Alchemist On Turning Beats Into A Business, Cutting Out The Music Industry | IDEA GENERATION, Ep. 8

Alchemist got his start as the teenaged sidekick to Cypress Hill and the Soul Assassins. Though his rap group, The Whooliganz, would be dumped by their label before they could even release their first album, Al did not let the setback stop him. In fact, by the time he dropped out of NYU the MC-turned-beat-maker already had a catalog with a couple classics, and more on the way. In the 25 years since Al has continued to develop as a musician, embracing new generations and new styles, while also reinventing his business model from the typical front half advance + pub and writing backend to a more Direct-To-Consumer model. And as a result of this conscious shift in economics, he has more latitude than ever with his craft.

00:00 – 01:19 – Intro
01:20 – 03:30: Discovering Music + Childhood
03:30 – 04:42: Meeting Evidence and Will.I.Am
04:42 – 05:20: The Hooligans and Signing to Tommy Boy
05:20 – 07:40: The First Tour
07:40 – 08:05: Beat Making Process
08:05 – 10:37 After the Tour and Working on Cypress III
10:37 – 10:55: Act II
10:55 – 11:57: Attending NYU
11:57 – 12:45: Dropping out of College
12:45 – 13:44: Cypress Hill Remix + Developing A Sound
13:44 – 14:23: Beatmaking Basics
14:23 – 16:30: Working with Mobb Deep
16:30 – 18:47: Making A Name
18:47 – :19:28 Negotiating Deal Structures for Beats
19:28 – 21:20: Solo Debut – 1st Infantry
21:20 – 22:40: The Story Behind “Got It Twisted”
22:40 – 23:58: “We Gon Make It”
23:58 – 24:51: Collaborations + Return of the Mac
24:51 – 26:00: Philosophy of Making Great Albums
26:00 – 27:38: Major Industry Shifts + Chemical Warfare
27:38 – 28:07: Act III
28:07 – 29:37: Alchemist’s Studio + Rap Camp
29:37 – 31:37: Covert Coup
31:37 – 32:10: Day in the Life
32:10 – 34:16: A New Generation of Collaborators + 10,000 hours
34:16 – 36:46: Discovering Bandcamp + Cutting Out The Middle Man
36:46 – 39:00: Making A Label + Building an Ecosystem
39:01 – 39:17: Credits