The Alchemist has reached the top. He's backing Eminem as Slim Shady's DJ during the Detroit legend's recent promo run.
"We did a bunch of shows in Europe. It was incredible, amazing," Alchemist told MTV News earlier this week as he was pulling up to "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," where Eminem was performing.
"Crazy dope," Al, also an acclaimed producer, gushed of Em's run on the road. "Rolling with Em is the best. Another level. All the years being with Mobb [Alchemist was Mobb Deep's former show DJ], then being with Em, seeing the next level of what it is, it reminds me of when Mobb was on the road with 50. They had that relationship that was really connecting. Now I feel we're on that level. Clear mind and a connection of all the positive energy that's going on is quite amazing."
On Monday, Al told Mixtape Daily that during Em's shows, the new record "Underground" is a highlight for him.
"When I first heard [Relapse], that was the song I said, 'This is gonna shut mutha----ers up.' Straight up," Al said. "It would not be an issue. Nobody would be like, 'I didn't like this, I didn't like the flow.' ... When we perform that song, Em takes a spot on the stage, and that's it. He picks a spot and dumbs out. There's not a lot of moving. When we're rehearing the song, you know, 'This is gonna be something crazy.' He says, 'Turn the lights down,' they put the spotlight on Em, and it's just snap rap. In the current day and age, you don't hear songs like that. It doesn't seem like any of that other sh-- going on in the world or in the music industry was going on in his mind when he [made the song]. He was strictly into the craft. I don't think anybody is f---ing with that."
Em and Al have become so tight, the Shady One raps on the title track to Al's June 16 LP, Chemical Warfare II.
"Being that the album is more of a compilation-style album, it wasn't too much pressure," Al said about the track, which he also produced. "I felt like I wanted him to snap out on the beat. It was no direction, I just fed him some sounds, and he sifted through some stuff, and he felt what he felt. He just dumbed out on it. It was more of, let's say, his album is done and he gets a hard beat, he just wants to flip on it. It wasn't having to write a whole song. He got that done with his album. This was more like, 'I'mma get an Alchemist beat and dumb out and say some fly sh--.' Which was dope to me too, because that's the essence of him."
Jadakiss, Prodigy, Maxwell, Three 6 Mafia, Fabolous, Tha Dogg Pound, Lady of Rage and Kid Cudi have also contributed to Al's upcoming set.
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