Friday, January 3, 2014

[Mixtape] ALCHEMIST & AGALLAH - "Past & Present"

Alchemist has by far been the most productive, yet constantly interesting producer of 2013, and I doubt this year will be much different. No other producer can churn out full albums at his speed while maintining complete quality control; the only other one that comes to mind is Madlib but as much as i love 'Lib's craziness I have to admit that some of the stuff he has put out through the years have been terribly self-indulgent. Alchemist on the other hand is both versatile and almost always spot-on as a producer, and 8-Off a/k/a Agallah The Don Bishop is another interesting producer that's been at it for at least 15 years. Both of them are of course also rappers, and together they have came together for a free 24 track mixtape. ALC only rhyme on a couple of tracks though so this is in fact an Agallah show, presented over 12 of his own beats and 12 of Alan's, with the latter throwing in a rhyme or two for good measure. The vibe is definitely good, and when you add guests like Roc Marciano, Thistin Howl The Third, Guilty Simpson, Masta Ace, AG Da Coroner, Buc Fifty, Channel Live, Craig G, Sean Price, and many more, you know you got an underground hit on your hands. I'm five tracks in so far and this is pure unadulteratued hip-hop, strongly recommended although I notice that track #5 (one of ALC's beats) is actually a reuse of the classic beat he gave to Mobb Deep and G Rap for "The Realest". Oh well, there's plenty of original material on here as well and don't underestimate the talents of Agallaha behind the baord (an edit - having listened through it, I believe that is the only reused beat on his side)... So what are you waiting for?

3 comments:

  1. Hey Claaa7,

    Long time reader of the blog, just wondering if you could do me a favour. I notice you're a fan of the underrated K-Def. I've been searching high and low for this : http://www.discogs.com/Jay-Z-vs-K-Def-Real-Live-Gangster/release/1366515 and can't find it anywhere. If you can get this I will be eternally grateful.

    Keep up the good work!

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  2. Brilliant stuff, thanks. Great write up too.

    ReplyDelete