ALBUM REVIEW: We Buy Diabetic Test Strips by Armand Hammer
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WRITTEN BY: Jonathan Egan
We Buy Diabetic Test Strips is the 6th LP from art rap duo Armand Hammer. The two MCs, Billy Woods and ELUCID, have been prominent figures and voices for the underground rap scene for over a decade now and have been on an amazing creative streak. In 2021 we received the fan favorite Haram from the duo & producer The Alchemist. In 2022, both artists respectively dropped solo efforts which gained positive reviews: Aethiopes – Woods, I Told Bessie – ELUCID, and this year Woods dropped what is possibly his most successful and catchy solo effort yet with Maps, an easy contender for album of the year. These two have dominated the scene with their complex and poetic songwriting, lyrics, and beats.
While this album is not a far cry from their other material, it stands out due to its sound being more based in electronic & industrial techno driven beats. If there is a line from this album that summarizes the sound AH is presenting, it is when Woods states that he “Got it out the mud but there’s guerrilla in my blood.” While Armand Hammer has not abandoned their signature hardcore and poetic style that is grounded in their Brooklyn roots, they have delved deep into a sound that is rooted in this new age of technology. Jpegmafia, who produced two of the tracks here, definitely had a hand in forming the sound of this album. Themes of phones and connectivity are presented in samples of phone calls, dial tones, and lyrics scattered around the album. El-P from Run The Jewels comes in to help produce the excellent “The Gods Must Be Crazy,” a track that one listener mentioned sounds like “music for John Wick to kill people to,” to which I couldn’t agree more. RTJ have always ridden over these intense beats that sound like “heist music,” and this vibe continues onto the tracks “Trauma Mic, “Empire Blvd,” and “Super Mooned.” These tracks are extremely intense, claustrophobic, creepy, and sound like music fitting the backdrop of tactical warfare. Parts of the Industrial electronic scene have always been based in the aesthetic of something akin to urban warfare scenarios, which pairs well when Billy and ELUCID sound battle-hardened, tactical, and patient. Yet, there is a sense of schizophrenia in the beats and vocals like a threat is lurking around every corner.
The production on this record is ever changing and constantly moving into a new direction. There are about six beat switches on the record and each time they arrive it feels like a new song has turned on, keeping the listener guessing when one track starts and ends. The switch on “Blocked Call” specifically becomes foreboding and concerning when Woods states, “My heart pump Ketamine,” referring to the adrenaline and energy he gets when he knows his enemies are everywhere. The first single from this record “Trauma Mic” is one of the most progressive in its buildup of energy, especially with fellow MC Pink Siifu chanting at the beginning of the track. Woods and ELUCID spin tales of false prophets, fake woke rap, and rappers begging for listens over a driving industrial beat. Some of my favorite lines on the record comes from ELUCID stating that you shouldn’t “invite me to your house, ask me to remove my shoes when your floor ain’t clean” and “Catch you on an offday Slackjawed and crosseyed World-wide psyop what’s life without wartime.” “Total Recall” was one of the best surprises on the record, referencing the Sun Ra track “Nuclear War” and their chant of “If they push that button, your ass got to go.” “Empire BLVD,” a reference to a street in Brooklyn, is a hair-raising fever dream of a track with collaborator Junglepussy entering with an intensely sensual and cold verse asking, “You want to talk about poverty? Or you wanna talk about this body,” prompting us to ponder where our priorities really are. When the chorus comes in, it sounds like bombs are imploding from under a unit of special Opps forces lurking during the verses where we hear vivid flute samples and drum/bass beats that evoke that grimy guerrilla warfare vibe.
While the songwriting on this album does not hand itself all too well to memorability or hooks, I do not believe it depends on them all too much due to how expansive and well produced these tracks are. Armand Hammer continues to solidify themselves as one of the most enigmatic, prolific, and experienced entities in hip hop.
