The Alchemist — Flying High — EP Review
Alternative | Hip-Hop | Production
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
It should be no secret to anybody who has been reading my reviews at this point, but I will say once more that The Alchemist is one of my favourite hip-hop producers of the modern age. The way in which the many beats he has made carry a truly indulgent jazzy feel really set him apart from a lot of other producers out there, and on top of that, gives his instrumentals a feeling of true class.
Having first really being exposed to The Alchemist through his 2020 collaboration with Freddie Gibbs, under the album Alfredo (late to the party again, I know), I have vibed with every other subsequent track he has had a part to play in. And with how consistently enjoyable anything that has The Alchemist behind the wheel is, it really speaks volumes of how great this producer is.
Despite all that, however, I believe that Flying High may serve as the first EP I have listened to from The Alchemist. And it is quite the nice change of pace, to say the least. With the last three weeks I’ve had being especially busy, I definitely appreciated the release of a more bite-sized project from The Alchemist, considering just how much time I can spend normally getting into the soundscapes that he so masterfully creates. And besides which, I was also in need of another EP to sink my teeth into.
Needless to say, Flying High is exactly the kind of EP I was expecting from The Alchemist. But with the beats always being so god damn atmospheric, I felt that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in this case.
With some listeners just wanting to listen to the masterful musical creations that The Alchemist, and others excited to hear the inputs from the features that the producer so generously employs, this EP caters for both, with both lyrical renditions of the four tracks found on Flying High, and instrumental versions.
The track which serves as the opener for the EP, titled “RIP Tracy”, comes across as the most typically Alchemist-esque track of the bunch, giving people who may have not listened to The Alchemist before a very swift aesthetic into his sound. The track also features Earl Sweatshirt, and billy woods, both of which contributed brilliantly to this slow somber tune.
This opener is then followed up by “Trouble Man”, the one track on this EP that I feel goes a little more against the aesthetic that this EP was seemingly trying to set up, due to it being easily being the most gritty track, both in terms of production and bars from T.F and Boldy James.
The penultimate track, titled “Bless” not only features MIKE (an artist that I feel goes together with an Alchemist beat like bread and butter), along with Sideshow, of course, but also definitely pushes that holiday vibe, that I feel this EP was primarily focused on.
And finally “Midnight Oil” feels like a culmination of what made the three tracks before it enjoyable in their own right. In short, it is the best of all worlds musically, and likely my favourite track off of this EP.
And with those four tracks, you have an EP that meets the standard in terms of duration. But more importantly than that, The Alchemist sprinkles his own kind of summer vibe for all hip-hop heads to enjoy.
Favourite Tracks: Bless | Midnight Oil
ALC
