Previewed heavily on the producer's 2008 EP, The Cookbook, Alchemist's often-delayed album, Chemical Warfare, matches his 2004 release, 1st Infantry, when it comes to both quality control and riveting beats, but fans expecting nothing but that hardcore punch may be alienated by a handful of surprisingly mainstream numbers.
With guest singer Maxwell in full neo-soul mode, "Smile" is the sunshine bright high point of the crossover tracks, with the club-aimed Three 6 Mafia and Juvenile feature "That'll Work" running a close second.
On the flipside there's the underground sound of Gangrene -- Alchemist's project with Oh No -- along with the hypnotic backpacker cut "Therapy," which returns from The Cookbook EP, but improved with an added verse from Talib Kweli.
Kicking off the Lady of Rage comeback with the great Dogg Pound team-up "On Sight" displays the kind of throwback smarts that have earned the producer respect from the hip-hop faithful.
Temper that with the absolutely filthy, very funny, and very short title track with Eminem, and the album offers the full Alchemist picture.
He's confident enough to be sacrilegious yet smart enough to offer substance, and while not every returning Dilated Peoples or Mobb Deep fan will be able to hang with his more mature side, Chemical Warfare keeps this capo's reputation in tact.
Recommended for aspiring dons and more open-minded thugs.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro | The Alchemist | Play | 00:58 | 2 MB | 6 MB |
| 2 | ALC Theme | The Alchemist, Kool G Rap | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | Lose Your Life | The Alchemist, Snoop Dogg, Jadakiss, Pusha T | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 4 | Chemical Warfare | The Alchemist, Eminem | Play | 01:33 | 3 MB | 9 MB |
| 5 | Grand Concourse Benches | The Alchemist, KRS-One | Play | 05:23 | 12 MB | 32 MB |
| 6 | Therapy | The Alchemist, Blu, Kid Cudi, Evidence, Talib Kweli | Play | 05:22 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 7 | That'll Work | The Alchemist, Juvenile, Three 6 Mafia | Play | 05:00 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 8 | Smile | The Alchemist, Maxwell, Twista | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Keep the Heels On | The Alchemist, Prodigy | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 10 | Acts of Violence | The Alchemist, Gangrene | Play | 05:22 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 11 | On Sight | The Alchemist, Dogg Pound Posse, The Lady of Rage | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 18 MB |
| 12 | Take a Look Back | The Alchemist | Play | 05:29 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 13 | Lights,Camera,Action | The Alchemist | Play | 01:40 | 3 MB | 10 MB |
| 14 | Some Gangster Sxxx | The Alchemist | Play | 02:00 | 4 MB | 11 MB |
| 15 | Under Siege (Bonus) | The Alchemist | Play | 02:13 | 5 MB | 13 MB |
| 55 mins | 127 MB | |||||
| 55 mins | 345 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Alchemist | Engineer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 2 | Blu | Guest Artist, Primary Artist |
| 3 | Blue | Featured Artist |
| 4 | Kevin Crouse | Mixing |
| 5 | DJ Rones | Cut, Mixing |
| 6 | Tha Dogg Pound | Featured Artist, Guest Artist |
| 7 | Dogg Pound Posse | Primary Artist |
| 8 | Eminem | Featured Artist, Guest Artist, Primary Artist |
| 9 | Evidence | Featured Artist, Guest Artist, Primary Artist |
| 10 | Fabolous | Featured Artist, Primary Artist |
| 11 | Gangrene | Featured Artist, Primary Artist |
| 12 | Jadakiss | Featured Artist, Primary Artist |
| 13 | Eric Johnson | Bass |
| 14 | Juvenile | Guest Artist, Primary Artist |
| 15 | Juvenille | Featured Artist |
| 16 | Kid Cudi | Featured Artist, Primary Artist |
| 17 | Kool G Rap | Featured Artist, Primary Artist |
| 18 | KRS-One | Featured Artist, Guest Artist, Primary Artist |
| 19 | Talib Kweli | Featured Artist, Guest Artist, Primary Artist |
| 20 | LA | Featured Artist |
| 21 | The Lady of Rage | Primary Artist |
| 22 | Lil' Fame | Primary Artist |
| 23 | Lil Fang | Featured Artist |
| 24 | Neil Maman | Executive Producer |
| 25 | Maxwell | Featured Artist, Primary Artist |
| 26 | Prodigy | Featured Artist, Guest Artist, Primary Artist |
| 27 | Pusha T | Featured Artist, Primary Artist |
| 28 | Eddie Sancho | Mixing |
| 29 | Snoop Dogg | Featured Artist, Guest Artist, Primary Artist |
| 30 | Three 6 Mafia | Featured Artist, Guest Artist, Primary Artist |
| 31 | Twista | Featured Artist, Guest Artist, Primary Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |