Review written by: MazaOne of the most respected beatmakers in hip-hop, The Alchemist name holds weight like few others. On 'Rappers Best Friend', you get 14 instrumental versions of the producer's past collaborations with a varied group of artists that includes Scarface, Dilated Peoples, Jadakiss, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Big Twin, and Tony Yayo.
The LP starts off with tracks that should be familiar to most hip-hop fans. Bring You Light, Stuck To U and Still Feel Me where all featured on Jadakiss, Snoop Dogg and Prodigy albums respectively.
The album continues with my favorite tracks 'Shine', 'Carved In Stone' and 'Guns Is Razors'. Throughout these tracks Alchemist demonstrates his unique production ability. On 'Carved in Stone' he used handclaps to give the beat a sense of continuity but lets the drums mess around them. Hearing his tracks without the vocals truly allows you to appreciate the layers of sound he arranges around the sample.
There's other tracks which tend to be quite simple(such as 'The Thirst'), but form the basis for a skilled Emcee to build a great track.
'Rappers Best Friend' gives fans a chance to appreciate The Alchemist's production in its purist form. Beat connoisseurs, hip-hop fans in general and fledgling rappers looking for tracks to hone their skills in particular will all appreciate this collection.
Final Rating:
3.5/5
