Even if you were to scan the darkest corners of the rap Internet, you’d struggle to find a bad word written about a verse laid down by Freddie Gibbs. The Midwestern heavyweight has been dropping mixtapes for nearly a decade, and he’s earned his cred by totally dominating any beat thrown at him with his robust but insanely agile flow.
Gibbs first landed on Crack’s radar during summer 2009, when he self-released two excellent mixtapes, Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik and The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs, after his deal with Interscope had dissolved. Like many of his tapes, these releases had post-regional, diverse beat selections which ranged from heavy, paranoid trap sounds to 90s referencing, sun-soaked G-Funk. Rugged in texture but smooth in delivery, Gibbs’ style has repeatedly drawn comparisons to Tupac and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and he’s got a habit of rapping in double time as if he’s overcome the natural obligation to take a breath once in a while.
And for those among Freddie Gibbs’ fanbase who’re hungry for more alt-leaning beats, it comes as good news that there’s a collaborative album with Madlib in the can, due for a February 2014 release. The pair first hooked up in 2011 for the Thuggin’ EP, the title track of which saw Gibbs stamp hard, streetwise lyricism into Madlib’s gloopy, oriental-feeling beat. It’s a highlight among both artists‘ discographies, and it cemented the MadGibbs tag-team – Madlib’s third hybridisation after forming Madvillain with DOOM and Jaylib with the late J Dilla.
Crack’s phone call with Gibbs takes place in the aftermath of his recent album ESGN (it stands for ‘Evil Seeds Grow Naturally’), which might just be his toughest record to date. Gibbs was once a loyal disciple of Young Jeezy, the hardass noughties trap don with a voice that suggests he munches gravel for breakfast. But this year, Gibbs walked away from Jeezy (the ‘Young’ has been dropped due to impending maturity) and his CTE label with a middle finger raised, making plenty of noise on his way out. Gibbs’ various public disses have included accusations that what Jeezy says is ‘fake’, and that by pretty much shelving him, he made Gibbs ‘look stupid’. “Jeezy wrote me off, he traded the trap for office jobs”, is one of the many lyrics on ESGN which, along with shots fired at the ‘pussy boys‘ who work in the music industry and a total absence of potential radio hits, gives the record its maverick attitude.
But while Freddie Gibbs gets all aggro and unapologetically sociopathic on record, over the phone he comes across as laid back, funny and brutally honest. Oh, and his answerphone message is a clip of him singing a Charlie Wilson tune, in case you were wondering.
Firstly, can you tell us about your upcoming project with Madlib?
Yeah, Cocaine Pinata. It was definitely an experience making that album, definitely a challenge to rap on tracks of that nature, with those kind of samples. But I think I played it well, I think I delivered something that’s gonna be a cult classic. If you like Madlib, you’re gonna love this new Gibbs and Madlib shit.
The ESGN album feels like a rebellious record. What frame of mind were you in when you went into the studio to make it?
I was mad, I was really heated. You can probably hear the anger flowing out. I was mad at a couple of people. And y’know, I mean mad enough to the point where I wanted to kill them. So I took all that energy and put it into this record, and that was definitely therapeutic for me.
Critics always say that you have the ability to rap over pretty much any style of beat, but in some ways do you feel like ESGN is the signature Freddie Gibbs sound?
Yeah definitely. I mean I think I’m the most versatile artist in rap, and I’m definitely the most gangsta. My signature sound is about making gangsta rap. I think not too many people do that. A lot of people talk about street shit on their songs, but they’re not staying true to the art form of gangsta rap, it’s just baloney really. There ain’t too many rappers I respect right now. I mean there’s guys doing their thing, and I respect the fact that they’re feeding their families off their craft and their music. But there’s not too many doing music I love, I guess I don’t delve into their styles so much, I’m so wrapped up in what I’ve got going on.
Are there older rappers who you’ve looked up to because of their attitude?
Umm, yeah, like Scarface, Ice Cube. They didn’t take no shit, they did what they wanted in this game with no limitations and that’s what I’m trying to do too, that’s the main focus.
Have you got a favourite track on ESGN?
Probably Freddie Soprano, that’s the one where I really let loose lyrically.
It’s like your mission statement.
Yeah, definitely.
And it’s one of the many tracks on there which has some ‘fuck you’ lyrics aimed at the music industry. As an artist, what kind of problems do you have to look out for in this business?
I don’t know man, my experience of dealing with people in the music industry hasn’t been great. Right now, I’m probably public enemy number one in the rap industry, there ain’t too many rappers who fuck with me like that. And that’s cool, I didn’t get into this shit to make friends, I got into this shit to feed my family and make some money, not to be the cool guy at school or the most popular or the most liked. I came to represent the street brand of music. There’s those people fuck with it, and there’s those who really don’t. With me man, I’m Gangsta Gibbs man, know what I mean? There’s no in between with me, and I don’t want no grey area, you either love me, or you hate me. And I’m fine with that, totally fine. A lot of people hate me, and I use that to my advantage, I think it suits me well being the bad guy.
Right, so at this stage, do you feel as if you’re 100% in control?
Yep, that’s was the beauty of ESGN – I’m the boss, the artist and I’m 100% in control.
With you being a well-known name in the industry, do you ever get offers that could help you out commercially but you decide to turn down?
There was a point in my career when I though that’s what I had to do, but now I don’t give a fuck. I used to feel like ‘ah man, I got to do this, maybe the radio will play this’, but I’m never gonna stress myself out about that again. Like I say, either you love me, or you hate my guts, and I love that.
Do you think that too many artists collaborate for the sake of publicity, even if the track doesn’t really work?
There’s a lot of dick sucking in rap right now! [laughs] But I guess that’s part of the game man. I ain’t gonna do a record with someone just cause it’s the cool thing to do, I don’t give a fuck about that shit man, know what I’m saying? That shit’s lame. I hate a remix with like 12 rappers on it. I feel like this shit has really turned into fast food, it’s like McDonald’s, anyone can bite, anybody can get into the game and eat, that’s fucked up. It is what it is.
What’s the touring lifestyle like, is it all it’s cracked up to be?
The tour life? It’s definitely all that, drugs and pussy. If you can take it all in, and don’t let it control you, you’ll be just fine.
We wanted to book you to play Simple Things festival here in the UK, but you’re seriously expensive!
[laughs] Ah come on man, you have to fuck with Freddie Gibbs, I know I don’t cost as much as Lil Wayne!
OK, the the last thing we need is for you to pick three records, old or new, that you’re really into right now. We list them in the contents page of the magazine.
Umm, what songs do I like right now? … Lay It Down by me, I fuck with that heavy … Oh yeah, and The-Dream – IV Play, that’s actually my favourite …
I like Rihanna, I wanna fuck Rihanna. ‘Shine bright like a diamond’, I love that shit, that’s my joint. Hell yeah. I was chopping up some molly, some pure molly my nigga, and I was like ‘man, Rihanna must have made that song about this, cause that shit is looking like diamonds’. (sings in Rihanna voice) ‘Shine bright like a diiiiiamond!’
Really?
Yeah, I’m totally serious! [laughs]
Wouldn’t have had you down as a fan of that stuff.
Ah man, it’s a real feeling baby …
ADVERTISEMENTS