Freddie Gibbs recently opened up to Fake Shore Drive about his upcoming project Cold Day in Hell. The newly signed CTE emcee explained that the project will take longer to drop than expected. He explained that he’s unwilling to release a project, whether it’s a mixtape or a commercial album, that doesn’t meet up to his standards. Regardless of the wait, Gibbs explained that signing with his Young Jeezy’s imprint has been nothing but bliss given the fact that he’s allowed creative control over the quality of his project.
“It’s been cool fuckin’ with Jeezy and being able to do what I wanna do,” he explained. “I see a lot of these guys who sign up under other rappers and they don’t have any freedom. They can’t do what they wanna do, and I think my situation allows me to do that. Because shit, If I don’t wanna release my mixtape on a certain date, if I feel like I wanna take a little more time to add more shit, I can do that. Everything that I’m doing is a calculated decision. If I feel like I need to make it better then I’m gonna make it better. The shit might be great to other people’s standards, but if I don’t think it’s ready, it ain’t comin’ out. And I don’t mind dissin’ anyone either, so you know I had to make some adjustments on that end.”
He added, “[I]t’s gonna be free – basically a free album,” he said. “Everything I’ve dropped up until this point has been A1 quality shit, so I’m going to keep it that way…I don’t go the traditional mixtape route, I don’t just rap on a bunch of industry beats. Sometimes I might have a DJ and sometimes I won’t. For this one, I don’t think I will – this is gonna be like an official retail album. It’s just a mixtape ‘cause it’s not on a major and has no major backing. If you think about it, all of these motherfuckers do mixtape nowadays – even artists on the majors, like Beyonce leaked her album last week, but all that shit was [was] a glorified mixtape. It’s gonna be different once it hits shelves – then they’ll come with the real album. I’m just keeping it coming with the quality material – whether it’s free or not…I’m living in an era where you’ve gotta put this music out to the masses for free, but I’m making sure it’s the highest quality material. And I’m gonna keep putting out the stuff that hurts the most feelings.”
Freddie Gibbs also discussed his relationship with Corporate Thugz Entertainment CEO Young Jeezy. He said that the entire CTE line-up is focused on Jeezy’s impending releast Thug Motivation 103. He indicated that while CTE is a family, Jeezy has given him a level of creative control few artists are awarded.
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“[Me signing with Jeezy] ain’t no cosmetic shit,” he said. “Me and Jeezy politic every week, you know. I politic with all the homies every week. Like I said, everybody at the label right now got their own agendas…what matters the most to all of us is that TM103 cracks, because that’s gonna push all of us forward and over the top. That 103 album is our main focus right now. Shit, we’ve gotta protect our quarterback. He’s gonna do what he’s gotta do to make sure the inner workings go smooth and it can’t just be one person doing his thang. Jeezy can be Jordan, but we’ve gotta be the role players and hold our weight. I think we’re off to a good start, and I don’t think the game has seen competition like this before. Me and Jeezy? You’re looking at two guys who’ve both created their own lanes in the game. Ain’t no one ever came out that sounded like Jeezy! He had a distinct voice and he said some shit that was relevant and truthful to a lot of guys in the streets. A lot of motherfuckers out here love Jeezy. And I don’t see nobody out here doing what I’m doing. I haven’t seen anybody rap the way I rap over the past ten years, so you’ve got two guys who have carved their own lanes, except I’m just starting mine now. So I really don’t think I could’ve found a better teacher in the game.”
He also added, “Th[is is] the beauty of being on CTE, because I get to make that decision. If I wanna mess with this label or that label I can do that because I have a strong support system. Between my niggas in Gary, Chicago and CTE, I’m got my people behind me. That’s all that really matters to me at the end of the day, because all I’m trying to do is put out quality material. Deciding on what label to put it out on is the least of my worries because at the end of the day it comes down to who’s cutting the biggest check [laughs]. We’re just gonna continue to do what we do: hitting the road, grinding it out, getting money. I’m not trippin at all man, I’m chilling in Hawaii [laughs]. I ain’t rich, but I ain’t hurtin’ for nothing.”
The full interview can be read at Fake Shore Drive’s website.
