Armand Hammer had never released an album with one producer and the producers they typically work with do not sound like The Alchemist. He has an unmistakable sound - it can simultaneously smooth and ominous; sample-based yet organic. Regardless of if they are menacing or luminous, The Alchemist's beats are gorgeous. The aesthetic of many of the drums, keys, and bass would sound out of place on past Armand Hammer records, but the sound fits woods and ELUCID perfectly.
One of the best examples of the change in sound is “Falling Out The Sky”, which features Armand Hammer and Earl Sweatshirt covering different stages of their past. Earl starts with a compelling scene of his father’s funeral. woods and ELUCID go even further back in time, the former to his first summer on the west coast as a young adult, and the latter moving through childhood summer camp. ELUCID and woods’ narratives are strikingly vivid, and the beat is sublime. “Falling Out The Sky” has a patient, sun-kissed reggae bounce. Interesting Little Richard and David Lynch samples speak to the references and mood of Earl and woods’ verses, and subtle touches, like the brief submersion of ELUCID’s voice as he learns to swim, enhance the power of the extraordinary lyricism.
Understated approaches, like sending ELUCID underwater in “Falling Out The Sky”, also yield great results on “Black Sunlight”. This time, the subject is KAYANA, whose graceful singing is recorded with the aesthetic of an old-school soul sample. Her light tone is an excellent companion to warm soulful horns. woods fills the brightness with clever lyrics that critique the exploitative nature of capitalism (“Shorted 'em like Bear Stearns / It's not a aberration, it's how it works”) and question the genuineness of the current popularity of activist-minded public statements (“Iridescent blackness / Is this performative or praxis? / Are we talkin' bout practice?”). This may sound heavy, but “Black Sunlight” feels festive. woods has a hilarious, distinctly Black sense of humor (“spray your perm!”) and ELUCID’s verse is buoyant. He radiates the feeling of going through struggles and coming out with a renewed sense of self-confidence (“Smile niggas / Through trials rendered in my full expression, stressor / Pressure cookin' then I got your message, blessin' / Honor self, picking pocket, finding joy, blowing off the lint”).
ELUICD’s self-assuredness manifests again in the stunning opening verse of “Aubergine”. The verse is a testament to how powerful the rapper can be at his most introspective and impressionistic. The last section of the verse is one of the most beautifully poetic moments of the album: “Cause I wander don't mean that I'm lost / 'Cause I wonder don't mean that I'm stumped / Bending wills to exactly what I want / I've been hunted, I've been shielded, I feel love here”. In addition to offering high-quality lyricism, “Aubergine” is a microcosm of another crucial aspect of Haram - the transitions. A beat switch for woods’ verse is handled spectacularly after being introduced with haunting singing from Fielded. The album is impeccably sequenced, to the point where not a second is wasted.
How The Alchemist has shifted his sound to suit Armand Hammer's experimental tendencies is a key aspect of the strength of Haram. “Peppertree” has an extremely unconventional style. It’s a woods solo track that is jazzy in a twisted, warped way. woods uses The Alchemist’s reversed trumpets for a tale of a Jamaican funeral. The scene is skillfully patined with direct, rich descriptive imagery (“Mahogany with the gold trim, it's silent except for children cryin' / They never even knew him, then trumpets flying / The bearers shinin' shoes sink in the wet ground, horns vying”).
The Alchemist’s particular brand of darkness does wonders on “Wishing Bad” and “Chicharrones”. “Wishing Bad” contains notably new sonic territory for Armand Hammer in the form of booming bass. Aided by a show-stealing ferocious verse by Curly Castro and a stern hook by Amani, the duo conquers the instrumental with aplomb. The grimy sludge of “Chicharonnes” pairs woods with Quelle Chris, who shows up with a colossal verse that has to be one of the best of his career. woods’ verse is a masterclass on policing that goes far beyond the police. He points out how policing can be mirrored in those who oppose it, be it in policing language with homophobia (“Got caught with the pork / But you gotta kill the cop in your thoughts / Still sayin' ‘pause’”) or being quick to turn to violence to address anything perceived as a problem (“Negroes say they hate the cops / But, the minute somethin' off, they wanna use force / I just work here, I'm not the boss”).
“Chicharonnes”, like the rest of Haram, offers a lot for the listener to consider. The Alchemist will introduce Armand Hammer to a larger audience, but woods and ELUCID have not watered down their idiosyncratic and complex lyrical approach. On the Out Da Box Talks podcast (minute 28:15) ELUCID casually stated that he was just “stylin’” on “Roaches Don’t Fly”. His version of flexing leaves the listener with images of revolution and the Black tradition of shedding western names embraced by pivotal leftist figures such as Assata Shakur and Kwame Ture (“Shifting forms, new resolve, guns go off / Guns go off, smoke and fire, light and sound / My new name colonizers can't pronounce”). Within the first minute of the album on “Sir Benni Miles”, woods goes through a mind-bending trip of instantly memorable lines: “Dreams is dangerous, linger like angel dust / Ain't no angels hovering, ain't no savin' us / Ain't no slaving us, you gon' need a bigger boat / You gon' need a smaller ocean but here's some more rope”. On the last track, “Stonefruit”, ELUCID’s raw singing is triumphant - and with how outstanding Haram is, why shouldn’t he be? Now that there are five stellar Armand Hammer albums, their legacy is already solidified. For listeners drawn to the more abstract side of hip hop, it's time to start calling Armand Hammer what they are: one of the best hip hop groups of all time.
