The Alchemist is often ranked among the greatest Hip Hop producers of all time, but the California beatmaker has now revealed his own starting five.
During an interview with Genius shared on Monday (July 10), the 45-year-old producer listed his Top 5 producers in no particular order.
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He began with one of his greatest inspirations and “illegitimate father,” DJ Premier. Next up, the Alfredo hitmaker shouted out Dr. Dre, who he considers the “pinnacle of sound.” DJ Muggs, who also initially mentored Al, was the third pick for the “beautiful mess” he always made inside the studio.
Large Professor, who “personified all the elements of rap,” was also included on the list, while The Alchemist rounded out his picks with Q-Tip, “the master” who he believes does not get his due credit.
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On Tuesday (July 11), a day after the clip was posted, the former Whooliganz members threw in another name that he previously forgot to mention. He wrote on Twitter: “I forgot to say Madlib. My #1 inspiration. [trophy emoji]”
Check out The Alchemist’s comments below:
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I forgot to say Madlib. My #1 inspiration. 🏆
— Alchemist Type Beat (@Alchemist) July 11, 2023
Last month, Al dropped Flying High, an eight-track EP featuring four songs with Hip Hop’s most abstract spitters and four instrumental versions of those same cuts. Guests on the project include Earl Sweatshirt, Billy Woods, Boldy James, Larry June and Jay Worthy, among others.
Prior to that, his joint album with Vince Staples was leaked online in April, which the Long Beach rapper wasn’t too happy about.
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Back in July 2021, Staples revealed in an interview that he’d recorded 30 verses for an Earl Sweatshirt joint collab with The Alchemist. At the time, the “Norf Norf” rapper told Apple Music’s Ebro Darden that he wasn’t happy about the project’s progress.
“Alchemist had hit me, he was like, ‘I want this project. Me, you and Earl. I only need three weeks,’” Vince explained. “I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll do it.’ So we go over there and they get high. So I’m the only one over there rapping and I don’t smoke, so it didn’t really blend. I was getting headaches.
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“So next thing I know I got 30 verses on 30 beats… I thought we was collaborating. Whatever, boom. I got 10 songs, I’m like, ‘Alright man, we finna put these songs out.’ Alchemist moves at a very cryptic pace, you know, he’s hella slow.”
In response, Al took to Twitter to call Vince out. “Vince is full of shit. Ive have a finished 6 song EP with JUST HIM for over 3 month!! MIXED!” the producer tweeted. “Plus mad songs with him and Thebe [Earl Sweatshirt].”
It ultimately took Kenny Beats stepping in to save the day, but regardless, the project never officially dropped.
Fast forward to mid-April and Staples got word that someone allegedly leaked seven tracks — six complete, and one unfinished — online. In response, he posted a cryptic tweet that seemingly implicated the producer.
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“Leaking means you’re tweaking,” he wrote, captioning a photograph of a young Michael Jackson. The MJ meme also featured the words: “You raggedy bitch.”
While Staples didn’t explicitly call out Alchemist by name, it might have appeared to some that he was trying to claim the producer leaked the project, though the motive behind the leak is unclear.
