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. Impressed by his production skills and street smarts, Mobb Deep continued using his beats on all of the group's subsequent albums. Al produced two songs for its Murda Muzik album. In 1999, Muggs introduced Al to his good friends the popular hip-hop group Mobb Deep. Alchemist also produced several tracks on Defari's debut album Focused Daily, another Dilated and Alkaholik affiliate. When Dilated Peoples debuted in 1998, it helped promote Maman as a key part of its sound. 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. Rejected, Scott focused his creative energy on acting while Al became interested in process of making hip-hop beats.ĭJ Muggs took Al under his wing and taught him how to use a sampler and mixing board. 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. He invited the teens to join his crew, The Soul Assassins, which also included the groups House of Pain and Funkdoobiest. While rhyming at a party in L.A., they attracted the attention of B-Real of Cypress Hill. In 1991, a 14-year-old Maman and Scott Caan decided to become a duo named The Whooliganz. These included Shifty Shellshock of Crazy Town, Evidence and Scott Caan, son of James Caan. He joined up with other like-minded artists who wrote lyrics and rebelled against their suburban surroundings. As a teenager, he began to identify strongly with the rebellious lyrics and urban sounds of hip-hop, and he began writing his own lyrics. Maman hails from Beverly Hills, California. Together with his longtime collaborator Oh No (with whom he forms the group Gangrene), Woody Jackson and Tangerine Dream, he composed the official score to the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V and hosts radio station The Lab in it. He focuses on producing entire albums for rappers and instrumental projects of his own. While he produces for many artists, most of his recent production has been for a close group of frequent collaborative rappers.

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 began his music career in 1991 in the hip hop duo The Whooliganz under the moniker Mudfoot, along with now-actor Scott Caan (whose moniker was 'Mad Skillz'). Daniel Alan Maman (born October 25, 1977), professionally known as the Alchemist (or simply Alchemist), is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and songwriter.

The cutting room floor