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Today (August 26), Roc Marciano and Alchemist link for The Elephant Man’s Bones. The 14-song album arrives through both MC/producer’s labels, in conjunction with EMPIRE. It is in that very situation that Alchemist has enjoyed Grammy-nominated success more than 25 years into one of the most decorated careers in Hip-Hop production. His 2020 LP Alfredo, alongside Freddie Gibbs, earned Al in the “Best Rap Album” category, with the trophy eventually going to a collaborator, Nas, and his producer, Hit-Boy. In recent years, Alan The Chemist has produced full-length albums for Curren$y, Boldy James, Armand Hammer, Action Bronson, and one of his mentors, Mobb Deep’s Havoc. Now, with The Elephant Man’s Bones, he handles the boards for Roc Marciano, a fellow double-threat who he has worked with since Roc’s days with The UN. Their collection involves Ice-T, Bronson, Boldy, and Roc’s longtime homie Knowledge The Pirate, and finds both vets with a charged up battery in their backs.

Roc Marciano & Alchemist Remind What Great Hip-Hop Sounds Like (Audio)

“Bubble Bath” is a highlight from the LP. Roc Marci begins with swagger on tilt: “Yo, yo, got twelve on the tail / Smelling like fishscale, there’s always a twist to a swell Vin’ film / Before we bail, I did a line off my lady t*tty like Ricky Bell / Made your girl get busy as well / They ain’t got shit on me, hell, I may as well be strippin’ in Chippendales / Naked with nothing but just a Richard Mille / B*tch, I’m rich for real, you just pigeon sh*t on the windshield / Icy wrist chill on the Benz steering wheel / Wheel and deal, paint the V12 teal / Bentleys, females, Achille’s heel / You know the drill, it’s kill or be killed, that’s Fendi belt / This a level above material wealth.”

In the song, which is less than three minutes, Roc Marciano exudes the kind of confidence he always has—especially within an epic run over the last dozen years dating back to Marcberg. That 2010 Fat Beats Records release was named among AFH‘s best of the decade, laying down a blueprint the influenced Bronson, Griselda, and countless others. On the musical side, Al cooks up pulsating drums, and music box accents for Roc Marciano to kick an elevated, R-rated nursery rhyme.

Alchemist Gets Together With Prodigy, Roc Marciano & Budgie & Looks To The Afterlife (Audio)

The AFH playlist also features Roc Marciano’s recent standout feature on Action Bronson’s Cocodrillo Turbo, as well as Alchemist collaborations with Larry June, Benny The Butcher, and Curren$y.

#BonusBeat: AFH‘s Best of 2021 Hip-Hop albums list included one album released by Alchemist. This episode of the What’s The Headline podcast examines that album and others: