While neither The Alchemist nor Oh No have garnered the attention of hip-hop producers like RZA, Bomb Squad or DJ Premier, the two have found their place among the West Coast’s hip-hop royalty. The Alchemist, born Alan Maman, was first discovered by B-Real of Cypress Hill, and has went on to work with Dilated Peoples, Mobb Deep, Snoop Dogg, and is currently the touring DJ for Eminem. Oh No, aka Michael Jackson, was born into a musical family — the son of singer Otis Jackson, and brother of Madlib. Plus he’s putting together a pretty good resume, recently handling production duties for De La Soul and Murs.
With so many projects between the two, it was really only a matter of time until their musical journeys would cross paths. They first worked together when Oh No laid down some vocals for the track “Acts of Violence” off Alchemist’s 2009 album, Chemical Warfare. Later in the year, the two released the first single under the moniker Gangrene, entitled “Under Siege”. You can check out the video below, and yes that is Scott Caan at :46. Only now have the duo finalized their debut LP, Gutter Water.
After more than three years of recording sessions, and a myriad of emails, Gutter Water is due out October 12th via Decon. Apart from sharing production duties for the album, Oh No and Alchemist will be heard trading verses over one another’s compositions. To aide in the emcee department, Raekwon, Evidence, Roc C, MED, Twins Gambino, Planet Asia and Fashawn are all making appearances on the 15-track album.
Check out the tracklist, and first single “Chain Swinging” below.
Check Out:
“Chain Swinging”
Gutter Water Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. Boss Shit (Cuts by DJ Romes)
03. Not High Enough
04. Gutter Water ft. Raekwon
05. Get Into Some Gangster Shit ft. Planet Asia
06. Take Drugs
07. Chain Swinging (Cuts by DJ Romes)
08. Wassup Wassup ft. Fashawn and Evidence
09. All Bad (Cuts by DJ Romes)
10. Breathing Down Yo Neck ft. MED
11. From Another Orbit ft. Roc C
12. Ransom
13. Standing In The Shadows
14. Brass Knuckle Rap ft. Guilty Simpson
15. Not Leaving ft. Big Twins