Armand Hammer

For nearly a decade as a duo, and longer still as solo artists, Armand Hammer have left a palpable mark on modern rap and hip-hop. At turns both sharp-witted and soul-crushing, their lyrics unspool threads of socio-political, historical, and philosophical import with a potent blend of incisive critique, gallows humor, and narrative lan. Mercy is the first Armand Hammer album since 2023s We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, a project that The Observer (UK) described as an exceptional record that deserves your time and headphones and The Line Of Best Fit deemed their headiest and most impressive work thus far. On 2021s Haram, their first with The Alchemist, the duo drag postcolonial wounds onto the examination table (Pitchfork). Beats Per Minute called it a tremendous success. Earlier this year, billy woods released GOLLIWOG, a densely poetic, totally masterful tour de force (Rolling Stone) and one of 2025s truly essential albums (The FADER). Meanwhile, ELUCIDs enthralling (MOJO) 2024 album REVELATOR was described by Pitchfork as soul food for those who know a better world is possible if were willing to fight for it. The New York Times, in naming REVELATOR one of their Best Albums Of 2024, called it a dense, overdriven, fiercely abrasive album that cranks up the tradition of Public Enemys Bomb Squad productions for 21st-century impact.