Armand Hammer “We Buy Diabetic Test Strips” Album Review

We Buy Diabetic Test Strips (feat. billy woods & E L U C I D)

Armand Hammer

• Genre: Underground Rap
• Date: 29 Sep, 2023
• Content: explicit
• Track(s): 15
• ℗ 2023 Fat Possum Records

Armand Hammer is a New York-based duo consisting of ELUCID and Billy Woods. The duo’s latest album, We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, is being touted as one of the “best Hip Hop albums” of the year. The album was released under Backwoodz Studioz, a crucial label in rescuing the Hip Hop year 2023 from mediocrity. The album is a vibe, providing a glimpse into the duo’s lyrical genius, taste for experimental beats, and a sound uniquely Armand Hammer.

The production team behind this album is a unique mix of talent, including JPEGMAFIA, Child Actor, Pudge, Preservation, DJ Haram, August Fanon, El-P, Steel Tipped Dove, Messiah Musik, Kenny Segal, Willie Green, Black Noi$e, Jeff Markey, Elucid, and Sebb Bash. With so many different contributors, it could have easily been chaotic, but surprisingly, the beats blend cohesively and create a sound that’s both experimental and cohesive. Armand Hammer’s versatility is showcased as they can ride different vibes. The album also boasts impressive guest performances from Moor Mother and Pink Siifu.

Album Art

The album cover features the famous duo sitting on the corners of a street curb, with a sign reading 1654 in front of an old yet graceful building. The album’s title is said to be inspired by the countless signs posted on poles throughout the outer boroughs of New York City, which are a result of the expensive healthcare system in America. This system forces insured diabetics to sell unused test strips on the streets. These signs are everywhere but often overlooked. They provide a glimpse into a world where fundamental human necessities are bought and sold out of necessity. We Buy Diabetic Test Strips is a collective response from Backwoodz, driven by a sense of urgency to fight against the disease. Although the album has a sombre tone, it is not without hope.

Tracks And Features

The album “We Buy Diabetic Test Strips” by Armand Hammer is one of their best works. This is a high praise considering his other notable albums like “Paraffin” (2018) and “Haram” (2021). The tracklist of this album is solid, with no weak spots. The opening track, “Landlines”, is awe-inspiring with its eerie atmosphere. ELUCID and Woods deliver cryptic and introspective rhymes that explore themes of memory, nostalgia and the passage of time. In “Landlines”, ELUCID and Billy transport the listener through different eras and experiences, giving a glimpse into the future. ELUCID reflects on his childhood and son’s while Billy recalls the cautious discussions and paranoia that came with a friendship frayed by crime. The two artists are accompanied by phone call vocal samples and a bassline that sounds like a rewind, creating a sense of time travel.

After exploring the depths of their emotions in the previous track, the duo transitions to “Switchboard” – a lively and energetic tune with an infectious beat and a captivating hook that’s hard to resist. Despite the shift in tone, the lyrics remain thought-provoking as they delve into the intricate ways technology has impacted our daily lives.

In “Woke Up And Asked Siri How I’m Gonna Die,” Billy Woods and Jpegmafia use a hazy JPEGMAFIA beat as a backdrop for their lyrics, peppered with pop culture references. Billy’s verse is a complex web of metaphors, where he ties together a sci-fi theme, a notable figure from the Nation of Islam, a rendezvous at a hotel, and a sudden return to reality. The track begins with Jpegmafia’s producer tag, followed by a subdued dreamscape where Siri’s random responses mingle with the rappers’ confident, poignant verses.

‘Trauma Mic’ featuring Pink Siifu is a highly aggressive and intense track on the album. Pink Siifu’s powerful bars and DJ Haram’s unrelenting production, which leans more towards the bleak industrialism of Throbbing Gristle or This Heat (both of which Armand Hammer has sampled before) than the bass-influenced sound that DJ Haram usually works with, make this an abrasive cut. Elucid’s rapping on ‘Trauma Mic’ is infused with wisdom from experience, and his voice carries a sense of fatigue.

The latter half of the album features some of the most solid guest appearances the artists have managed to enlist. One of the most impressive is Moor Mother’s contribution to ‘Don’t Lose Your Job’, which showcases her exceptional skills not only as a talented rapper but also as a highly expressive artist, with even her breaths and pauses between lines being able to convey so much meaning. The album also features Junglepussy and El-P, who bring their unique creative flair to the table with their distinctive styles of rapping and production.

The anhedonic tone is summed up by the eerie wind chime in “Niggardly (Blocked Call),” whereas “The Gods Must Be Crazy” is a party song with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Beyoncé allusion. All of this results in a remarkable album deserving your attention and headphones.

Tracklist

NO	TITLE	TIME
1	Landlines (feat. billy woods & E L U C I D)	2:58
2	Woke Up and Asked Siri How I’m Gonna Die (feat. billy woods, E L U C I D & JPEGMAFIA)	2:41
3	The Flexible Unreliability Of Time & Memory (feat. billy woods & E L U C I D)	3:21
4	When It Doesn’t Start With A Kiss (feat. billy woods & E L U C I D)	3:23
5	I Keep A Mirror In My Pocket (feat. billy woods, E L U C I D & Cavalier)	3:43
6	Trauma Mic (feat. billy woods, E L U C I D & Pink Siifu)	2:34
7	Niggardly (Blocked Call) [feat. billy woods & E L U C I D]	4:01
8	The Gods Must Be Crazy (feat. billy woods, E L U C I D & EL-P)	3:00
9	Y’all Can’t Stand Right Here (feat. billy woods, E L U C I D, Junglepussy & MONEY NICCA)	3:05
10	Total Recall (feat. billy woods & E L U C I D)	4:21
11	Empire BLVD (feat. billy woods, E L U C I D, Junglepussy & Curly Castro)	4:31
12	Don’t Lose Your Job (feat. billy woods, E L U C I D, Pink Siifu & Moor Mother)	4:25
13	Supermooned (feat. billy woods, E L U C I D & DJ Haram)	2:54
14	Switchboard (feat. billy woods & E L U C I D)	4:02
15	The Key Is Under The Mat (feat. billy woods, E L U C I D & JPEGMAFIA)

Album Summary

‘We Buy Diabetic Test Strips’ is inspired by the existential angst of middle life, when you’re decades into a profession and a family and wondering where to go next. Elucid and Woods are no longer youthful men. It would almost feel reductive to analyze every subject covered on the album in such a condensed manner because there is so much to take in from their poetic imagery, whether it be literary allusions, reflections on black history, or references to the voluminous musical influences that have shaped much of their work.

This is also one of the album’s main drawbacks, occasionally falling apart under the weight of its ambitious but often overwhelming aim. Despite this, nothing on the album feels like it is rehashing material that others have already covered, and it avoids overused metaphors and wordplay in a way that is genuinely refreshing to hear from two musicians who have spent more than 20 years perfecting their art. There’s no need for this purple phase to end anytime soon if time serves to solidify Armand Hammer and their creative partnership.

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