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

BYGabriel Bras Nevares2.3K Views
Link Copied to Clipboard!
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 music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output. Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond. Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C. His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.
...