Send "The Alchemist " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Ptchfork |
 One thing about the New Orleans rapper Curren$y: He's adaptable. In a decade-long career, he's played a staggering number of roles: Serving as foot soldier in Master P's fading No Limit empire, standing in Lil Wayne's shadow during that man's historic mid-00s run, striking out on his own and building himself to cult-favorite status on a series of weed-and-sneaker-addled solo mixtapes, inhabiting Ski Beatz' sumptuous psychedelic-soul production on last year's two great Pilot Talk albums. And now that he's established himself as one of the stars of an ascendant Internet-friendly stoner-rap scene, he's giving himself a new challenge, pairing up with the producer Alchemist for the online giveaway Covert Coup.Alchemist has had a tumultuous career of his own. He's a Beverly Hills native who came to prominence crafting Tunnel anthems for New York roughnecks like Mobb Deep and Jadakiss. These days, he specializes in a broken, warped form of rap production-- classic New York boom-bap refracted through prisms, the loose-and-shaggy Stones Throw cratedigger style turned ominous and bloodthirsty. His tracks for Covert Coup aren't far removed from the stuff he did on Gutter Water, an overlooked 2010 album that found him teaming with the West Coast underground stalwart Oh No, the two of them bouncing their queasiest, most unsettled head-nodders off of each other. On Covert Coup, his decayed guitar loops and creeping drum breaks remind me of the shattered post-apocalyptic New York that Snake Plissken had to escape. It's a different kind of weed-rap, one Curren$y hasn't really tried to do. And yet he slip-slides through it with the charming, effortless ease that's become his trademark. Nothing fazes this guy. Curren$y's been calling Covert Coup an EP, but it's 10 tracks in 28 minutes, longer than plenty of punk and indie full-lengths I own. The mixtape follows what I guess you'd call the Madvillainy model-- 90-second stretches of dense lyricism, usually without a chorus-- before the rapper fades out and the woozy, evocative track takes over. Curren$y's verses aren't punchline marathons; they're stoned reveries, and it can be riveting to hear him depict certain situations with loose, unhurried narrative precision: "Let the little homey kick it in the auto shop with us/ Long as he can make store runs and keep his mouth shut/ Same way I came up."...full text |
| Hiphopdx |
| Covert Coup shows that Curren$y and Alchemist are nearly just as potent of a duo as Spitta has been with anyone else. Curren$y is an enjoyable solo emcee, but he knows the value of finding chemistry with another act. Spitting alongside Lil Wayne after leaving No Limit helped raise the quality of his rhymes, and his How Fly mixtape with Wiz Khalifa was a strong foundation for both of their careers to reach new heights. Most recently, his last two solo albums, Pilot Talk and Pilot Talk II, rode Ski Beatz moreso to critical acclaim and fan allegiance than Spitta. It's not a matter of one outshining the other, but of complimentary sounds and teamwork. When Spitta has a key collaborator in the studio, he's shown the ability to form even more of a rhythm. So for his first project on his new Warner Bros. label home, it only makes sense that he'd link up with fellow piff purveyor Alchemist to drop an entire weed-inspired mixtape on 4/20. Covert Coup shows that Curren$y and Alchemist are nearly just as potent of a duo as Spitta has been with anyone else. Alc's soulful, murky soundbeds serve as perfect backdrops for Curren$y's elongated, smokey rhymes. Despite over half of the songs clocking in at less than three minutes, the work manages to maintain its rhythm with Alchemist's cohesive production. This method also works well with Curren$y's rigid subject matter and digressive lyrics, as one or two-verse opuses are all he needs to make his point anyway. “Double 07” and “BBS” showcase mixtape Spitta in his element with stylish deliveries and punchlines, with seat-reclining instrumentals that give his rhymes room to breathe. The ultra-subdued “Smoke Break” is self-explanatory, and “Scottie Pippens” contrasts Curren$y's staccato flow with Freddie Gibbs' multi-syllabic agility. Guest appearances from long-gone rap staples also give Covert Coup extra novelty. Prodigy returns from a three-year prison bid to appear on “The Type,” and his resilient rhymes about the psyches prevalent in his NYC stomping grounds sound right at home over signature Alchemist production. Former No Limit cohort Fiend also stops by to lend his baritone mic presence and plain-stated rhymes to “Blood Sweat and Gears.” ...full text |
| Hiphopmayhem |
| Curren$y is an enjoyable solo emcee, but he knows the value of finding chemistry with another act. Spitting alongside Lil Wayne after leaving No Limit helped raise the quality of his rhymes, and his How Fly mixtape with Wiz Khalifa was a strong foundation for both of their careers to reach new heights. Most recently, his last two solo albums, Pilot Talk and Pilot Talk II, rode Ski Beatz moreso to critical acclaim and fan allegiance than Spitta. It’s not a matter of one outshining the other, but of complimentary sounds and teamwork. When Spitta has a key collaborator in the studio, he’s shown the ability to form even more of a rhythm. So for his first project on his new Warner Bros. label home, it only makes sense that he’d link up with fellow piff purveyor Alchemist to drop an entire weed-inspired mixtape on 4/20. Covert Coup shows that Curren$y and Alchemist are nearly just as potent of a duo as Spitta has been with anyone else. Alc’s soulful, murky soundbeds serve as perfect backdrops for Curren$y’s elongated, smokey rhymes. Despite over half of the songs clocking in at less than three minutes, the work manages to maintain its rhythm with Alchemist’s cohesive production. This method also works well with Curren$y’s rigid subject matter and digressive lyrics, as one or two-verse opuses are all he needs to make his point anyway. “Double 07” and “BBS” showcase mixtape Spitta in his element with stylish deliveries and punchlines, with seat-reclining instrumentals that give his rhymes room to breathe. The ultra-subdued “Smoke Break” is self-explanatory, and “Scottie Pippens” contrasts Curren$y’s staccato flow with Freddie Gibbs’ multi-syllabic agility....full text |
The Alchemist lyrics
|
| ||||||||||
