Freddie Gibbs Gracefully Enters the Mainstream on “$oul $old $eperately”
Image Courtesy of Genius
By Joey Brasco
Finding the balance between integrity and success will always challenge artists. Up to this point, Freddie Gibbs has taken the route of integrity and authenticity, garnering a cult fanbase hooked on his hardcore gangster rap. His popularity hit a new high-point with the release of his 2020 collaborative project Alfredo, made in tandem with production wizard the Alchemist, earning him a Grammy nomination for best rap album. In an interview with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden, Gibbs said: “As soon as I got nominated for the Grammy, I just went on a nonstop tirade to make this perfect album.”
This “perfect album,” $oul $old $eparately ($$$), released on September 30th, is his first with a major label (Warner) and marks a shift in Gibbs’ recent output. His most recent and acclaimed releases have received rapturous praise for the off-kilter production employed by the Alchemist as well as Madlib. Mixmag author Nicolas-Tyrell Scott, who described these records as “an always self-affirmed and cocky Gibbs in his prime, rapping for his life amongst an abundance of jazz, lo-fi, sometimes even classical audio spaces.”
$$$ is taking an alternate, more mainstream oriented approach. In an interview with The Ringer, Gibbs expressed some reservation in going down a more commercial route, explaining: “With my business model, I never thought it’d work on a major label . . . radio records, commercial success, those are things I never really chased.”
Still, success can be alluring, and with $$$, his star is brighter than ever.
Currently, $$$ is sitting at no.11 on the Billboard 200 album list. Gibbs in the same Ringer interview also noted that “my record was no.3 added at radio, I never had a record added at radio.”
That song would be “Too Much,” featuring streaming titan Moneybagg Yo. On the track, Gibbs rides over an entrancing reversed sample and a beat with booming bass. His hypnotic flow and earworm “too much” refrain on the chorus is aiming for the charts without sacrificing his signature style.
However, there are a few growing pains on this album. “Pain & Strife” featuring another big name, Offset of Migos fame, features a generic beat that is not deserving of Gibbs unmatched flow and personality. While the verse and hook here are certainly passable, they do not do much to impress.
One aspect of Gibbs’ sound that will seemingly never leave him is his tragic and explicit lyrical style. In the interview with Ebro Darden, he discussed those who may be turned off by his lyrics. “I told somebody the other day, ‘man what if I wrote this in a suicide note . . . would you be mad at it or would you cry about it?’”
No exaggeration there, as on “Grandma’s Stove,” he pens these lines: “I smoke a blunt to take the pain out / and if I wans’t high, I’d probably try to blow my brains out.”
The wealth of producers Gibbs works with on this album helps him to explore these darker, melancholic concepts on songs like “Dark Hearted,” produced by alternative / electronic artist James Blake. Gibbs primarily sings on this track, churning out some truly heart wrenching melodies and lyrical imagery.
“Empty stomach gives you the heart to go do a homicide / Man, this game got me dark-hearted.”
His style is definitely not for the faint of heart. On “Gold Rings,” featuring the equally macabre Pusha T, the two spit one cold-blooded bar after another over ominous harp samples and skittering percussion.
Gibbs raps: “Loudest one in the room, you ain’t a killer you a cartoon / I saw you at your homie grave, well, tell him you’ll be home soon.”
Don’t mess with Gibbs.
Critics continue to praise Gibbs, with Pitchfork’s reviewer, Matthew Richie writing,
“Now Gibbs departs from the comfort zone that he’s built for himself on $$$ . . . It’s a refreshing canvas for a rapper whose technical prowess and stark songwriting deserve a varied landscape to thrive in.”
While Gibbs does show his ability to thrive in a mainstream environment, he still makes room to appease fans of his experimental side. Madlib makes an appearance on the closing track “CIA,” where Gibbs delivers his trademark flow over a cinematic saxophone sample; Madlib always seems to bring the best out of Gibbs. Alchemist also produced the hazy “Blackest in the Room” which sounds like it could have fit snugly onto Alfredo.
$$$ is a powerful testament to Freddie Gibbs’ integrity as an artist. Whether rapping over trendier production, or obscure dusty samples, he is unapologetically himself. $$$ is no different, with Gibb’s finding a way to successfully translate his style into the mainstream while maintaining the core elements that made fans fall in love with his music.
