Alchemy is magic. Its standard denotation focuses on the forging of elements to create something new. You wanna know why the band, Earth, Wind & Fire is so dope? You guessed it: Alchemy. But alchemy is deeper than that; in its essence, alchemy is taking something of perceived lesser value and creating something priceless. You know what else is alchemy? You.

You are the gestalt; you are the whole which is greater than the sum of your parts. All of your experiences, pains and successes are puzzle pieces that create the picture which is you. Yet, you are more than what you’ve been through. What you’ve been through is who you are.

I am Alchemy. And this album, Alchemy is me. I could break it into parts: I am an emcee, a griot and a devotee of Hip Hop. I am an educator, I am a father, and I am a hopeless romantic. But that isn’t all that I am. Those are merely the sand grains which create the shore which is me.

Pardon for waxing poetic, but that’s my general nature. You want to hear about the album, right?

I can’t discuss this album, or Hip Hop without discussing myself. The irony is that I can never truly enjoy Hip Hop because since I discovered it, I always compared myself to the greats. I trained to their beats, I studied their rhyme patterns and perfected the art of freestyle. (Shout out to Soul Food Cypher.) But this Lexus-like pursuit of perfection made me an eternal and internal critic. Then I discovered therapy.
I learned to truly love myself. Like all of myself. All of the puzzle pieces that create the aforementioned picture. And without explanation or justification. No preface. My name is ANON and I am a Griot.

But I’m also Kyon. That’s my middle name and what most folk who knew me in my youth call me. That’s the me who never saw himself as cool or handsome. That’s also the me who inspired a Beautiful Love Song on the album. And--- that’s the me I had to recognize was both visionary for his age, but also not the best person upon whom to rely to evaluate my current, adult self. Kyon was going to be rich and famous, but some of those dreams came from a place of perceived lack. ANON is the Griot and that’s more than enough.

Yeah, I know: rappers aren’t supposed to be that sensitive. But, remember, I am a Griot.

To that degree, Alchemy is so Hip Hop and loves Hip Hop so much that it refuses to limit itself to Hip Hop. This is personal. And it is also my manifestation that it is so personal that it is universal. Because we are all balancing the parts that will never be greater than our whole.

I am intentionally avoiding the track-by-track breakdown. Because I respect your intelligence. I wrote and crafted this in an old school fashion; I wanted to create a cohesive album that rides from the first track to the last. I don’t think there is one second of dead air. I am honored by each and every contributor who believed in my vision and lent their talents to bring it to fruition.

But please, check out “Blame it on Dave” first.

And I’d be remiss to not acknowledge that I am writing this on the heels of yet another miscarriage of justice. And while I respect and honor all the pain and anger many of you are expressing, I’m just trying hard to find peace even in the midst of chaos. And Alchemy is my therapy.

“What’s an apple pie without sweetness? What’s a strong man without weakness?”

Peace.