From the jump you should know that Freddie Gibbs is a macho, macho, man. Earlier this year he released a bad-as-fuck single called, “Pronto.” In the video (below) there’s all the things you should expect in any rap vid worth it’s salt: thongs, side boob, gold chains, references to drugs. You know, cool shit like that, but the thing that really struck me was is the man himself, Freddie Gibbs, stripped down to his skivvies (yum!), laying in a bathtub, covered in live, writhing snakes–not cobra’s or anything too scary, but definitely a boa or two.
It’s enough to give anybody the heebeegeebees, but it’s also a little bit…hmmm, how do I say this?
Let’s put it this way: one thing about Freddie Gibbs, whom I love by the way, is that he’s always kind of reminded me of Tupac. There’s a lot of similarities, actually. They’ve both got a gravel-voiced, rapid-fire flow, and love rapping about gangsta shit, too. But the kinship I’m talking about is a, shall we say, very special enthusiasm for showing off their rock-hard bods. I mean, both of these guys have spent an inordinate amount of their career showing off their chests. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I like muscles as much as anybody but this isn’t exactly a D’Angelo situation. Which is to say, there aren’t a lot of women bumping Freddie Gibbs these days. Or ever for that matter.
That is just a fact.
And no, I’m not suggesting that Pac or Gibbs is gay (nor would I give a shit if they were). What I am saying is this: Who exactly are these would-be sex symbols selling their sexiness to? Their overwhelmingly male (and ostensibly heterosexual) fan base, that’s who.
In other words, I’m gay for Freddie Gibbs, and maybe you are too!
So, ummm…Yay! Right? Right!
So whether it’s intentional or not, all of this is decidedly a good thing, even if it might ruffle a few feathers to say it. Indeed, pointing it out is a bit taboo. Even in 2015, when there is a cornucopia of amazing queer rappers. Unfortunately, the best of them (artists like Le1f and Cakes Da Killa) have made only tiny inroads into the mainstream (and even Gibbs has only begun to break through). Which makes the subversive bravado of laying stripped-down in a tub covered in pythons all the more interesting. It’s just one of those little ways that hip-hop’s social consciousness is evolving, albeit at a snail’s pace, towards full acceptance of the LGBQT community. Freddie Gibbs may not realize he’s doing it, but his brand is homoerotic as fuck. What makes him legendary is that he sounds like a champion doing it.
Which brings us to the other reason why his music is worth your while. Which is, naturally, the music itself. And oh boy is it brilliant. Let there be no doubt (pun intended), that Shadow Of A Doubt is a tour de force of modern-day gangsta rap: An album stacked with massive hooks, superb rapping, and unfuckwithable production. But perhaps the best proof of it’s merits lies not in it’s most fantastic moments, and they are legion, but in its lowest. Take “10 Times (Feat. Gucci Mane and E-40),” as an example. This song exemplifies the two most befuddling conundrums of rap music today, which are:
A) How the hell is Gucci Mane still throwing down this many white hot verses? Isn’t he years deep into a prison sentence?
And,
B) This one is kind of the opposite. How on earth is E-40 getting so much play right now? I have literally never heard a verse by him that didn’t rub me like sandpaper. Dude’s got a long, and I mean long, track-record of dropping just dreadful, god-awful verses. Honestly, it boggles the mind.
Yet, despite an ex post facto “Guwop” verse (that kills in spite of being from who-knows-when) and E-40 rambling about how he’s going to make the “the pussy clap like it’s an encore”–it works! All things considered, if Freddie Gibbs escaped “10 Times” with just his dignity intact it would have been an epic accomplishment. The fact that this track manages to be solid makes the whole thing nothing short of a Christmas miracle.
Or to put it another way: Gibbs simply isn’t allowing any failure here. He’s put in serious work and it’s no secret why. He’s gotta be rubbing his hands as he watches artists like Future, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar become household names. He’s is on the same level as any of those guys. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that Shadow Of A Doubt is going to be his moment. The album is too dark, too rough around the edges, his gangsta bona fides are just a little too real for him to do Beiber numbers, at least not now.
Give it a few years.
An album this ahead of it’s time will take a while to catch on. Nevertheless, for the rest of us, it will serve as an inspiration–maybe even an instant classic in some circles. The whole enterprise feels like Gibbs had something massive to prove. You’re simply not going to catch him slipping on this thing. While his worst moments are still fairly awesome, his best are, well, timeless. Nearly everything, but especially “Careless,” “Fuckin’ Up The Count,” “Lately,” and “Basketball Wifes,” can all endure dozens of listens without being diminished in the slightest. Gems like “Mexico” have potential crossover appeal, but probably wont, because frankly, Shadow Of A Doubt is an album is for the streets. Still, listening to the up-and-coming (also amazing) crooner, Tory Lanez, contribute this much tunefulness and swagger to the hook (on “Mexico”) is the point on Shadow Of A Doubt when you realize Gibbs is pushing his craft into uncharted territory; a new kind of R&B. It sounds like the future.
The legacy of Shadow Of A Doubt will be that it can stand up next to any of the great, complicated, jazz-influenced Rap&B albums from 2015. And, make no mistake, this has been a year of 1994 levels. Hip-hop is operating on a whole notha’ level: Black Messiah, To Pimp A Butterfly, DS2, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and Summertime ’06 are just a few of the more notable bombs that went off this year. Shadow Of A Doubt is as fresh as any of them. Unfortunately, I doubt that Gibbs will enjoy the same critical praise. While Shadow Of A Doubt is certainly an easier listen than many of those records and has just as much to say about the current state of blackness in America, where Gibbs really differs from his peers–and this is what costs him commercial appeal–is that he doesn’t give a single solitary fuck about speaking to white America.
Case in point, “Extradite,” which enlists Black Thought (of The Roots) rapping about how, “the entire world is going insane with us,” and in that one line he might have made the most astute observation in pop music this year. The song starts out with a sample declaring, “the devil is a motherfucking liar.” It’s followed by five mesmerizing minutes of Gibbs & Black Thought musing on that very subject, rapping like their lives depended on them crushing it, over an absolutely gorgeous beat.
This one is special.
One hopes that Shadow Of A Doubt isn’t dismissed the same way last year’s excellent collaboration with Madlab, Pinata, was. (Though, I’m proud to say, it wasn’t dismissed by me, nor by the B.G.M. community, who had the wisdom to vote it 2014’s Best Album Of The Year, and by a long shot I’ll have you know). At the very least, I can tell you that this is Freddie Gibbs’ finest work to date. It’s probably a classic. Hopefully, people will clue in to Freddie Gibbs this time. But even if they don’t, I have a feeling his small, but devoted, cult of followers will help keep this album alive for as long as it takes. At least until the rest of the world pulls their head out.
Shadow Of A Doubt comes out 11/20 on ESGN. I hope they put it out on vinyl.
Rating: 4.4/5