The Alchemist

The Alchemist, born Alan Maman, is one of East Coast hip hop's leading producers. Unusual for the genre, he is Jewish, and hails from affluent Beverly Hills, California. After rising to prominence in the late 1990s as a close a

The Alchemist, born Alan Maman, is one of East Coast hip hop's leading producers. Unusual for the genre, he is Jewish, and hails from affluent Beverly Hills, California. After rising to prominence in the late 1990s as a close associate of Dilated Peoples, he went on to produce for many of hip hop's leading artists in the 2000s.

As a teen, 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 hooked up with other like-minded kids who wrote lyrics and rebelled strongly against their uptight suburban surroundings, among whom were Shifty Shellshock of Crazy Town, Evidence of Dilated Peoples and Scott Caan, son of James Caan. They would often hang out in urban areas of Los Angeles and participated in typical teenage rebellious activities like partying, smoking marijuana, and general mischief.