The Alchemist has set the Hip Hop world abuzz after answering ā€” or refusing to answer ā€” a question about working with J. Cole.

On Saturday (February 24), the producer answered a query from a fan on X, formerly known as Twitter: ā€œis j cole and alchemist ever gonna be a thing[?]ā€

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The Alchemist replied with a series of zipper-mouth face emojis, seemingly indicating that he couldnā€™t discuss it.

The pair previously worked together on Benny The Butcherā€˜s ā€œJohnny Pā€™s Caddy,ā€ as well as B.o.Bā€˜s ā€œGladiatorsā€ back in 2010.

The cryptic response set off a ton of excited speculation in the replies. Among the most popular guesses was that The Alchemist would have a track on Coleā€™s long-anticipated next albumĀ The Fall Off.

At the beginning of this month, the North Carolina rhymer updated fans on the status of the project during a concert in Tampa, Florida.

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ā€œRight now, Iā€™m at the tail end of working on this album Iā€™ve been working on for a long time,ā€ he said during the opening night of his Itā€™s All a Blur ā€“ Big as the What? tour with Drake. ā€œItā€™s called The Fall Off.ā€

Coleā€™s longtime manager Ibrahim ā€œIbā€ Hamad previously stoked the flames by tweeting aboutĀ The Fall OffĀ being his choice of an album heā€™d most want to see Cole perform on tour front-to-back.

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Just last week, J. Cole himself teased the upcoming project in a new song.

Released through a burner account on Instagram, the video is reminiscent of the 2000s-era Smack DVD series that gave fans a raw inside look at what goes on behind the scenes with their favorite rappers.

Benny The Butcher Crowns J. Cole Best Rapper Alive Right Now
Benny The Butcher Crowns J. Cole Best Rapper Alive Right Now

The clip shows ColeĀ backstage on his current tourĀ withĀ Drake, as well as in a studio session withĀ Tay Keith, chopping it up withĀ Lil DurkĀ and more.

Towards the end, Cole previews a new song and sets the tone with the opening bars, rapping: ā€œI said I was finished but I want another two summers/ Hall of Famer hungrier than all the newcomers.ā€

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The Alchemist has been working with a number of other big names lately. Recently, a snippet of a track he worked on with Kanye West and Freddie Gibbs leaked online.

The clip, which initially surfaced on Discord, features West singing: ā€œCome on, come on, before the street lightsā€Ā before Gibbs begins to rap about baby mama drama over a recognizably Alchemist beat laced with sprinkling pianos.

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The veteran producer was also spotted in the studio with Kid Cudi in January, a few months after they teased doing a full album together. The pairā€™s first and (so far) only collaboration was ā€œTherapyā€ back in 2009.