$oul $old $eparately - Freddie Gibbs: Review
Freddie Gibbs
is an Indiana rapper who has spent the last decade establishing himself as one of the most cutthroat rappers in the genre today. After a series of collaborative records including Pinata with Madlib and Alfredo with The Alchemist Freddie is back with his first solo album since 2018's Freddie,
Review by Lav:
Dishing out praise for Freddie Gibbs is just something I've done on this blog pretty much since I started it. Once he released Fetti in 2018 it started a run of great records and features that had me sprinting to put out positive reviews of Freddie every few months. After hearing some of the singles from this record I though that streak might be approaching its end. But I shouldn't have doubted Freddie, this album is as solid as ever.
Let's talk about those singles because I'm still not totally sure about them. Too Much is certainly a song I've flip-flopped on mostly because hearing Freddie's singing on the track doesn't do much for me. Even with the rough singing, the refrains are still catchy and they did stick with me after every time I heard the song. But for me, the nail in the coffin is a mediocre Moneybagg Yo verse that has no chance of matching Freddie's energy. Dark Hearted came next and I'm more positive on it even though I'm once again not crazy about Freddie's voice. I can tolerate it more on this song because it really helps to sell the authenticity of the lyrics and storytelling. That combined with a unique instrumental made the song grow on me with repeat listens.
The other song I have big issues with is Pain & Strife which really feels like it should sound more aspirational than it does. Freddie and Offset are supposed to be rapping about, well, pain and strife and yet the beat kind of sounds like one of those YouTube videos that teach you step by step how to make a trap instrumental. Also not for nothing Freddie and Offset go together like ice cream and ketchup. There are a few songs here that are just solid series of bars without much actual "song" there like Zipper Bagz and Space Rabbit. Though these are better than the sort of generic opener and closer on the record in Couldn't Be Done and CIA.
Thankfully everything else here is the exact kind of fire you'd expect. There are a number of songs here that have some absolutely great storytelling, which Freddie is no stranger to. Blackest In The Room is a much darker and more reserved song than I'm used to from Freddie but it has an insanely slick beat and a confrontational performance full of great wordplay. Rabbit Vision is a moment of self-reflection where Freddie conjures up some pretty vivid visions of his part while also elaborating on the lessons that those moments taught him. The best of these tracks is Grandma's Stove where Freddie takes on the allegations that he's an absent father, which are so often pushed onto rappers with racist pretext. He goes into a lot of detail on how he developed this reputation and how exactly it's incorrect while weaving great tales of his come-up as a rapper in between.
Like many other Freddie projects, the best tracks here are often the bangers that come with some excellent features. Lobster Omelette has a fantastic instrumental that walks this great line between being absurd or confrontational and the beauty it splashes in with the vocal samples throughout. Even Rick Ross who I'm not generally a fan of delivers a fittingly lavish verse in the second half that I don't mind at all. I like PYS even though I definitely shouldn't. It sounds like a 90's throwback but one from another dimension where the insanely raunchy bars and obvious sexism were dialed up even more. As out there as it is compared to the rest of the album the sample is perfectly done and DJ Paul is one of the record's best features.
Speaking of best features, longtime readers won't be surprised to hear how much I loved Gold Riggs which sports a great Pusha T performance. Even beyond that it has a totally lethal pairing of verse and hook from Freddie to kick the track off. The best song on the album easily and frankly a track that should be headed directly for the Greatest Hits Of Freddie Gibbs record is Feel No Pain. Anderson .Paak kicks the song off with both an unbelievably smooth hook and a verse that genuinely holds up to the excellent performances from Freddie and Raekwon that follow. It's a thoroughly excellent song from a trio of remarkably talented collaborators who fit together perfectly.
So yeah, despite some early hesitancy this record is another solid entry into Freddie's ongoing hot streak. He delivers the hard-hitting and occasionally hilarious bars you'd expect while also doing some meaningful self-reflection and reminiscing in the meantime. The excellent roster of features he brings along with him makes those elements even more rewarding. While the production across this record isn't extremely impressive and it's not Freddie's most consistent set of tracks ever, this is just as much essential listening as many of his other acclaimed works. 7.5/10
This cover is cool. I like the illustration and the slight details that were added in to create depth and bring life to the composition. It tells a story with very simple colors and concept which can often be hard to do. I wish there was some type of precise branding because it does remind me of some random NFT art you could buy instead of an album cover. Without that artist's personal touch it's just a cool illustration. 6.5/10
