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Alan Daniel Maman (born October 25, 1977), better known as The Alchemist, is an American hip hop producer, DJ and rapper. He hails from Beverly Hills, California.^[1] After rising to prominence in the late 1990s as a close associate of Dilated Peoples and Mobb Deep, he went on to produce for many of hip hop's leading artists in the 2000s, and has been hailed as one of the genre's leading producers. He is currently working as a DJ with Eminem and is also signed to his label Shady Records.^[2] His earlier nickname was "Mudfoot", in the times of The Whooliganz.

Career[link]

Early[link]

Alan was born to Jewish parents in Beverly Hills, California, and his father is of Israeli descent.^[3] As a teenager, Al began to identify strongly with the rebellious lyrics and urban sounds of hip-hop, and he began writing his own lyrics as a creative outlet. He joined up with other like-minded artists who wrote lyrics and rebelled against their suburban surroundings. He was also associated with Shifty Shellshock of Crazy Town, Evidence of Dilated Peoples and Scott Caan, son of James Caan. Al and Scott decided to become a duo named The Whooliganz.^[1] While rhyming at a party in L.A., they attracted the attention of B-Real of Cypress Hill. He invited the teens to join his crew, The Soul Assassins, which also included the groups House of Pain and Funkdoobiest.^[1] In 1993, the Whooliganz released their first single, "Put Your Handz Up." The song received little radio airplay and their record label, Tommy Boy Records, decided to shelve their album.^[1] Rejected, Scott focused his creative energy on acting while Al became interested in process of making hip-hop beats

DJ Muggs took Al under his wing and taught him how to use a sampler and mixing board.^[1] After helping to produce a few tracks for Cypress Hill, Al became the main producer for his childhood friend, Evidence and his group Dilated Peoples.

Later[link]

When Dilated debuted in 1998, they were an underground sensation creating a huge buzz about the man behind the beats. Alchemist also produced several tracks on the debut album Focused Daily by Defari, another Dilated and Alkaholik affiliate. In 1999, Muggs introduced Al to his good friends, the popular hip-hop group Mobb Deep. Al produced two songs for their Murda Muzik album.^[1] Impressed by his production skills and street smarts, Mobb Deep took him under their wing, using his beats on all their subsequent albums. As Alchemist's profile increased, he went on to produce for many of hip hop's most successful and prominent artists, such as Nas, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Ghostface Killah and Snoop Dogg.^[1] He has also remixed songs for bands and artists in other genres such as Linkin Park and Morcheeba.^[1] Al stayed loyal to his old friends, continuing to produce for Dilated, Cypress Hill, Everlast (formerly of House of Pain) and Crazy Town. He also enjoys producing for lesser-known underground rappers, often giving them some of his best beats. In 2004, six years after his rapping career folded, The Alchemist returned with his long-awaited debut album, "1st Infantry." The album yielded the hit single "Hold You Down" (featuring Prodigy, Illa Ghee and Nina Sky), which hit number ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2005. Also Appeared in the segment of Tim Westwood TV.

Ras Kass feud[link]

In 1999, The Alchemist was set to produce 3 tracks for rapper Ras Kass' upcoming album, "Van Gogh", which was scheduled for a late 2000 release at the time. One of the said tracks was "Home Sweet Home", which was to be the lead single for Ras Kass' album. After The Alchemist received the first half of the payment for the beat, he says Ras Kass' record label (Priority) was ignoring him. They later met up in August at the Source Awards in Pasadena, California where Alchemist informed Kass that he'd been showcasing the beat to other artists. Jadakiss would then go on to record "We Gonna Make It" over the same beat, on his 2001 release, Kiss Tha Game Goodbye. When Ras Kass took notice, he attempted to stop the release by releasing his version of the song on mixtapes, but to no success.^[4] This prompted Ras to diss Alchemist in freestyles and on a track from Van Gogh. Eventually the beef ended so he could concentrate on his legal problems but still cited a loss of respect for the producer. However, during 2006, The Alchemist was featured on a skit in the Revenge of the Spit mixtape. Furthermore, in an interview with www.hiphopgame.com, Ras admits that he was being stubborn and refused to listen to what the Alchemist was trying to tell him. The two have since squashed the beef and Alchemist produced the song "Past, Future, and Present" and did the intro for the song that appeared on Revenge of the Spit. In 2011, Ras Kass appeared together with rapper Raekwon on fellow rapper Evidence's album Cats & Dogs, on a song called "The Red Carpet", which was produced by The Alchemist

Anger Management Tour[link]

Alchemist was signed on as the official tour DJ for Eminem on the 2005 Anger Management 3 Tour, replacing the recently-ousted DJ Green Lantern.^[5] On July 13, 2005, the tour bus carrying Eminem's entourage (including rapper Stat Quo as well as Alchemist) swerved off the road and turned over. Alchemist was treated for broken ribs and a collapsed lung.^[6]

Other projects[link]

The Alchemist is one of the music producers behind the 10th installment of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars released by Rockstar Games. He was also on Tim Westwood TV, when Eminem, Royce Da 5'9" and Mr. Porter freestyled. During an interview with Worldwide Conspiracy Radio, The Alchemist revealed he would be dropping a 2-part project with fellow west coast producer Oh No entitled Gangrene, the first to be released in July, the second in November, both on Decon. He also shed some light on a joint project between himself and long time friend Evidence called Step Brothers, saying "I wanna create a sound for it. I don't want Step Brothers songs to sound like it could've been a Dilated Peoples song, or an Evidence song, that'd I'd rap on. He will also be handling the production of Curren$y's Warner Bro's debut album, Covert Coup, exclusively.".^[7] Alchemist was also the DJ for the Eminem set on the popular BBC1 chat-show Jonathan Ross on 4 June 2010.

Shady Records[link]

Alchemist is Eminem's official DJ, since DJ Green Lantern departed from "Shady Records", because a dispute, related to the feud of 50 Cent and Jadakiss. On March 6, 2011, he signed a label deal with Shady Records for his next and upcoming album.

Musical signature[link]

	"The Alchemist's Signature" noicon
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

The Alchemist has a musical-signature in a lot of songs that he produces. The signature is a distorted voice recording of rapper Prodigy. The signature appears in a lot of Alchemist-produced songs, mostly in the beginning of the song, but sometimes also in other parts of a song.

Upcoming[link]

In an interview with DJ Pizzo ^[8], The Alchemist revealed details on the topic of upcoming projects, such as " Russian Roulette, the "Step Brothers" with Evidence, "Rare Chandeliers" - an entire album with Action Bronson, a project with Boldy James, “DuRag Dynasty” (Planet Asia + Killa Ben + Tri State ) & a project with Roc Marciano.

Collaboration projects[link]

General Collaborations[link]

Eminem Presents: The Re-Up (2006)

In 2006, Eminem released a mixtape called Eminem Presents: The Re-Up. Since the Alchemist is his official DJ, he produced a handful of tracks on the mixtape, as well as compiling the album in a mixtape fashion.

Return of the Mac (2007)

In 2007, the Alchemist and his friend and rapper Prodigy, came together for a studio album called Return of the Mac, that came out in the March 27, 2007. The Alchemist did the productions of the whole album and he produced two tracks with DJ Muro.

The Antidote (2009)

In 2009, The Alchemist produced an entire mixtape with the rapper Fashawn, called The Antidote.

Covert Coup

In the middle of 2011, The Alchemist and the rapper Curren$y came together for the mixtape Covert Coup. The mixtape came out April 20, 2011. The Alchemist produced the whole mixtape. There were rumors that the pair were going to release a sequel to the mixtape, titled "Re-Conversationalize", which held the release date of April 20, 2012, exactly one year later than the first oroject. However that rumor was proven to be false.

Step Brothers

The Alchemist and his long time friend and fellow rapper Evidence are planning a project together, under the duo stage name Step Brothers.

Gangrene[link]

Back in Chemical Warfare, there were two songs, named "Act of Violence" and "Under Siege", that were collaboration songs of the Alchemist and the rapper Oh No, under the collaboration name Gangrene.

During an interview with Worldwide Conspiracy Radio, the Alchemist revealed he would be dropping project with fellow west coast producer and rapper Oh No.

The Alchemist and Oh No came together for Sawblade EP and the studio album Gutter Water.

The Alchemist and Oh No shared the production of the two projects.

Later, in 2011, Gangrene and the rapper Roc Marciano came together for Greneberg EP, that came out in July 19, 2011.

In January 24, Gangrene released their second studio album Vodka & Ayahuasca. The Alchemist and Oh No shared the production of this project too, althogh Oh No produced a bigger part of the album, 9 tracks of 14, and The Alchemist produced only 5 tracks.

Later, in April 2012, Gangrene released a 4 tracks EP called Odditorium EP, for free download in Redbull USA's official site ^[9], and as a Picture disc.

Discography[link]

References[link]

• Winning, Brolin (2004-12-01). "The Alchemist—Popular Science". Remix. http://remixmag.com/artists/remix_popular_science/. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (March 2012)

Official websites

• The Alchemist on Myspace
• The Alchemist at MTV.com
• Alchemist Academy Unofficial Fan Blog

Interviews

• Metaphysics chops it up for out for fame and Gandanga TV
• The Alchemist speaks on his upcoming second LP 'Chemical Warfare'
• Interview with The Alchemist at Complex Magazine
• Alchemist: Mixing Dangerous Chemicals
• Radio interview with The Alchemist
• 60 Seconds With... The Alchemist
• The Alchemist: Eminem's Official DJ
• OneStopBeats.com: The Alchemist
• Dubcnn.com Video Interview
• Dubcnn.com Text Interview
• TSS Presents SMoking Sessions With Stat Quo & Th Alchemist | The Smoking Section
• UGHH: Alchemist - 'Interview Pt. 1'
• UGHH: Alchemist - 'Interview Pt. 2'
• Havoc & Alchemist Interview
• HipHopGame Interview - The Alchemist
• Alchemist - The Transformer :: Hip-Hop Interview
• Producers Corner: Evidence & Alchemist
• Alchemist: Hold You Down | BallerStatus.com
• HipHopGame.com - Alchemist Interview
• Interview with The Alchemist
• Grind Time: The Alchemist's Skate History
• powerplayed (Beta) ⁄ Interview With The Alchemist by The Alchemist
• The Alchemist Interview
• A Man & His Music | Black Sheep Mag | Hip Hop, R&B & Soul Music Magazine
• The Alchemist: High And Mighty
• Chemical Warfare review
• Conspiracy Worldwide Hip Hop Radio Interview

William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), better known by his stage name Rick Ross (often stylized as RICK RO$$), is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection. Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his studio albums Deeper Than Rap and Teflon Don, Ross was also the first artist signed to Diddy's management company Ciroc Entertainment. In early 2012, MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC In The Game.^[3]

Early life[link]

William Leonard Roberts II was born in Coahoma County, Mississippi.^[1] and raised in Carol City, Florida, near Miami.^[2] After graduating from Carol City Senior High School, he later attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football scholarship.^[4]

Music career[link]

After being signed to Suave House Records, former label for rap duo 8Ball & MJG, he eventually signed a deal with Slip-n-Slide Records, which has been under the Def Jam umbrella since 2006. While signed to Slip-n-Slide, Ross toured with fellow rapper Trick Daddy and made guest performances on other Slip-n-Slide albums.^[2]

[edit] Port of Miami (2006)

His debut album Port of Miami was released in August 2006 and debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart, with sales at 187,000 units after its first week.^[5][6] Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine predicted that it would be "the summer's biggest rap record".^[7] The second single was "Push It", which samples "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)", the theme song off the gangster film Scarface.^[8] The music video for "Push It" was modeled after the film.^[9] During that time, Ross made guest performances on two singles from DJ Khaled's debut Listennn... the Album: "Born-N-Raised" and "Holla at Me". Port of Miami received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America on November 8, 2006.

[edit] Trilla (2008)

In March 2008, his second album Trilla was released and, as its predecessor Port of Miami had, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200.^[10] Its lead single "Speedin'" featuring R. Kelly peaked at #121 on the Billboard Hot 100; the next one, "The Boss" featuring T-Pain peaked at #17 on the Hot 100. The third single "Here I Am" featured Nelly and Avery Storm.^[11] MTV News ranked Ross on the fourth spot in its 2008 "Hottest MCs In The Game" list among ten rappers.^[12] The fourth single "This Is The Life" featured Trey Songz and was released in July.

[edit] Deeper Than Rap (2009)

"I look at the game and the business and all different aspects, it's a lot of great lyricists on the corner that will never properly understand the business and know how to market themselves and get in a position where they can gain capital. I look at all the strategies people use and what made them successful. What made Birdman just as relevant today after selling 50 million records? That intrigues me. To see the class of Jay-Z, his accomplishments and see how he sits backs and accurately makes his moves."^[13]

A track from the album called "Valley of Death" was what stood out to MTV reporters. In the song, Ross speaks briefly on his controversial stint as a prison guard. "Keep it trilla, nigga, never had a gun and badge," which he stresses, leaving the word that he was indeed an officer of the law. "Kept a nice watch, smoking on a hundred sack/ Back in the day I sold crack for some nice kicks/ Skippin' school, I saw my friend stabbed with an ice pick/ Can't criticize niggas trying to get jobs/ Better get smart, young brother, live yours." Later, he implies that while he was working as a corrections officer, he was on the streets. "Only lived once and I got two kids/ And for me to feed them, I'll get two gigs," he raps. "I'll shovel shit, I'll C.O./ So we can bow our heads and pray over the meatloaf." Although, he still provided no explanation for lying about being a C.O. to begin with, nor did he explain why he failed to pay child support for his children.^[14][15]

The cover of the May 2009 issue of XXL magazine, titled "Rick Ross Up in Smoke", featured Ross wearing a pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses. After publication, a spokesperson for the luxury-goods maker contacted XXL to inform them that Ross was sporting fake sunglasses in the cover image.^[16] It was later revealed that the rapper was wearing authentic Louis Vuitton sunglasses which were altered by Jacob Bernstein, known as "The Sunglass Pimp". Bernstein defended his customizations despite Louis Vuitton's insistence that such modification and resale of trademarked property is not legal.^[17]

[edit] Teflon Don and other works (2010)

Rick Ross released his fourth studio album entitled Teflon Don, which was released on July 6, 2010. The lead is "Super High" featuring Ne-Yo. Actress Stacey Dash made an appearance in the music video. A second official single was released titled "Live Fast, Die Young" which features and is produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 selling 176,000 copies in its first week.

In November 2010, rapper and frequent collabourator, Diddy, who in 2009 signed Ross to a management deal with his Ciroc Entertainment, announced from his YouTube account, that him and Ross are working on an EP together, which is going to be released in 2011.^{[dated info]} A single has been released for the project, called "Another One".^[18]

[edit] God Forgives, I Don't (2011 - present)

Rick Ross had also announced the release of his next album, "God Forgives, I Don't", for December 13, 2011, however it was confirmed on November 17, 2011 it has been pushed back for release in 2012.^[19][20]

Rick Ross premiered two songs from his new album "God Forgives, I Don't", titled "You The Boss" and "I Love My Bitches".^[21]

Along with his music projects, Rick Ross was nominated by The Source as its "Man of the Year".^[22]

Rick Ross performed at BET Awards 2011, which aired on June 26, 2011.^[23] He also received a nomination for Best Male Hip Hop Artist.^[24] In early 2012, Ross was named the Hottest MC In The Game.^[3]

Personal life[link]

Correctional officer photos[link]

In July 2008, The Smoking Gun produced details linking Ross' social security number to an eighteen month stint as a correctional officer at the South Florida Reception Center, along with a photograph purporting to be Ross in his correctional officer uniform.^[25] Ross initially denied that the photograph was of him;^[26] after overwhelming evidence of his past came into the public's eye, Ross later admitted that he did work as a correctional officer in Florida during the early 1990s.^[27] In a 2008 interview with AllHipHop.com,^[28] "Freeway" Ricky Ross, claimed offense that Roberts used his name and identity when he learned that The Smoking Gun posted documents revealing Roberts' previous employment as a Florida correctional officer.^[29]

Legal issues[link]

Mugshot of Rick Ross taken in 2008.

In January 2008, Ross was arrested on gun and marijuana charges. During a deposition of Officer Rey Hernandez, a Miami Beach cop who arrested Ross, Ross's lawyer, Allan Zamren, asked Hernandez why Ross’s case was assigned to the gang task force. The officer stated that it was because Ross claimed affiliation with Carol City Cartel and other known gang members. Zamren then pressed Hernandez for a personal link between Ross and the gang members, but ultimately one could not be established.^[30]

In August 2008, YouTube entertainer DJ Vlad filed a lawsuit against Ross for assault and battery. Vlad claimed Ross organized an ambush on him at the 2008 Ozone Awards in Houston, Texas for asking questions about his past as a correctional officer.^[31]

On June 18, 2010, Freeway Ricky Ross sued Rick Ross for using his name,^[32] filing a copyright infringement lawsuit in a California Federal Court.^[32] Jay-Z had been called to testify in the lawsuit, as he was CEO of Def Jam when Ross/Roberts was signed.^[32] The reformed drug kingpin was looking for 10 million dollars in the lawsuit.^[32] Also, the release of his album, Teflon Don, was threatened to be blocked by Freeway Ricky Ross. A week after the filing of the lawsuit, Rick Ross responded to the charges: "It’s like owning a restaurant, you’re gonna have a few slip and falls. You get lawsuits, you deal with them, and get them out your way…sometimes you lose."^[33] He then denied rumors that he would change his name to "Ricky Rozay" as a consequence of the lawsuit. The lawsuit was thrown out of court on July 3, 2010^[34] and his album, Teflon Don, was released on July 20 as scheduled.

On March 26, 2011, Ross was arrested in Shreveport for possession of marijuana. According to the police records, a strong odor of marijuana was detected from his room at the Hilton in Downtown Shreveport.^[35]

Religion[link]

Rick Ross is a Christian,^[36] and in an interview with Corey "Coco Brother" Condrey on Lift Every Voice, he indicated that "I had told myself at one point no matter what I go through, I never question God."^[37] In addition, Ross indicated that he prays every time he goes on stage to perform.^[38]

Seizures[link]

On October 14, 2011 Rick Ross suffered two seizures in the same day, once in the morning and once again early evening. Following the morning seizure, he was unconscious and CPR was being performed. He did, however, post a video to his Twitter account later in the day saying that he was OK.^{[citation needed]} Ross boarded another plane later in the day and suffered another seizure. On October 14, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital confirmed that Ross had been admitted to the emergency room. TMZ, who first reported the seizure, updated their story originally posted at 4:45 PST, stating that Ross was in stable condition.^{[citation needed]}

Feud with 50 Cent[link]

In January 2009, Ross started a feud with rapper 50 Cent because he supposedly looked at him the wrong way at the BET Awards. 50 Cent told news sources that he did not remember seeing Ross there.^[39] In late January, "Mafia Music", by Ross, leaked onto the Internet. There were several lines that seemed to diss 50 Cent. Days later, 50 Cent released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to Ross's disparaging remarks on his "Mafia Music" song.

Before going to Venezuela, 50 Cent uploaded a video entitled "Warning Shot," wherein he stated: "Rick Ross- I'mma fuck your life up for fun." In addition, 50 Cent released the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. Early in February, 50 Cent once again made a video which he uploaded to YouTube in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross's children. She verifies that he was a correctional officer and claims his whole persona is fake and fraudulent.^[40] On Thursday, February 5, 2009, Game, who 50 Cent has a long-standing "beef" with, called up Seattle R&B station KUBE. When asked about the beef between 50 Cent and Ross, Game sided with 50 Cent and said that things are not looking good for Ross. He offered to help, stating, "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man," and, "50 eating you, boy."^[41] On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross references 50 Cent in the song "In Cold Blood". A video for the song was released that portrayed 50 Cent's mock funeral. Upon release, Ross stated that he has ended 50 Cent's career.^[42] That same day Ross released a new diss track called "Push 'Em Over The Edge". The next day 50 Cent released the controversial video "A Psychic Told Me", dissing DJ Khaled. On February 12, 50 Cent responded with "Tia Told Me", along with Lloyd Banks' response "Officer Down" and Tony Yayo's "Somebody Snitched".

In an interview, 50 Cent said Ross is "Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," he added. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective."^[43]

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

• 2006: Port of Miami
• 2008: Trilla
• 2009: Deeper Than Rap
• 2010: Teflon Don
• 2012: God Forgives, I Don't ^[20]

Maybach Music Group Albums[link]

• 2011: Self Made Vol. 1 (with Maybach Music Group)
• 2012: Self Made Vol. 2 (with Maybach Music Group)^[44]

Collaboration albums[link]

• 2009: Custom Cars & Cycles (with Triple C's)
• TBA: Bugatti Boyz (with Diddy)^[45][46]

Compilation albums[link]

• 2007: Rise to Power

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rick Ross

• Rick Ross Official Def Jam Website
• Rick Ross at the Internet Movie Database