HARAM: ALBUM REVIEW
When Haram was announced around a month ago, the entire hip-hop world let out a collective, “ohhhh shit.” The hottest producer teaming up with the two of the best wordsmiths on this planet was a recipe for success. But, I don’t think anyone could have foreseen an album like this. On Haram, Armand Hammer’s music leaves Earth and enters a new realm where the only basic universal truths are determined by The Alchemist’s drum patterns. The samples are more eclectic, their voices are more melodic, and their lyrics are more free-flowing, to the point where they envelop the listener in psychedelic and chaotic streams. The chemistry amongst billy woods, ELUCID, and the Alchemist is incredible and allows them to play off of each other. Haram is a project that moves well beyond what Armand Hammer has done in the past and works toward a deeper representation of what their music can be.
Armand Hammer, comprised of rappers billy woods and ELUCID, have been making music for nearly a decade. While their work has always been conceptual, their first couple of albums were deeply steeped in lyricism to convey these concepts. Their newest album, Haram, is the first where their lyrical prowess takes a backseat for the sake of creating a new sound. That doesn’t mean that there has been any lyrical regression, but their lyrics no longer feel like the focus. Instead, the full focus is turned to maximizing the producer-artist relationship.
The interplay between Armand Hammer and The Alchemist shines most when the instrumentals are simple. The song “Wishing Bad” highlights this continuous conversation between the wordsmiths and the producer. When woods refers to “clipping,” his voice clips, while he talks about “voices in the ventilation,” we hear an eerie sample. When ELUCID talks about the beat, the instrumental leaves him in silence. The song is like listening to a jazz group that has been playing together for decades and watching that connection between the drummer and bassist as they slowly change the tempo.
Just because this album feels deeper than the lyrics, does not mean that either rapper has slouched at all. “Indian Summer” showcases one of the most beautiful woods verses I’ve heard in a long time. It begins with the line “I swore vengeance in the seventh grade” and takes us through the story of a hot summer until it evolves into abstraction. ELUCID has so many incredible verses on this album, many of them dizzyingly complex. The first time I heard his verse on “Scaffolds,” I didn’t understand a single bar. But, part of what makes Armand Hammer so wonderful is digging through each verse to try to grasp what they mean.
Every bar that leaves billy woods’ and ELUCID’s mouths sounds like a phrase that they could casually throw around, but is instead said with mind-blowing conviction. Haram is an incredible project that immerses you in the abstract verses of some of the greatest artists to ever live.