The Alchemist and Oh No, respected and accomplished MCs and producers in their own right, weren’t acquainted until they met at a show headlined by Dilated Peoples member and mutual friend, Evidence. Inspired, Al contacted Oh No and proposed a collaborative project. From that point they “just clicked”, says Oh No. “I sent him a verse and a beat, and he sent a beat and a verse.” The creative sparring continued, and they began to refer to the work as Gangrene.

As the project began to flesh itself out organically over the course of these exchanges, each artists relished the opportunity to best his cohort with the most profoundly disturbing, cut-throat concoction he could muster, be it a threatening stanza or traumatic instrumental. The friendly competition was spurred on by a deep-rooted mutual respect and admiration for each other’s work, and the music began to reflect this as they exchanged sonic influence, ultimately contributing to an aesthetic that resides at the corner of Crenshaw and Elm Street.