By Shirley Ju
Music and cannabis go hand in hand… and this is what happens when two legendary figures in their respective industries conjoin.
On Wednesday, September 25th, Ted Lidie, founder of Alien Labs, hosted his exclusive “Ted Talk” series in Los Angeles, this time joined by The Alchemist, one of the most well-respected producers and DJs in the rap game. This is just one example of Lidie’s extensive rolodex of relationships.
For those who aren’t familiar, Alien Labs is a legacy cannabis brand not just known for high-quality products, but their innovative approach across all boards. Their motto is “You Are Not Alone,” driven by Lidie’s own personal experiences struggling with mental health and finding his footing in this thing called life. They’re also a lifestyle brand, with clothing found in stores like Zumiez and Hibbett.
The Alchemist on the other hand, has been deemed one of the most influential producers, working with all the greats such as Eminem, Action Bronson, Freddie Gibbs, and more.
Taking place on the rooftop at E.P. & L.P. on La Cienega Blvd, tonight’s Ted Talk follows a string of successful events in major cities including Sacramento, San Diego, and San Jose, following it up with Arizona after Los Angeles. The evening featured live music, food, drinks, and of course, Alien Labs flower.
Here are five takeaways from the intimate conversation, which straddles the intersection of cannabis culture and music.
1. The Alchemist grew up in LA in the 90’s
Contrary to what people might think, The Alchemist grew up on the West Coast back in the 90’s, specifically the westside of Los Angeles. Because of his ties to East Coast Hip-Hop, a lot of people may assume he’s from that side of the country.
“I have an older brother who’s a year and a half older, so I used to hang out with his crew,” Alchemist explained. “The westside of LA, it was a time. If you were around, you know weed wasn’t always around, so you had to know somebody who has something good. Sometimes it would be here, then you’d have to wait for it. It’s not here, you have to wait a month, then you’d have some bullshit. You’d wait ,and it’d show up. But I’m from that era, where you have to know somebody who knew somebody.”
Alchemist actually grew up with fellow West Coast rapper Evidence, whom he met at The Troubadour. And because Evidence lived in Venice, they always had a neighbor or somebody they could get weed from. One day, Alchemist decided to trade his baseball card collection for a quarter pound of weed… and the rest was history.
2. The Alchemist prefers small spliffs & coffee all day
We all know coffee and cannabis compliment each other perfectly. Alchemist hilariously deems it the “poor man’s speedball.”
When asked how Alchemist likes to consume, he reveals he now prefers papers, but it all started with the bongs.
“I used to go to the studio, and bring the bong to the studio. People thought I was crazy.”
We all know how much Alchemist loves marijuana, as Lidie put it: “one of the real, rare smokers in the weed industry.” So how often is he really smoking? All day.
“It depends on the day,” Alchemist stated. “If I’m in the studio doing music, I’m pretty much smoking all day. I drink coffee and smoke, it’s like the poor man’s speedball. The safe version. All day, and I start early. I get up fucking 7am. I do most of the beats early in the mornings.”
But he doesn’t smoke big joints, he rolls tiny personal spliffs. His friends calls them “mosquito legs,” and he smokes a great amount of them.
3. The Alchemist got caught with weed in Germany & they took his blood
What started as an innocent story on how Alchemist was shook he couldn’t bring weed to Dubai, ended in a tragic story about how he got caught with weed in Germany.
“Got pulled over, we had some weed,” Alchemist recalled. “They had an issue. I went [to jail], paid a bunch of money. They took my blood, it was fucking crazy. A German doctor, just imagine. It was the worst possible scenario. I’m used to getting my blood taken from a doctor, so I’m like, ‘you’re gonna be nice right?’ He’s like, ‘haha yeah.” Fucking jammed that shit. Then it was “not enough!” The other arm. Two arms. A whole bunch of shit, paid 600 bucks.”
Alchemist also came with the jokes this evening.
“God bless, but now they have my fucking DNA in Germany. In a vile, they might be cloning me.”
Lidie had a similarly traumatic experience, getting a DUI in Reno and ending up in Nevada jail. They also drew his blood.
On a positive note, Alchemist did reflect on his current blessings, having connections in every country so he doesn’t have to worry about smuggling weed overseas anymore.
4. The Alchemist’s favorite smoking memory is with Wesley Snipes
Alchemist recalls his favorite smoking memory being a kid at a Cypress Hill show and going on stage to hit the six foot bong. When asked who his favorite person to smoke with all time was, he answered: Wesley Snipes.
The audience immediately clapped for that answer, as Alchemist followed up with the disclaimer: “he smokes!”
Lidie also had a GOATed answer, telling his story about chiefing with actor John C. Reilly (the other half of Step Brothers alongside Will Farrell).
5. The Alchemist read ‘The Alchemist’ after he named himself
A lot of fans may assume The Alchemist named himself after the iconic self-help book, The Alchemist. He clarified that he actually read the book after the fact, and fell in love like everyone else.
“Definitely read it afterwards, I was like ‘this shit is dope’’,” Alchemist explained. “I read it quick, that’s like a one night read. Anyone can relate to it. When I read it, damn this is crazy. Santiago and the whole journey, but anybody could relate to that book. Everyone loves it, it’s one of the top selling fucking books in the world.”
Similarly, Lidie explained why the Alien Labs name holds so much weight.
“I lived in San Francisco too, so I’d go to The Hemp Center,” Lidie states. “I’d get all the fire Girl Scout Cookies. When I started learning about that culture, all I really knew was that it didn’t represent me. Of course, I loved Hip-Hop. I was into urban culture, but I was also into anime and horror movies. Nerd shit, video games. When I went back and I started thinking about what I wanted out of a brand, the ‘alien’ term was really a double entendre for extraterrestrial life, but then outsider. That’s what we were.”
“Make friends and make a community, that is the reason we’re so successful.”
Ted Lidie, Alien Labs
How Lidie viewed himself in the cannabis community is parallel to The Alchemist’s uniqueness to the rap game.
“Anyone that was different and didn’t feel like they had a place in that culture at that time to gather, we nailed that,” Lidie continued. “All of you guys here that have love for Alien Labs, you like the same shit I like. That’s really what Alien Labs is, it’s the outsiders and people that don’t feel like they always belong.”
The Alien Labs’ tagline is “You are not alone, fueled by Lidie’s own journey with mental health and depression. This allowed him to create this brand for people to come together, celebrate the plant and celebrate each other.
“Make friends and make a community, that is the reason we’re so successful,” he concludes.
