| Haram | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 26, 2021 (2021-03-26) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:54 (Standard) 43:08 (ALC Records release) | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Armand Hammer chronology | ||||
| ||||
| The Alchemist chronology | ||||
| ||||
Haram is a collaborative studio album by American hip hop duoArmand Hammer and American hip hop record producerThe Alchemist. It was released on March 26, 2021, via Backwoodz Studioz.[1]
The album art, which depicts two bloody decapitated pigs,[2] drew criticism from animal rights groupPETA, who called it "terrifying" and "cruel", and told the Alchemist to change it and "focus on the music, not the shock value of dead animals", after he posted it onTwitter.[3]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 83/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Clash | 7/10[6] |
| Pitchfork | 7.8/10[7] |
Haram was met with widespread critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 83, based on six reviews.[4]
Reviewing the album forAllMusic, Paul Simpson felt that "The result is a dizzying swirl of disembodied soul samples and hazy beats that frequently dissolve and return, as the emcees deliver complex, metaphor-heavy rhymes addressing subjects such as colonialism and white supremacist oppression."[5] In the Review forClash, Nathan Evans claimed that, "The best tracks on 'Haram' come together with crooked production that twitches with sharp samples and cuts, and AH’s billy woods and Elucid filling the space with pointed flows. The boys are stiff-nosed and mean-mugged, tightly rapping about dead bodies and vulgar sex to such a degree, it could classify as vore fantasy. To match, Alchemist crosses his signature style with crimson atmospheres that are as wet and eerie as a blood-soaked slaughterhouse."[6] Concluding a review forPitchfork, Matthew Ismael Ruiz from wrote that "Haram offers another perspective of New York City's hard heart, rooted in ruminations on power and how it’s wielded. These are the spiritual descendants of Def Jux, rappers that not only embrace the darkness, but wear it as a protective cloak."[7]
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paste | The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 16 | |
| Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 26 |
All tracks are produced bythe Alchemist, except for track 6 co-produced byEarl Sweatshirt.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sir Benni Miles" | 2:59 | |
| 2. | "Roaches Don't Fly" |
| 1:28 |
| 3. | "Black Sunlight" (featuring Kayana) |
| 2:43 |
| 4. | "Indian Summer" |
| 2:40 |
| 5. | "Aubergine" (featuring Fielded) |
| 3:17 |
| 6. | "God's Feet" |
| 2:17 |
| 7. | "Peppertree" |
| 2:00 |
| 8. | "Scaffolds" |
| 2:55 |
| 9. | "Falling Out the Sky" (featuringEarl Sweatshirt) |
| 3:40 |
| 10. | "Wishing Bad" (featuring Curly Castro and Amani) |
| 3:45 |
| 11. | "Chicharrones" (featuringQuelle Chris) |
| 3:28 |
| 12. | "Squeegee" |
| 2:53 |
| 13. | "Robert Moses" |
| 1:35 |
| 14. | "Stonefruit" |
| 4:17 |
| Total length: | 39:54 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Moneylenders" |
| 3:14 |
| Total length: | 43:08 | ||