In 1993, "The Whooliganz" released their first single, "Put Your Handz Up". Muggs invited the teens to join his crew, "The Soul Assassins", which also included the group "House of Pain". While rhyming at a party in LA, they attracted the attention of DJ Muggs, aka DJ Muggs of the wildly popular hip-hop group Cypress Hill. They would often hang out in urban areas of Los Angeles and participated in typical teen-aged rebellious activities like partying, smoking marijuana and general mischief.Īl and Scott decided to become a duo named "The Whooliganz". As a teen, he hooked up with other like-minded kids who wrote lyrics and rebelled strongly against their uptight suburban surroundings, among whom were Seth 'Shifty Shellshock' Binzer and Scott Caan, son of James Caan. Al began to identify strongly with the rebellious lyrics and urban sounds of hip-hop, and he began writing his own lyrics as a creative outlet. He preferred to be around people who were down-to-earth and creative. Al wanted no part of the snobby rich-kid scene and threw himself into his schoolwork, in which he excelled. However, fans of hard-hitting hip-hop are amazed when they find out that one of the top producers of this genre of music is a Caucasian Jew from the affluent suburb of Beverly Hills, California.Īl's family was fairly well-off but was considered poor compared to the billionaire families in the neighborhood. The Alchemist has been one of the most successful producers of hip-hop music in recent years.