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This album came out on November 20th of 2015. The last shit I heard from Freddie Gibbs was that Pronto EP that he released earlier this year, and that shit was dope af. As I said in my review for that project, Freddie Gibbs really seems to be one of the last Gangsta rappers in Hip Hop. You don’t really get MCs like that these days. Other than The Game, ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, and MAYBE Vince Staples, I can’t really think of any current Gangsta rappers. And no, Gangsta rap is not the same as Trap music or Drill music. Anyway, I really enjoyed Pronto, and Freddie Gibbs is quickly becoming one of my favorite MCs, so I’m expecting this shit to be dope af. I haven’t heard any music from this album yet. Shoutout to The FADER for being the only website that I could find with the production credits. This new WordPress design sucks ass btw…

Track 1: Rearview (Prod. Blair Norf)

This beat sounds pretty dope so far. It actually sounds pretty similar to the shit that was on Pronto. I guess that makes sense, since Blair Norf did produce one of the songs from that EP. The beat is dope af. This hook is cool. That first verse was actually really good. That shit he said about havin’ his mama bail him outta jail was dope. This motherfucker is just so gangsta. I can’t get over that shit. This shit is dope af. It sounds like that Pronto EP was a preview of what’s gonna be on this album. This is dope af. I definitely fuck with this. 5/5

Track 2: Narcos (Prod. Blair Norf)

He’s spitting the hook right now. It sounds like there’s a slight incorporation of autotune, but he thankfully didn’t go overboard with it. This beat is dope. I actually really like this hook. It’s dope. He did his thing on the first verse. The second verse was dope too. Man. I don’t know. This is one of them songs that doesn’t really blow you away, but you still really fuck with it. It’s a solid song. The verses and beat aren’t amazing or anything, but I still really like this a lot. I think I’m gonna play it safe and just call this dope tho. I fuck with it. The hook was great, and Gibbs did his thing, but as I just said (I don’t know why I’m repeating this tbh) nothing really blew me away. This is dope. 4/5

Track 3: Careless (Prod. Pops & Superville)

This beat is dope af. Goddamn. Gibbs’ flow is bananas on this shit. “She pop the pussy and rewind that, and suck a dick as I get twisted and listen to Do or Die rap.” Goddamn. He switches to kind of a melodic delivery about half way through the first verse, and he sounds kinda like Nate Dogg. He should sound terrible when he sings, but honestly he just sounds smooth af. This motherfucker has a perfect voice for Hip Hop. Maybe this is just me dick riding, but so far I’ve compared Gangsta Gibbs to Pac & Nate Dogg. I fuckin’ love this guy. This hook is dope af. Why can he sing? When I heard his voice for the first time, I thought that singing would be the last thing that I wanted to hear from him, but it actually works. He sounds so smooth on this shit. This shit is dope af. Everything from the beat, to his flow, to the hook, to his smooth ass delivery was great. I definitely fuck with this shit. 5/5

Track 4: Fuckin’ Up The Count (Prod. Boi-1da & Frank Dukes)

This was the first single from the album, and it was released on the same day that the album was announced. I think. I haven’t heard it yet, but it should be interesting to hear Freddie Gibbs over a Boi-1da beat. That artwork for this song is dope af btw. I fuck with that cover. Okay, it’s starting now. This beat is dope. The first verse was cool. I’m not in love with his delivery on this one, but it isn’t bad. The hook’s cool. There’s a sample from The Wire after the hook. I don’t really watch TV at all anymore, but I think I’m gonna have to check that show out. I’ve never seen it, but I just saw a clip from which the sample came, and it looked pretty fuckin’ great. I’ll probably start watchin’ it later today if it’s on Netflix. The second verse was cool too. This song is dope. It’s not amazing or anything. I fuck with it tho. Oh shit, I almost forgot to watch the music video. Okay, it just ended. It wasn’t amazing or anything, but I liked it. It was gangsta as fuck. It looked like a scene out of one of them gangsta ass movies like Paid In Full or Boyz In The Hood. It was dope. That’s pretty much how I feel about this song too. I was expecting a little more from Boi-1da to be honest. It wasn’t a bad beat. It just could’ve been better. I fuck with the song tho. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 5: Extradite Feat. Black Thought (Prod. Mikhail)

I guess this was the second single for the album. I’m not sure when it was released, but I’m pretty excited for this Black Thought feature. There’s no such thing as a bad Black Thought verse. Okay, the song is starting now. Oh shit… This beat sounds like it’s about to be fucking incredible. Oh my God. Yes. This beat is fucking fantastic. Out of everything that I’ve heard from Gibbs since Piñata, this production sounds the closest to Madlib’s style. I’m not saying that it’s just like it or anything; I’m just saying it’s closer than the other shit so far. This beat is dope af. Holy fucking shit. This beat is incredible. Seriously, this beat is fucking unbelievable.

Goddamn. Gangsta Gibbs killed that first verse. The hook is cool. This shit is fucking bonkers. I can’t wait to see what Black Thought does. GODDAMN. Black Thought is fuckin’ killin’ this shit. Every single verse that this man does… Jesus. “You ever see a body lyin’ dead in the streets yet, then eat breakfast? Swallow forced beliefs like police justice.” Goddamn. Black Thought fuckin’ killed that shit. Every second of this song is better than the last. Gibbs is goin’ in again. These motherfuckers are killin’ this shit. Gibbs’ second verse was crazy. “Cousin got her lights and her gas cut last week / How that make me look if I don’t help her get up on her feet? / She keep a different nigga, now she in there pregnant every week.” Oh my LORD. Black Thought has another verse. This song is like a fucking dream come true. Black Thought & Freddie Gibbs ripped this fucking beat to shreds. Mikhail did a fucking incredible job too. It actually kinda sounds like something that 7L would’ve produced. Now that I think about it, a Czarface & Freddie Gibbs collaboration would be dope af. This song is fucking incredible. I definitely fuck with this shit. Freddie Gibbs just sounds so perfect over this old school style of production. This shit is the definition of dope af. 5/5

Track 6: McDuck Feat. Dana Williams (Prod. Speakerbomb)

I’m not sure who Dana Williams is, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard any production from Speakerbomb. It’s starting now. This beat is dope. It sounds very different from the previous beat, but not so much so that it feels disjointed or misplaced. The first verse was dope. The hook is dope too. This chick Dana Williams actually sounds pretty good. Oh, that’s the chick that was on that song from the Pronto EP, Diamonds. Yeah, she sounds pretty good here. The second verse was cool I guess. I liked the first one better, but it wasn’t bad. This song is cool. The hook is great, and the beat was cold, and I liked the first verse a lot, but it’s not amazing or anything. It’s just a solid song. I fuck with this shit. This is dope. 4/5

Track 7: Mexico Feat. Tory Lanez (Prod. Murda Beatz)

I actually really fuck with Tory Lanez. He was one of the first rappers that I started listening to when I was first really getting into Hip Hop. His more recent shit hasn’t been as good to me, but I still think he’s pretty good. Anyway, he completely ruined this song. Nah, I’m just playing. He definitely made it a lot worse than it needed to be tho. I’m not feelin’ his hook. I don’t know why he always puts those terrible autotune effects over his voice; he can sing really well without them. It’s not just autotune tho. He sounds kinda muffled. I don’t know how to describe it. His voice with those effects just doesn’t sound good at all. It just sounds annoying. I don’t think it’s horrible tho. I would probably like it if I was wasted as fuck. He just sounds like a generic mainstream Atlanta trap artist tho. That’s not what I want from Tory Lanez. Fuck. Freddie kinda has that muffled effect on his voice too. This beat is average at best. Wow. This really isn’t good. Gibbs did his thing on the verses, but goddamn. This isn’t what I wanna hear. I’m honestly not really feelin’ this. This song is wack to me. 2/5

Track 8: Packages Feat. ManMan Savage (Prod. Tarentino)

Wow. This hook is simple as fuck, but that’s honestly a good thing for me. It’s honestly kinda stupid, but that makes it more entertaining. I can definitely see how it could get annoying after a while tho. Goddamn. He’s goin’ the fuck in right now. His flow is dope af. This is definitely more Trap music than it is Gangsta rap. He’s still spittin’ tho. This ManMan Savage guy is goin’ in now. He’s nowhere near as good as Freddie Gibbs, but I still enjoyed it. I guess objectively it was pretty bad, but I liked it personally. I have a feeling that this song isn’t meant to be taken too seriously. I enjoy it for what it is. I don’t love what it is tho. It’s cool I guess. I fuck with this. This is dope. 4/5

Track 9: 10 Times Feat. Gucci Mane & E-40 (Prod. Speakerbomb)

This should be interesting. I remember the first time I heard a Gucci Mane song. It was when I was first getting into Hip Hop. I’m pretty sure it was a song called Spread The Word from his I’m Up mixtape. I thought it was fucking incredible. I’m deadass serious. To be fair, I still think it’s one of the best Trap songs I’ve ever heard, but I was a huge fan of Gucci for a while. I thought his flow was crazy. Not that he was rapping at a super fast pace or anything, but he just put so much emphasis at the end of every bar, and it hit really hard especially with that heavy ass bass. I still like Gucci. I think he’s an important figure in Hip Hop. He’s still a wack ass rapper, but he’s a legend in kind of a fucked up way. He’s pretty much the epitome of Trap music. He’s not for everyone, but if you just wanna throw on some dumb ass shit that you can enjoy with your friends you can’t go wrong with Gucci Mane. E-40 is dope af too. I can understand how some people might be put off by his “nerdy” delivery, but I actually really like it. It sounds fuckin’ badass to me. I don’t really know much about E-40 tho. I’ve only listened to some of his shit. I know he’s considered a legend by a lot of people, but I’m not sure why. Okay, the song is starting now. This beat is fucking crazy. It sounds a lot more progressive than your average Trap beat. It’s a little more accessible and poppy, but not to a fault. This beat is dope af. Freddie’s first verse was dope. Nice. Gucci’s on the hook. “10 times out of 10 she’s a 10 and I want to fuck her friends.” This is great. Okay, GuWop’s goin’ in now. I’m honestly a little worried about this. Huh. Wow. I actually liked his verse. It wasn’t very good in terms of lyrics, but I actually liked his flow on this. It was dope to me. E-40’s goin’ in now. Hahaha. I don’t know, man. Something about the way this motherfucker spits always makes me laugh. It’s great to hear him say “thicker than a buttermilk biscuit.” Hahaha. Lyrically, this kind of song usually doesn’t interest me at all, but it’s so entertaining sonically that I can’t help but fuck with it. This is dope af to me. 5/5

Track 10: Lately (Prod. Superville, 6*18 & SUPERDRIIV)

This beat is dope. He’s back to that Pronto style of production. That first verse was dope. The hook is starting now. He’s singing again. It’s not bad. It’s definitely not perfect tho. It’s just sufficient. I honestly could’ve did without that shit. It’s not really bad tho. It just doesn’t really add much to the song. That second verse was dope. This is a good song. I’m not blown away tho. The hook could’ve been better. There’s not really much to dislike about the song, but nothing stands out that much. I wonder who those additional vocals are from. I don’t really like them. They aren’t poorly sung or anything. I just don’t like the way it sounds in the background. It’s cool tho. I like the song. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 11: Basketball Wives (Prod. Bentley Haze)

This beat is dope af. Freddie Gibbs is singing the first verse. He doesn’t sound bad or anything, but this just isn’t what I want from him. This is pretty much Freddie Gibbs’ attempt of a love song. I’m not really a fan of love songs, but I think he’s doing an alright job with this. It’s just not really for me. I love the beat, but other than that, this isn’t doin’ it for me. He’s not a horrible singer, but he damn sure isn’t good enough to make a whole song with him just singing. His voice just sounds kinda whiny at certain points in this song. This is actually really wack to me. I’m not feelin’ this shit at all. Especially at the end when the beat fades out, and you just hear him singing “you know I got that yayo” in autotune. Nah. This is wack af to me. 1/5

Track 12: Forever & A Day (Prod. J Reid)

This beat is dope af. Hahaha. I’m sorry, but that voice saying “I’ma make it even if it take forever & a day now!” in the background just sounds stupid as fuck hahaha. Damn. This verse is actually really fuckin’ dope. “I done did a lot of bad things just to get change / I done took it to some levels that a lot of niggas won’t go / Take a life just to get a name.” He’s rapping about his struggle to get outta the hood, which is admittedly a very common topic, but he’s really makin’ it seem like he feels guilty about all the shit he did. “I’m so high I can’t even look my own momma in the eyes / Kicked out through the front door / She said the way a nigga livin’, if I die, she won’t be surprised / Tears on the Bible; she prayed for me / This can’t be the life that she made for me.” That first verse was dope af. The hook isn’t terrible, but it definitely isn’t great. That shit could’ve been better. It doesn’t hurt the track that much tho. That second verse was fucking great. Yeah. This song is dope af. The hook almost made me take a point away, but the beat was great & I really liked the verses, so I’ll give it a pass. This shit is dope af. I fuck with this. 5/5

Track 13: Insecurities (Prod. Kaytranada & Frank Dukes)

Freddie Gibbs is singin’ at the beginning of this motherfucker. It doesn’t sound too bad. Goddamn. This fucking beat is incredible. It takes a while to get started, but once that beat drops the shit catches fire. He’s goin’ in about how he’s insecure about his looks and “in my motherfuckin’ feelings.” The hook is dope. Is that him singin’? I wonder how hard it was for him to hit that note. It doesn’t sound bad. This is pretty fuckin’ great. There isn’t really anything that I don’t like about this song. I fuck with this shit. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 14: Freddie Gordy (Prod. Blair Norf)

Goddamn. This beat is so fuckin’ dope. That bass is so fuckin’ heavy. Somethin’ about Gibbs’ flow right now just doesn’t sound right. He sounds like he’s about 1 second behind the beat. It’s not that bad. Most people probably wouldn’t notice it. The actual shit he’s saying is fucking great. Wow. I love the way this song is structured. It’s just one long ass verse over a great beat, and then a quick outro. This is fucking great. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 15: Cold Ass Nigga (Prod. Mike Dean)

Uh oh… This is… Oh nevermind. False alarm. At first it sounded like this beat was gonna be some Dubstep bullshit. I don’t think it is tho. Well, actually… It’s definitely influenced by EDM. I don’t know about this one… I’m not feelin’ this beat honestly. It’s just annoying. At least it’s different. The hook isn’t very good to me either. “I’m a cold ass nigga, a cold ass nigga.” This song is just annoying as fuck. The more I listen to this shit, the angrier I get. This beat is awful. It’s so bad. This is really bad. I’m not feelin’ this bullshit at all. Wow. This is actually a really bad way to end the album. Oh God. What is happening? What the fuck is this shit? Oh no. Pitch shifting. This shit is painful to listen to. This is so bad. Oh no. He’s singing in autotune now. This shit just keeps getting worse and worse. Those fuckin’ synths are so fucking annoying. This beat is so bad. Mike Dean stop. Please. Just stop. This beat… No… Oh my God. I feel so bad for shitting on this song because I love Freddie Gibbs, but this is really bad to me. I can’t take this bullshit. This is really not for me at all. This is some of the worst shit I heard in a minute. This is some more bullshit. This is honestly dog shit to me. I hate this song. This shit is wack af to me. 0/5

Final Thoughts:

That was pretty dope. It obviously wasn’t as good as fuckin’ Piñata. That shit was fuckin’ great. This one was pretty solid tho. There are really only three songs that I thought weren’t dope. I thought the majority of this shit was great. The production was closer to that of the Pronto EP (I apologize for mentioning that shit so much…). I literally said in the final thoughts of my review for that project, that I would prefer his albums to stick to the Madlib style of production. This style isn’t different enough for 15 tracks. Madlib’s style works a lot better for Freddie Gibbs in general. Pronto wasn’t bad, but I only want shit like that in short bursts. He kinda went back to that old school Boom Bap (I fuckin’ hate that it’s called “Boom Bap” by the way) style of production on the Black Thought track, and that was easily the best song for me. His voice and gangsta ass lyrics just sound so perfect over that shit. That EDM shit he did on the last track was fucking disastrous. I hate when rappers try to do shit like that. It never works. Never. That’s just me tho. I’m sure some of y’all like that shit. Not me tho. Fuck that. The album was good tho. It was really good. Just not as good as Piñata. He was also singin’ a lot on this one. It wasn’t really bad, but that’s not what people listen to Freddie Gibbs for. I can handle it on a hook, or a bridge, or an outro or something, but I don’t want a full fuckin’ song of that shit. The album was dope tho. I really liked it. Freddie Gibbs wasn’t a problem. Almost all of the negatives came from the production. I think he sounds good over this shit tho. It’s not bad production—except that last track. It just doesn’t work as well for Freddie Gibbs. I mean, I still think he sounds great over this production. He just sounds better over that old school shit. I’m pretty sure I’m talkin’ in circles now, so I’m just gonna end this shit by saying that it was a good album, but it’s far from Freddie Gibbs’ best work. It’s still worth checking out tho. It’s dope. Also, they don’t have it. I checked. I couldn’t find The Wire on Netflix. How the fuck does Netflix not have The Wire? Fuck me.

Favorite Song: Extradite

Least Favorite Song: Cold Ass Nigga

Verdict:

77%

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