How the stars got their breaks ... let's look at The Alchemist: "While he's made a trademark of his mastery of weaving a vocal sample into his music, his apprenticeship in DJ Muggs' Soul Assassins clique pointed to a different direction for him. Of course, he didn't provide the beats himself when he was one half of The Whooliganz, who were from the same aural palette as House Of Pain, Funkdoobiest and Cypress Hill. Along with his partner Scott Caan, Alchemist was the teenage white corner of the clique. Their debut single didn't just disappear, however, with the anthemic and stompy "Put Ya Hands Up" doing moderate business, despite its overwhelming corniness. The album, largely produced by T-Ray and Baka Boyz, never saw the light of day, however. Al's vocals are simplistic, obviously influenced by Grand Puba, but welded firmly to the rather inflexible musical progression, and not a shadow of his more reflective recent spitting on the sublime "Different Worlds." An occasional emcee, Al's work behind the boards has developed from mini-Muggs, through to moderate, identity-finding work for the likes of Buc Fifty, until he found himself honing his style with cinematic beats for Mobb Deep, Infamous Mobb and Dilated. There is a link between the squally Soul Assassins sound and Alchemist's modern day movie music, but one that is increasingly threadbare as he perfects his style." - Hip-Hop Connection, 2005. Dope bonus video below...