The Alchemist Reveals Backstory Behind His Kendrick Lamar "Meet The Grahams" Beat

BYGabriel Bras Nevares2.4K Views
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2018 BET Experience STAPLES Center Concert Sponsored by COCA-COLA - Night 2
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 22: Kendrick Lamar attends the 2018 BET Experience Staples Center Concert, sponsored by COCA-COLA, at L.A. Live on June 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ser Baffo/Getty Images for BET)
We've all been waiting for this one...

When the world found out that The Alchemist produced the beat for Kendrick Lamar's downright terrifying Drake diss, "meet the grahams," they immediately barraged him with questions about how it came to life. Up to this point, the producer was pretty tight-lipped about the whole situation, only letting off some jokes here and there plus vague remarks on its release. But during a new interview that surfaced online on Thursday (September 26), he went into a little more detail about the haunting song. While there are still plenty of unanswered questions, it's still exciting to hear this glimpse into one of 2024's most notable hip-hop moments.

"That was a gospel record. Swear to God," The Alchemist said of Kendrick Lamar's six-minute track. "I sent it to him beforehand and he had it for a minute. I heard it when everybody else heard it. It was a trip. Yeah, I was getting a haircut at the studio and it came on the phone. We was listening online, someone was streaming. I thought my phone was bugging. I didn’t know." We can't imagine that he knew what that instrumental would become when he sent it to K.Dot.

The Alchemist Speaks On Kendrick Lamar's "Meet The Grahams"

Elsewhere, Uncle Al had a lot of jokes to respond to incessant questions about the Kendrick Lamar track on Twitter. "Questlove made it known that you weren’t aware Kendrick was going to use your beat for meet the graham’s. Did it bother you that Kendrick did that? Was it okay with you that Questlove gave us that information?" a fan asked. The Alchemist replied with this: "Nah but I was extremely bothered and downright livid when I realized that all these years I did not know that Cap’n Crunch’s full name is Horatio Magellan Crunch."

What's more is that we know that The Alchemist feels pretty proud of this beat, and he should. He even played it at a Los Angeles club a couple of months ago, but at least he didn't let Kendrick Lamar scare us again over it. We can only wonder what other collaborations and possible astonishments they have collecting dust in the vault, only to emerge in unexpected ways.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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