Armand Hammer at Crystal Ballroom, 11/30/23
Not even 15 minutes by foot from Tufts campus, something special was brewing in Somerville’s own Crystal Ballroom. A duo by the name of Armand Hammer were coming to grace the venue with their signature brand of verbose, gritty rap, and an enthusiastic crowd was already gathered to experience it.
Both members of Armand Hammer are very, very good at what they do. Both billy woods and Elucid have been honing their individual crafts in the underground rap world since the early 2000s and have been releasing music together as a duo for just over a decade. Over the years, they have garnered a serious cult following; each year, their releases attract more listeners and dot more music publications’ end-of-year lists. Fresh off of the late September release of their latest record, We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, it feels like Armand Hammer are about as on-top-of-the-game as a group of their nature can be.
As I walked up to the entrance, I thought back to my first time at the venue. It was just over a month into my time at college, and I was seeing billy woods tour his incredible album Aethiopes. I distinctly recalled how odd it felt to be in such a small, intimate venue to watch one of the most accomplished rappers in the underground perform, especially someone as reclusive from the public spotlight as woods. Upon entering the Crystal Ballroom, though, I felt more excitement than introspection about what I was about to witness.
As I walked up to the stage I felt at home, joining a crowd largely composed of guys with questionable facial hair choices. When it comes to artists with a niche cult following like Armand Hammer, there’s a real companionship in the crowd, and I could feel it—I overheard plenty of snippets of conversation about obscure internet music and rare Mach-Hommy vinyls. I struck up conversation with a few people around me, discussing Shabazz Palaces, the best and worst music journalism outlets nowadays, ‘90s Japanese hip-hop, and noise music. It was refreshing to be in a room full of people who were not only excited for the show, but excited about and engaged with all kinds of left-field music.
The lights went dim, the Crystal Ballroom staff announced that the artists had requested for photos not to be taken of them, and the crowd buzzed. Three openers took the stage before Armand Hammer, beginning with another underground legend in his own right, Quelle Chris. His set was extremely lighthearted; he cracked jokes the entire time and his calm demeanor just radiated good energy. Not long after he exited, the stage was taken over by rapper al.divino, a Massachusetts native whose performance was short yet very animated. Rounding out the trifecta of rather disparate openers was Kayana, a Bostonian R&B singer. Her performance was also brief, but she held the crowd’s attention with vocal loops and bass-heavy production.
As Kayana’s performance was coming to a close, Armand Hammer’s DJ was already setting up and both members of the group were just off stage. They walked on, met with loud approval from the audience, and jumped right into their set.
Armand Hammer’s work pushes rap music to a certain extremity; hyper-conscious, layered lyrics, obscure samples, and often seemingly arhythmic flows characterize their sound. Still, plenty of the audience was able to recite lyrics back at the artists, capturing the cult-like following that has grown around them. Early into their set, the duo played “Woke Up and Asked Siri How I’m Gonna Die,” a song from their new album featuring production from JPEGMAFIA. The producer tag at the beginning of the track had not even finished before the crowd began to roar.
As the show went on, both woods and Elucid took time to perform some of their solo work, giving the other some time to rest at the back of the stage. Before long, they reconvened and continued to play Armand Hammer material. I’m sure it was no coincidence that they selected “The Gods Must Be Crazy;” on this song, woods name-checks Henry Kissinger, and this single line found a more feverish reaction from the crowd than just about anything else that night.
As they concluded their set, the duo shouted out the venue’s staff, the openers, and their fans; not ten minutes later, they were sitting with Quelle Chris in the main part of the venue, selling their merch and talking to fans. A large portion of the crowd stuck around to get records signed or to buy t-shirts, and strangers continued to chatter with each other. There was a strong sense of community throughout the Crystal Ballroom as I walked out into the cold; between this and some great live music, there’s not much else that I can ask of a concert, right?