Gangrene (The Alchemist & Oh No)

Reviews

hhv.de mag - Review

The shamans define Ayahuasca as a hallucinogen, a healing plant with mind-expanding effects. In South America, it’s quite common – mostly in form of a brown swill – amongst the Amazonian Indians. Now imagine mixing this healing drink with vodka, garnishing it with loads of medically helpful greens from California and then locking oneself up in a dark cellar for several weeks. What comes out is what Oh No and The Alchemist have contrived with their latest and second LP, Vodka & Ayahuasca. The only difference is that those nutcases know their handicraft like no other, and that they play in a league of their own when it comes to consistency, bot qualitatively and quantitatively. The abstract and hypnotic loops sound like Gangrene in such a coherent manner that not even the protagonists themselves would be able to tell who produced what. Still, the new project is not quite as unpredictable and superior as what they’ve produced so far, even though Kool G Rap, Roc Marciano, Prodigy, Evidence and Roc C make sure that – especially rapwise – certain highlights have been set. Alchemist and Oh No have always been better producers than MCs, and they prove it yet again with potential hits like Flame Throwers and The Groove. And in the end, when everything sounds as wonderfully ignorant, dirty and spewed out as this, it doesn’t really matter if the tracks are damaged goods from Gutter Water or if they’re just fresh and concept-less Gangrene-lunacy.