Last Week in Music: "This Thing Of Ours 2" - The Alchemist

(ALC)

Last Friday, the busiest producer in hip-hop — The Alchemist — released a new EP, This Thing Of Ours 2. The Spins co-hosts Marty Gross and Finn Askin came together to discuss Alc's latest offering, including their favorite tracks and features.

FAVORITE TRACK?

Finn: The track that I was most looking forward to also ended up being my favorite bop on the tape. I’m not surprised. “Miracle Baby,” featuring the one and only Lil Moonbeam, AKA MAVI, is the epitome of a someone-get-me-water-because-this-track-is-FLAMING. The two-and-a-half-minute bopper showcases The Alchemist’s usual pure, perfect production. For the first time in what seems to be eons, however, The Alchemist’s musical wizardry seemed to take the backseat behind the lyrical execution of his complementing artist. MAVI’s strict back-and-forth flow constantly reminds me of a boxer whose knockout leaves a lasting impression on his opponent. Each bar is gracefully placed upon the audience’s ears, yet the power behind each word is only comparable to a Chuck Liddel upper-cut — you will never forget it. The mayor of Charlotte deserves his recognition, and I hope this ALC feature will help serve that up. The End of the Earth EP is easily my favorite non-album of 2021; this MAVI track wasn’t far off from garnering that same praise.

Marty: Nothing gets my musical thirst quenched more than pacing drum patterns and a jazzy horn loop, so there is no way I could pick any other track than “Lossless” with MIKE. In this track, MIKE’s double entendres and layered rhetoric sound like something out of a William Wordsworth poem. Ever since I started listening to this guy, he blows me away by using a lackadaisical vocal delivery and still being as powerful as a man screaming on the mic. Quotes like, “Born in the plight, we was torn from the right stuff, and floored by the prize, so my core was unrighteous,'' and, “Broke from confined, I was hostin' the problem, I used to take the four or the five to explore from this gauntlet,” leave you rereading to analyze the true meaning and leave you with a humbled mood. MIKE is living proof that poetry is alive and well and will never be going away.

BIGGEST MISS?

Finn: Maybe it’s solely because I am seeing Zelooperz in November as he accompanies JPEGMAFIA on-stage in Chicago, but wow, I expected so much more from the young man. While the track itself wasn’t terrible, I just felt like it was missing a solid amount of substance. The alien-abduction-esque synthesizers and disjointed feeling that surrounds the entire track were enough for me to stay for a second listen, but fuck, man — I just wanted an upgraded “Easter Sunday." Honestly, that might just be an incompetent ask on my part.

Marty: As I think this project is solid overall, I definitely think the new kids on the block outshined the vets. MIKE, Vince Staples, and MAVI absolutely dominate their respective tracks, and The Alchemist gave them some of the best beats on the entire project. Unfortunately, on the other hand, those Detroit boys didn’t cut it. I absolutely adore all of Bruiser Brigade, whether it's Danny Brown or Bruiser Wolf, but there was just nothing to remember from either “Flying Spirit” or “Wildstyle." I really hate shitting on these guys, so I won’t do too much of it, but sadly, these are the most forgettable Alc tracks I have heard in a while.

RANKING COMPARED TO OTHER ALC RECORDS?

Finn: While I won’t provide a ranking that corresponds to all of The Alchemist-produced projects that are available to the public, I will say this was honestly a disappointment in my perception. Maybe ALC was just looking to provide a more futuristic and thriller-driven production but didn’t want it to appear on a major project like Bo Jackson. It was a great experimental hitter, but I was left wondering what The Alchemist could really do for the up-and-coming artists like MAVI and MIKE. I ached for more. My biggest hope is that this EP is just an advertisement to the world that is saying: “Hi, I know these artists. MORE TO COME.”

Marty: Going into this project, I didn’t have the highest expectations overall. On the first installment of This Thing of Ours, I wasn’t extremely blown away simply because of the sheer volume of the project. My expectations for an Alchemist EP vs LP are immensely different. So even though I wasn’t blown away by this project, I most definitely wasn’t underwhelmed. With that being said, this honestly would probably rank in the lower-tier of Alchemist projects. There’s nothing spectacular or horrible about this project — just mid (relative to The Alchemist, that is). Sadly, this EP will leave the rotation as quickly as it got on.