We Buy Diabetic Test Strips

by Armand Hammer

Overview

Appearing on a label other than Backwoodz Studioz for the first time, Armand Hammer's Fat Possum debut We Buy Diabetic Test Strips is a heavily collaborative effort, with an extensive array of guest rappers and producers including El-P, DJ Haram, JPEGMAFIA, Pink Siifu, and Black Noi$e, among many others. It also features a group of live musicians who met for the first time during the album's sessions, including revered London jazz figure Shabaka Hutchings on flute and Hisham Bharoocha (Soft Circle, Kill Alters, ex-Black Dice) on drums. Even with the presence of musicians like Hutchings and marimba player Jane Boxall, the album doesn't end up sounding much like jazz-rap. The tracks are fractured and atmospheric, with glitchy, decayed rhythms backing billy woods' and ELUCID's intense, knotty lyrics, which are often dystopian and laced with dark humor. The funky, polyrhythmic "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (with El-P) and haunting, nearly ambient "Woke Up and Asked Siri How I'm Gonna Die" (with JPEGMAFIA) are two immediate highlights. "Y'all Can't Stand Right Here" is wigged-out psych-rap with an MF DOOM sample and guest appearances by Junglepussy and Money Nicca (Soul Glo). The warped slow jam "Total Recall" references both Tricky and Sun Ra, and "Empire BLVD" sinks into the abyss via a heavy, enticing dub rhythm. The woozy vaporwave crawl "The Key Is Under the Mat" ends the album with the foreboding message "That security deposit ain't coming back." We Buy Diabetic Test Strips feels like a step forward from a duo whose discography has been consistently innovative from the start. ~ Paul Simpson

Product Details

Release Date:	09/29/2023
Label:	Fat Possum Records
UPC:	0767981182438
Rank:	21606

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Armand Hammer   Primary Artist
Max Heath   Keyboards
Jane Boxall   Marimba
Hisham Bharoocha   Drums
Shabaka Hutchings   Woodwind
Cavalier   Featured Artist
Curly Castro   Featured Artist
Junglepussy   Featured Artist
Dreamcrusher   Vocals
Moor Mother   Featured Artist
Pink Siifu   Featured Artist
Adi Meyerson   Bass
Silka   Vocals
Abdul Hakim Bilal   Guitar
Money Nicca   Featured Artist
Yolanda Watson   Vocals
Kayana   Vocals

Technical Credits

El-P   Producer
Kenny Segal   Producer
Preservation   Producer
Elucid   Engineer
Alexander Richter   Photography
Joey Raia   Mixing
P.U.D.G.E.   Producer
Willie Green   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Mastering
Child Actor   Producer
Sebb Bash   Producer
Steel Tipped Dove   Engineer,Producer
Messiah Musik   Producer
Black Noi$e   Producer
Jeff Markey   Producer
Mr. Krum   Design
DJ Stitches   Cut
JPEGMAFIA   Producer
DJ Haram   Producer
August Fanon   Producer