Underground Chemistry

Hip-hop artist/producer the Alchemist -- who has worked with everyone from Mobb Deep and Pharoahe Monch to Snoop Dogg and Nelly -- has had it with the mainstream. His plan going forward will likely find him making music for forward thinking listeners at street level or below.

"I started realizing the real love is from those kids, man, in the underground," Alchemist says during a fascinating conversation with Just Blaze that's posted on Status Ain't Hood. "And even though it's a lot of s*** in that world that I don't really love, I like what it represents. I'm going to make an album for that world, tour those venues."

And why? He suggests that the topside avenues for success aren't necessarily open to those with talent, only those with means. "The outlets that we used to have, the radio and the video, are locked down on some money s***," he says. "If you're not spending, those spots are taken away."