Armand Hammer - "We Buy Diabetic Test Strips" | Album Review

[@paulorodrigues170]

We have to give billy his flowers, man. The run he is in is only comparable to 2002-2006 DOOM

[@cdizzy42069]

​@joshr1242I need to listen to more of his stuff, everything I've heard I've loved!

[@Bkesal14]

Facts. I would honestly entertain an argument that said Woods' run is a smidge better at this point.

[@andrimatthiasson5718]

i find it really odd how many people love billy woods, since his music and lyrics are a hell of an aquired taste. i've been listening to him for years now and i still don't find his music comforting except for a couple songs

[@Charnsuka]

armand hammer never disappoints. billy woods and elucid been putting on work for years and finally they’re recognized. cheers all the way from Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦

[@Amouroso]

Selfishly hope this Billy Woods run never ends. Dude is dropping generational bodies of work every year

[@shrubs5098]

Same bro, he’s slowly working his way into my top 10 rappers ever

[@thoughtfulfoulmouth]

It's Elucid's run too

[@shrubs5098]

@@thoughtfulfoulmouth yeah but billy has had maps, aethiopes, church, etc. within the last few years. ELUCID is amazing too and his album last year was stellar but billy has been dropping classics so consistently.

[@TreDoes.]

Fun fact: Via Curly Castro, the beat on the EL-P track wasn’t the one they originally rapped on. He switched the beat on them and made that insanity.

[@kentekuzan]

who u

[@TreDoes.]

@@kentekuzan I intern for Backwoodzstudioz

[@joshwisdom6715]

@@kentekuzan curly said it in a listening party

[@llamapie24]

A trademark El-P move way back to ‘Fire in Which You Burn’ It’s an honour to have your verse beat switched by Jamie

[@brandonenoch1402]

We also have to give Moor Mother her flowers. She laid down some absolutely beautiful lyrics. The range with Peggy's production is outrageous at this point. I haven't heard a better duo in my opinion.

[@QuandaleDingleBarnacleJonesIII]

“The choice was: Kevin Samuels or Dr. Umar Gentlemen, the choice is yours But I assure you Jimmy Baldwin not coming through that door” woods is crazy bro

[@enemyofthesun000]

Woods is fuckin unstoppable, he's my favorite rapper of all time at this point. The El-P's joint makes me hope for a new El-P solo album with a bunch of insane beats, like the good ol' days.

[@shrubs5098]

Yeah he won’t surpass DOOM for me but is definitely working his way into my top 10 of all time

[@enemyofthesun000]

@@shrubs5098 Woods, DOOM, El-P, Black Thought and RZA are my favorites

[@shrubs5098]

@@enemyofthesun000 fire list, my favorites are DOOM, woods, roc Marciano, Earl Sweatshirt, JPEG, Q Tip, Ghostface & Black thought, im sure I’m missing a few tho

[@shrubs5098]

@@enemyofthesun000 and the El P joint on this project was absolutely insane.

[@shrubs5098]

@@enemyofthesun000 forgot to mention Aesop Rock too. He’s one of the best.

[@Kingolimar354]

Ken listening to an album off a phone speaker is wild

[@Mayorofboone]

This album also has a feature from the vocalist of the punk band SOUL GLO just wanted to shout that out too because its amazing!

[@RighteousGemz]

SOUL GLO’s album was 🔥

[@itsmotrs2472]

This El-P beat gave me Fantastic Damage vibes. The whole album is crazy.

[@fearfulmatrix]

Just saw them live last nite. Guys are on top the game with their album run

[@exo.eleven]

what were they like live? i’m thinking abt going

[@appearnowappearlater]

I’ll admit I’m late to the Backwoodz party, I can’t pinpoint why I slept so long. This album didn’t disappoint, but you know what does? Ken! Ken disappoints! Critical listening off a phone? My guuuuyyyyyyy…

[@n1t4y94]

Thank you guys for your reviews. Your group chemistry and energy is so contagious that it makes me even more hyped about a project I already love. That's the sign of great music content right there ✌️❤️

[@unclejorge95]

Seeing these guys in philly again in November can't wait easily top 3 rap album for the year

[@LouieV6]

I’m seeing them here in NYC also in November! You already know Trauma Mic’s going blow the fucking roof off the joint!

[@unclejorge95]

Oh hell yea I got the egg drop vinyl and everything I can't wait to see em again

[@___cvrlo9947]

This Was One Of The Most Uniquely Cerebral Experiences I’ve Ever Had. Especially After Seeing It Live (Which I Recommend Everyone Do)

[@ninjasrose1653]

Armand Hammer was my favourite duo before this album. Now they’ve just doubled down on that shit. billy woods is part of the two best LP’s this year. One of the best and most consistent Emcees of the last decade!

[@maxmalavenda]

Armand Hammer do interviews with youtubers who mess with them sometimes! Billy has done interviews with Fantano and Professor Skye, I'm positive you guys can make it happen

[@fm_232]

i listen to music off my phone if i’m outside smoking, but not no damn Armand Hammer album on my first listen😂

[@carlos.serone]

always love hearing you guys talk about their work, truly incredible album

[@George_bonnaire]

I need to listen to these guys soon. Sounds like I’ve been missing out

[@Jimmy1982Playlists]

This is their 8th project together, actually - Half Measures, Race Music, Furtive Movements, Rome, Paraffin, Shrines, Haram and We Buy Diabetic Test Strips. Their early stuff is just as good... I already knew from Paraffin that they were one of the great duos in HipHop history... this just solidified it more. It's hard to even wrap my mind around all they’ve accomplished. They're genius! BTW "Trauma Mic" and "I Woke Up..." both were released as singles/videos first, then the El-P track came out a day or two before the album. Their videos are amazing.

[@666slateran666]

Who listens to records off your phone speaker? Thats wildin'

[@disgorgingconsciousness2250]

Old as hell lmao

[@thelonious1977]

It definitely sounded like an El-P beat. I can hear Killer Mike all over that

[@JEStheUniversual]

I'm with Myke on this, when I first heard El-P's beat I was like "no way this is El-P" but since El-P is my favorite producer of all time you have an ear for his signature sounds. His signature sounds are in the beat, especially his bass and the random phasers he throws in there. Also when the beat breaks down at the 2:00 minute mark on Billy's verse you can hear it more.

[@Hysteria87x]

I’ve been waiting for this review! Like Rod said, it’s awesome that you all appreciate the album and are able to nerd out about it. This is not accessible to casual or mainstream hip hop fans at all, so it won’t get talked about or appreciated as much as it should. This album is incredible, from the unique experimental production to the flows and lyrics. I could be wrong, but I feel like there is a theme of phones throughout based off a lot of the song tittles

[@Old_Vein]

Feefo wouldn’t have known what to expect

[@deven9565]

8:26 Healin factor with the claws. Wolverine is Weapon X. I think Captain America is Weapon I.

[@Jashmenall]

To Rod’s point about the Pepper Spray line, I believe Pepper Spray is measured on the Scoville Scale just like chilli peppers too

[@gotf]

AOTY for me and it's not even close. This may be controversial but I think the production on here fits better with them then The Alchemist. Peggy's beats goes to well with E L U C I D's crazy off kilter flows. And "George Washington's heart a frozen river, boy opps in the backwoods, slave teeth in the mouth when he say nigga" is such a crazy line. Washington literally using slave's teeth and have the nerve to call us the n-word with that same mouth. Woods also said "Misrepresenting the rhymes and all that, imagine Jesus reading the gospels, SMH Rap Genius improbable readings yet the God's penis left her docile" Dude said him reading rap genius interpretations is like Jesus reading the gospels. That's some braggadocious shit right there. Dope af.

[@Jimmy1982Playlists]

Might be controversial, but I agree for the most part.

[@gotf]

@@Jimmy1982Playlists E L U C I D's ability to find so many pockets in Peggy's beats is crazy.

[@immortalkombvt]

Funny thing with the alchemist is to me his production on haram was him coming to Armand hammers world because to me those don’t sound like AL beats at all. But I get what you saying though.

[@gotf]

@@immortalkombvt Alchemists production was great on Haram, but there’s something special with the new albums beats how they found ways for Elucid to float through those tracks in a way I haven’t heard him do before.

[@ambientbosatsu]

Great video about my two favourite rappers, from the GOAT hip-hop KZbin channel. I also already enjoyed the lyricism on “Woke Up…” but didn’t catch the fucking part… crazy

[@drinkmorewater7342]

What’s crazy about his project is that usually they make more “out there” music and this project is by far their most experimental album which is saying something. This is an unbeatable duo. Idk another duo out now that can rival these two. 7 projects as a tandem along with their solo work, these two just keep churning out more than quality work

[@Jimmy1982Playlists]

This is actually their _8th_ project together 😁 So many people don't know about their first project, _Half Measures_ - which is actually one of my favorites of their's. It's available on certain platforms. Hope more people get into it!

[@braddyoung3523]

Lol where’s feefo, didn’t wanna get jiggy with the hammer bros?

[@ryanricker3923]

So happy I got the album in vinyl

[@sugarhigh4242]

I'm still processing it, but goddamn The God Must Be Crazy is a haymaker.

[@shrubs5098]

This album is incredible, billy woods has been on a legendary run lately.

[@shrubs5098]

That Peggy beat was also crazy, he really reached into his devon Hendryx bag for that one

[@shrubs5098]

And also I see what rod is saying with the second song. I took it as using sex as an analogy for white supremacist constructs and how they view their own identities as black men within those confines.

[@Warrentertainment]

Cavalier is the best independent rapper from New York, been that way for years. For the record.

[@lowkeyloki8832]

To listen to an album through a phone speaker in order to critique it is insane behaviour, Old Man Ken 😂

[@superarisu]

During the discussion about Kevin Powell's article, I kept thinking about billy woods. He is not a mainstream rapper and subsequently does not undermine Kevin Powell's points about the state of mainstream rap, but I kept thinking that he absolutely would be able to have a discussion about it at Kevin Powell's level, and that would be an interesting conversation to read/watch.

[@hxc4ever301]

ELUCID has had lines about having sex on Armand Hammer albums since 2018 at least

[@RawWrath]

"Ass taste better in the summer time split her thigh" 😅

[@afrikankodo]

been obsessed with trying to figure out "woke up and asked siri how i'm gonna die" since it came out.

[@RawWrath]

Wish i had friends like yall to talk about crazy ass lyrics

[@humbleheroics5978]

lers be friends

[@paulorodrigues170]

This album remind me of another one my AOTY, Danny Brown's Atrocity Exhibition, in which I thought that Danny was showing that he can rhyme over any beat. WTF is this production, man? Extremely experimental, absurd stuff

[@George-li6zl]

I LOVE Billy Woods but bruh, Elucid had me making stank faces the entire album. Both of them are fucking awesome

[@first3numbers]

The album just clicked for me today and I think I got my third eye

[@matthewsalmon431]

👀👀👀"No headphones or nuthin" 😂😂😂😂😂

[@rawleaf217]

This album is very refreshing to listen to. Definitely buying it for sure

[@soulless770]

They refuse to release anything they don't put a good mount of effort into and it REALLY shows, christ 🔥🔥

[@sanjayvenkatesh5743]

Album of the fucking year

[@malcolmnotinthemiddle]

That EL-P beat sounds like JU$T feat. Pharrell on RTJ4.

[@matthewatdefiantlegends7629]

Would love to get an Armand Hammer x Run the Jewels album. Yes, when Billy Woods rapped "Anything can happen if you tryna make it happen Get head (head) tapped (tapped) tryna get it cracking." That sounded like Killer Mike's flow to me as well!

[@WordToMomsYo]

is that a DROPDEAD shirt i spy? definitely saw them a few times in the 90's... needless to say, you've got exquisite taste, myke.

[@thewalkingdunning-krugeref9664]

Haha, I'm just learning how bad I interpreted a line. "I suggest you leave the police sketch half drawn like you realize they describing Allah" I didn't buy a physical copy and didn't look up lyrics so I thought he said "law". "Half drawn," like the legal system is broken/corrupt, so you're not getting the full picture. I thought I was cute too.

[@uitarelight5832]

Im right there with you,blew my mind

[@maxsmart9116]

Some of it was a little weird for me, but I enjoyed the lyrics and I think it's objectively good.

[@elliotsangestevez]

God rewarded me with this video

[@hypejinks]

"sucking tongue under starlight" E L U C I D a fool 🤣

[@thoughtfulfoulmouth]

Surprised Myke thought The Gods Must Be Crazy doesn't sound like an El-P beat

[@matthewsalmon431]

Surprised y'all reviewed this, seems to quick by y'all standards for such a dense lyrical experience 😅. Shoutout Rod for breaking down some of these tracks. I only know about this duo because of beezy430 had paraffin in his top 10 the year it came out. Every album is crafted differently, i cant rank them i just appreciate each offering. 🤔Although i have never tapped into the 1st, i started at Rome. Great review brothers👊🏿

[@Jimmy1982Playlists]

FYI - Rome was their 4th project. Luckily, there's a lot still to listen to!

[@sirius8983]

Just wanted to add, Myke talked about the bar "leave the police sketch half-drawn like they realize they describing Allah" but I heard it as "the law" instead which I feel like also works. The cops were the ones who did the crime so they stop the sketch and drop the investigation. Maybe I'm wrong idk

[@Nicolasmondragon707]

Myke the Kid C Town back again!!! 🎸🥁🎶

[@ImpendingRiot83]

It really felt like Peggy drew from a bunch of different eras of his own career for influence on these beats, Keys Under the Mat is so Devon Hendryx ‘Ghost Pop Tape’-ish, ‘Woke Up and Asked Siri’ is so LP!/All My Heroes Are Cornballs, Landmines is very EP1-2, ‘When It Doesn’t Start With a Kiss’ is Veteran plus Pudge’s contributions, it really was a showcase of all these weird and trippy sounds and styles he’s had to his production across the history of his work. And he still made all that feel like a cohesive part of the whole of this album, that’s one thing I can give _EVERYBODY_ in the production credits, everybody really meshed together well. Loved the inclusion of Willie Green, ‘Empire BLVD’ is one of my favorites on here.

[@ThePhonzee]

It’s awesome to see the whole crew (sans Feefo) become big fans of billy woods and E L U C I D through the videos

[@hoopdr3amz23]

Album Is knockin ken da humble God. Appreciate u fellas hah hate that speaker phone shit...below mic standards

[@mannyandnataliarodriguez8744]

I find it funny that Myke didn’t catch that the second track was a Peggy produced track. He legit has a producer tag right at the beginning

[@PabloHurtado1992]

Listening to an album off a phone speakers playing out loud is insane lol Great review though!

[@verbage432]

Y'all gotta check out this new MIKE album man

[@elflaco5052]

defenitely sounds like an el-p beat to me.

[@sean.3909]

Billy has never missed with like 10+ classics. Billy is top 15 rappers of all time.

[@parkerbrother12]

Bruh are yall going to review a Don Trip album though? Crazy projects all year man and each project has gotten better we doing him a disservice he is the most hardest working man in hiphop

[@drinkmorewater7342]

Beezy sold them short. This is their 7th project together

[@Jimmy1982Playlists]

8th... amazes me that people don't know about their first project, _Half Measures._ Check it out, it's amazing! And that's not counting the _Wht Label_ project of mostly outtakes.

[@thewalkingdunning-krugeref9664]

This is definitely one of their best. I'll get shit for this, but I think the only moment I was "ehhh" on was the Moor Mother feature. I get what she's doing conceptually, but I found that incredibly underwhelming. I know she can do no wrong to some folks, so I apologize.

[@SplashinOnYourFace]

Whats good gang

[@rh176]

this is not an album to listen to on the phone

[@timvapid]

A music.reviewer listening to an album on a phone speaker is crazy lmao

[@cdizzy42069]

This shit was a masterpiece

[@polterghost6268]

Don't invite me to your house Ask me to remove my shoes and your floors ain't clean Love elucid lol

[@unimpressedalchemist]

woods competing with himself for album of the year

[@666slateran666]

Jpegmafia and El-P? Its a white bois dream

[@SerebralK]

Billy woods might be the best Edit: I’m talking about in the world, not Armand Hammer. He’s incredible. Happy to see this comment section giving him his flowers!

[@20thCenturyPox]

This Armand Hammer album is not an immediate experience. Right now it feels like an anti-climax. In six months it'll probably be my favourite of their records... or maybe not. Right now it's ranking wsy down compared to earlier records, but Shrines, Paraffin and Furtive Movements all set a high bar.

[@LouieV6]

I know we all love Billy here, but we also gotta give Elucid his flowers. That man is too DAMN good with the pen. But nothing to see say about this album that hasn’t already been said by y’all. Trauma Mic and the two Peggy produced joints, plus the El-P joint, are always on repeat. I have yet to hear a wack album from these two. Their level of consistency is right up there with Roc Marci, Ka and Black Thought.

[@malcolmnotinthemiddle]

Ken... through the phone speaker is nasty work.

[@4REALTHISTIME3030]

❤

[@skabzemortal]

😂😂ken the best on this panel idgaf

[@twiztidlestat]

Im glad I didn't have to skip Feefos parts

[@1JayTheJet]

Na bruh... I'm with Feefo on this one🤣🤣🤣

[@RighteousGemz]

Feefo gonna be present for that 🗑️ ass Drake review😒 anywho, this has been a good year for rap.. this is my favorite album of the year.. i listen to this & Sardines non stop.

[@Natak222]

Patiently waiting on that Drake review 😤

[@germ187]

I swear man Ken’s forearm are goals 😅

[@redgenerall28]

Supermooned goes crazy Definitely one of my favorite songs of the year But overall I don't think that I like AH on Peggy's production Like it's not bad or anything, just not my cup of tea

[@AshBashSneakers]

If someone had never heard these guys rap before.. listened to the review they’d probably be hype.. then actually hear how God awful the beats and flow are and wonder how you guys like this. Lucky for me it’s not my first time listening to these guys so I was expecting weirdo beats and flows that have nothing to do with the beats.. so I managed to get through it.. there are maybe 2-3 songs that ‘sound’ good on here. It’s basically like spoken word poetry with horrible beats and no care to flow on the beat.

[@deonnelson9780]

This shit put me to sleep

[@Izaiahdokpa]

Practice reading Jesus Christ 😂 judging people cars when Rod can't read bars, lemme stop lol

[@CarlClinto]

Album bored me to tears. Billy woods isn’t for me I guess

[@dilansiy]

Give it time

[@CarlClinto]

@@dilansiyI’ve been trying but don’t wanna force it either. I’m not saying he’s bad or anything but it’s just not my taste and that’s fine. Plenty seem to love it including some of my friends who put me on

[@PesterFester1966]

​@@dilansiyForcing yourself multiple times to like something pretty much sums up why this album is not the end all of be all.

[@dilansiy]

@@CarlClinto it ain’t for everybody man

[@dilansiy]

@@PesterFester1966 i don’t think you understand the concept of warming upto an artist’s music, especially one as abstract as Billy woods. Just cause it takes time doesn’t mean it’s shit. It’s so your ears can adapt and understand the production and lyrics

[@PesterFester1966]

I'll take a few tracks from this one but i guess i'm the oddman out by saying that abstract hip-hop is played out to death and in 2023 there's really nothing special about it.