Steve 'Flash' JuonIf I said there’s a never ending stream of releases from The Alchemist it might sound like a complaint, but it’s meant in an entirely complimentary way. Alan Maman seems to have an insatiable desire to producer more music whether in collaboration with other rappers or entirely on his own. His hunger is at Galactus levels, and as long as it doesn’t consume the Earth, that’s fine by me. “Flying High” is yet another example of Alchemist endeavoring to pair his musical stylings with emcees capable of spitting interesting thoughts to them, and it’s split into two halves where they come together and then split apart to give us just the instrumentals. You can consider it an extended play if you like, but it’s almost a half hour long, which ranks it longer than a lot of “albums” rappers put out lately. I’ll consider it a long player myself.
“Bless” was an early favorite thanks to the light melodic piano and guitar backdrop. I wasn’t familiar with MiKE & Sideshow before their bars, but one of the two has a lisp crispier than RZA and G Rap put together. The other is a very thoughtful wordsmith with bars like “Rap ain’t easy when you talking factual/Must be hard to write a rap when you gotta make this shit up/about how we in these streets — you got some time to get your pen up.” They’re a peanut butter and jelly combo that match really well over an Alchemist beat, and I kind of wish there was a whole album of it instead of one song. Then again I could say the exact same thing for hearing Earl Sweatshirt and billy woods on “RIP Tracy.” It’s a slower and darker song but one that’s right in A-L-C’s wheelhouse of somber tracks.
The other songs are equally strong contenders for your time. “Trouble Man” with T.F. and Detroit mainstay Boldy James is almost an anti-instrumental. There’s no percussion, no thump, just pure mood. It’s only when you listen to the B-side without the bars that you can really appreciate the minimalist vibes Mr. Maman provided here. “Midnight Oil” with Larry June and Jay Worthy brings things back up a bit, though it’s the only one where I’m not quite into the raps. At least one of the team sounds like he drank a whole bottle of cough syrup before stepping into the booth, and while it’s a memorable performance it actually makes me prefer the instrumental take. I can’t say that for the other songs on “Flying High” but I can say I recommend the entire thing as high quality.