horn-laden, minimal-drum luxury. Apparently, Alc and I both agree that the best instrumental off Alfredo is “God is Perfect,” which is surprisingly the only beat from this album. Its hypnotic piano loop and unique drums, along with some Bernie Mac samples, make for one of the best beats of Alc’s career. The opening track, “Sensational Sherri,” from Westside Gunn’s underrated Flygod Is An Awesome God, is a completely different story. It’s haunting and creepy, and yes, I know those mean the same thing, but it really works. There’s so much I could talk about here, but I’ll only touch on two more songs. The only song I hadn’t heard of on this was “Phantom of the Opera” from Big Twins, a Queens rapper who has ties to Mobb Deep. It sounds about what you’d expect from a song called “Phantom of the Opera,” mainly with the Transylvanian-like piano and has a very stage-like atmosphere overall. The final track I’ll touch on is “Clout Dracula,” from the elusive Mach-Hommy’s Mach’s Hard Lemonade. It’s one of the slower beats on here, with what seems like to be an accordion with some DJ scratches thrown in there too. It’s one of the better beats from that album and is definitely a high point on here.
If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, I may be a little biased towards The Alchemist. Hell, he has my favorite album of the year so far. Rapper’s Best Friend 6 is exactly what it sounds like: A compilation of the favorite and standout beats from one of the best producers working right now, handpicked by himself. While it does surprise me by some of his choices of what made it on here and what didn’t, it’s nice to hear some of these beats on their own for streaming, especially “God is Perfect.” I can’t sit here and say that this isn’t Alc’s best work of the year, but it’s still up there.
8/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
Rapper’s Best Friend 6 is an ALC Records release.
It’s no question that The Alchemist is one of my favorite producers working right now. He’s worked on some of my favorite hip-hop projects in the past couple of years and has consistently put out solo instrumental work that may not get as much attention as his collaboration albums with Freddie Gibbs, Action Bronson, Boldy James, or his most recent one, Armand Hammer, but they deserve just as much attention. Unlike his This Thing of Ours EP from earlier this year, the sixth release in his Rapper’s Best Friend series, which is essentially a compilation of his favorite/best beats from the past couple years. This time around, these beats were rapped over by Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, Freddie Gibbs, Roc Marciano, Mach-Hommy, Boldy James, Navy Blue, YOUNGQUEENZ, Tvoy, Eto, Nas, Benny the Butcher, India, Big Twins, Action Bronson, and Earl Sweatshirt. It’s a hell of a list, and these beats were tailor-made for all of them. How do they stand on their own? Let’s get into it and see.
Two albums that I’ve covered already that are featured on here are Westside Gunn’s Pray for Paris and Freddie Gibbs’s Alfredo, two of my favorite hip-hop albums of last year. Ironically enough, both of these beats had Freddie Gibbs on them. “$500 Ounces” was a highlight off Pray for Paris and still is one here with its horn-laden, minimal-drum luxury. Apparently, Alc and I both agree that the best instrumental off Alfredo is “God is Perfect,” which is surprisingly the only beat from this album. Its hypnotic piano loop and unique drums, along with some Bernie Mac samples, make for one of the best beats of Alc’s career. The opening track, “Sensational Sherri,” from Westside Gunn’s underrated Flygod Is An Awesome God, is a completely different story. It’s haunting and creepy, and yes, I know those mean the same thing, but it really works. There’s so much I could talk about here, but I’ll only touch on two more songs. The only song I hadn’t heard of on this was “Phantom of the Opera” from Big Twins, a Queens rapper who has ties to Mobb Deep. It sounds about what you’d expect from a song called “Phantom of the Opera,” mainly with the Transylvanian-like piano and has a very stage-like atmosphere overall. The final track I’ll touch on is “Clout Dracula,” from the elusive Mach-Hommy’s Mach’s Hard Lemonade. It’s one of the slower beats on here, with what seems like to be an accordion with some DJ scratches thrown in there too. It’s one of the better beats from that album and is definitely a high point on here.
If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, I may be a little biased towards The Alchemist. Hell, he has my favorite album of the year so far. Rapper’s Best Friend 6 is exactly what it sounds like: A compilation of the favorite and standout beats from one of the best producers working right now, handpicked by himself. While it does surprise me by some of his choices of what made it on here and what didn’t, it’s nice to hear some of these beats on their own for streaming, especially “God is Perfect.” I can’t sit here and say that this isn’t Alc’s best work of the year, but it’s still up there.
8/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
Rapper’s Best Friend 6 is an ALC Records release.
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