The Alchemist has revealed Prodigy is his “G.O.A.T. rapper” and explained his reasons why.
The producer appeared on the latest episode of Complex‘s GOAT Talk series alongside Earl Sweatshirt on Tuesday (October 31) following the release of their Voir Dire album.
AD LOADING...
During the interview, the pair were asked to name who in their opinion is the greatest rapper of all time. Earl went for MIKE, with The Alchemist going into detail about why Prodigy is at the top for him.
“I’m going clean sweep, man. Prodigy, across the map,” he said. “That’s my greatest rapper of all time. Broke rules. You know, Nas of course. It was always Nas or P. But I used to always tell Big Twin, we would talk about it, P used to break rules.”
AD LOADING...
Alc went on to rap Prodigy’s opening bars on “Survival of the Fittest” from Mobb Deep’s 1995 album The Infamous.
“There’s a war goin’ on outside no man is safe from/ You could run, but you can’t hide forever/From these streets that we done took/ You walkin’ with your head down, scared to look,” he rapped.
AD LOADING...
The Alchemist continued: “Nothing rhymed. The whole first four bars was not one word rhyming. He used to just come out of his face, broke rules, vocal tone, writing. His voice.
“Listen to a song like ‘Gun Love,’ a perfectly written song. Greatest rapper, I don’t wanna hear it.”
Prodigy and The Alchemist dropped two collaborative albums. The first, Return of the Mac, was released in March 2007 and debuted at No. 32 on the Billboard 200, selling 27,000 copies in its first week.
The follow-up, Albert Einstein, arrived in June 2013 with features from Havoc, Raekwon, Roc Marciano, Action Bronson and Domo Genesis.
The Alchemist contributed to each of Prodigy’s five solo albums and was responsible for producing one of his biggest singles, “Keep It Thoro.”
He also provided production on every Mobb Deep album after 1996’s Murda Muzik.
AD LOADING...
In June 2022, The Alchemist honored the fifth anniversary of Prodigy’s death by promising to continue his legacy.
“Missing my brother P,” he wrote on Twitter (now known as X). “I got you i promise don’t worry ! The legacy will continue.”
