At the end of 2023, New York based hip hop duo Armand Hammer, consisting of members billy woods and E L U C I D, released ‘We Buy Diabetic Test Strips,’ their first record for the Mississippi based indie label Fat Possum. It’s their seventh full-length release as Armand Hammer and first to not be released on woods’ own Backwoodz Studioz label. Armand Hammer recently performed at the Motorco Music Hall in Durham and caught up with WUNC Music’s Brian Burns after the show.
This is an excerpt of an edited transcript of that conversation. You can hear the full interview by clicking the LISTEN button at the top of this post.
Tell me a little bit about what it has been like working with Fat Possum compared to releasing this record on your own?
There is a deeper wealth of resources, and there’s also, of course, more red tape. But everyone that we’ve worked with over there has been great. It’s overall been a positive experience.
Speaking of Backwoodz, can you tell us a little bit about the history of that label?
I started the label as an idealistic young man, and kept going until I was a cynical old man. We put out mostly experimental hip hop, but are willing to just about anything. We’re just trying to do something that’s artist friendly and individualized to each situation for what the artist needs.
'We Buy Diabetic Test Strips' is out now on Fat Possum.
