1st Infantry (album)

1st Infantry is the debut solo studio album by American hip hop producer and recording artist The Alchemist. It was released on June 29th, 2004, through Koch Records. Recording sessions took place at The Lab, Baseclef Studios and Infamous Studios in New York City, at Soundproof and MGS Sound Lab in Los Angeles, and at D-Block Studios in Yonkers. Production was handled entirely by the Alchemist, who also served as executive producer together with his brother Neil Maman, with Prodigy serving as co-executive producer. It features guest appearances from The Lox, Mobb Deep, Big Noyd, Big Twins, B-Real, Chinky, Devin the Dude, Dilated Peoples, Illa Ghee, Lloyd Banks, M.O.P., Nas, Nina Sky, P$C, Stat Quo and The Game.

The album peaked at number 101 on the Billboard 200, number 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, number 6 on the Top Rap Albums, number 8 on the Independent Albums, and topped the Heatseekers Albums chart in the United States. It also reached number 43 on the UK Independent Albums chart. The album's instrumental version and deluxe edition with a bonus DVD were released on October 4, 2005.

One single from the album, "Hold You Down", peaked at No. 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 47 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the US. The song "Bangers" appeared in 2006 video game Saints Row.

Personnel

 * Alan "The Alchemist" Maman – producer, executive producer, sleeve notes
 * Albert "Prodigy" Johnson – performer (tracks: 2, 5, 11, 17), co-executive producer
 * Jayceon "The Game" Taylor – performer (track 2)
 * David "Styles P" Styles – performer (tracks: 4, 8)
 * Sean "Sheek Louch" Jacobs – performer (tracks: 4, 13)
 * Jason "Jadakiss" Phillips – performer (track 4)
 * Gregory "Illa Ghee" Jackson – performer (track 5)
 * Natalie Albino – performer (track 5)
 * Nicole Albino – performer (track 5)
 * Rigo "Riggs" Morales – performer (track 6), A&R direction
 * Stanley "Stat Quo" Benton – performer (track 7)
 * Eric "Billy Danze" Murray – performer (track 7)
 * Jamal "Lil' Fame" Grinnage – performer (track 7)
 * Kejuan "Havoc" Muchita – performer (tracks: 8, 11)
 * Joshua "J Hood" Hood – performer (tracks: 8, 13)
 * Terance "Big Noyd" Perry – performer (track 8)
 * Christopher "Lloyd Banks" Lloyd – performer (track 9)
 * Devin "Devin the Dude" Copeland – performer (track 10)
 * Michael "Evidence" Perretta – performer & recording (track 12), mastering
 * Rakaa "Iriscience" Taylor – performer (track 12)
 * Chris "DJ Babu" Oroc – performer (track 12)
 * Shalene "Chinky" Evans – performer (track 14)
 * Louis "B-Real" Freese – performer (track 16)
 * Nasir "Nas" Jones – performer (track 17)
 * Clifford "T.I." Harris – performer (track 18)
 * Nathaniel "Mac Boney" Josey – performer (track 18)
 * Sean "Big Kuntry King" Merrett – performer (track 18)
 * Akeem "AK Tha Razor Man" Lawal – performer (track 18)
 * Jamal "Big Twins"/"Twin Gambino" Abdulraheem – performer (track 19)
 * Richard "Segal" Huredia – mixing (tracks: 2, 10, 11)
 * Kevin Crouse – mixing (tracks: 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 17-19)
 * Jeff White – recording (tracks: 5, 7-11, 14, 18, 19), A&R administrator, product manager
 * Steve Sola – mixing (tracks: 8, 14)
 * Ken "Duro" Ifill – mixing (track 13)
 * Rob Hill – recording & mixing (track 16)
 * Bernie Grundman – mastering
 * Neil Maman – executive producer, A&R administrator, management
 * Ronald "Gotti" Odum – production coordinator
 * Damian Davis – production assistant
 * Ola Kudu – art direction, design, additional photography
 * Fubz – photography
 * Gerard Rechnitzer – additional photography
 * Paul Rosenberg – management
 * Tracy McNew – management
 * Theo Sedlmayr – legal
 * Lena Kasambalides – legal
 * Bonsu Thompson – marketing
 * Amanda Silverman – publicist
 * Bianca Bianconi – publicist