Freddie Gibbs is living proof superior consistency can etch one’s name into the pantheons of legends.
The pride of Gary, Indiana has released some of the most can’t-miss projects of the last decade, spitting automatic flows like Kareem swishing skyhooks and sporting versatility like Hip Hop’s Bo Jackson: coke raps, brag bars, street narratives, fatherhood truths and beyond — Freddie knows.
One could say the same about The Alchemist, a longtime vet whose résumé is real enough for two millenniums: Kendrick Lamar, Mobb Deep, Dilated Peoples, Earl Sweatshirt, Westside Gunn, Boldy James and so on. The Beverly Hills-born mad scientist is a true enigma, armed with an esoteric crate-digging collection and vast sample knowledge that shines through on all of his releases.
And now in 2020, they’ve combined forces to drop the surprise album Alfredo, a quick-made meal that doesn’t sacrifice quality, featuring the duo at the top of their game: comfortable and in command.
Gangsta Gibbs comes strapped with a full clip of flexes on “Baby $hit”; he’s draped in a Versace robe flaunting Louis Vuitton luggage and fucking NBA baby mamas: call him when they play the Lakers. Freddie Kane’s new normal includes flying out Australian models for threesomes and cooking coke as he’s changing diapers. It’s a colorful way to show how far Gibbs has come from being dropped by Interscope Records and getting hassled by DEA agents back in the day.
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist Link Up For Surprise 'Alfredo' Album Stream
His troubles with the law are far from over, though. On “Scottie Beam,” he recounts stories of being pulled over and racially profiled in Los Angeles, prepared to act if the cops threaten his life: he’d rather not smoke an officer. He knows how quickly these situations can end in tragedy, illuminating the police’s longstanding and rampant abuse of power against innocent black men and women; timely commentary amid the uprising across the country in protest of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Gibbs raps with effortless precision like a TrackingPoint sniper rifle, but his guests also nail target practice. Benny The Butcher drops lines about misadventures in Miami and condemns wannabe gangstas on “Frank Lucas,” while Tyler, The Creator longs for the boat he hasn’t bought yet and ruminates on his evolution from Goblin under the bridge to one of the elite on “Something To Rap About.”
Rick Ross contemplates his own mortality on “Scottie Beam,” wondering if he’ll see Kobe Bryant and Gianna soon. Conway The Machine expresses regrets about not being in his kids’ lives enough on “Babies & Fools,” vowing to be a better father.
But these premium performances (including Gibbs) would be rendered less gripping if they weren’t complemented by Alchemist’s adventurous soundscapes.
On “Frank Lucas,” he implements Daringer-esque instrumentals that blare and unsettle, producing the feeling of pulling up with the stash in downtown Buffalo at 2 A.M. with the Glock cocked: prepared to unload when the deal falls through. He’s steering the expensive yacht sailing across the Pacific Ocean on “Something To Rap About,” as Freddie drops flex lines and self-actualization reflections from the ship deck.
While Alchemist and Freddie are mostly in sync, a couple of instances pop up where the quality dips a bit on one end. “Look At Me” has Alchemist immaculately flipping The Moments’ “Look At Me (I’m In Love),” into a soulful fever dream, but Gibbs’ airy rhymes feel like an interlude rather than a purposeful cut. The closing track “All Glass” features Gibbs cutting through Al’s church organ-like beat, but the production gets too busy at times, detracting from the impact of Freddie’s seamless flow.
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib Drop 'The Diamond Mine Sessions' Project With El Michels Affair
The most jarring track comes towards the end with “Skinny Suge,” where Alchemist allows Freddie to breathe as he drops some of his most cutting stories to date. Gibbs reaches a new pinnacle with similes on Scarface level, “Dumb high, Marty McFly/Put down the crack, bet on myself/Like I went back to the future with a rap almanac.” And storytelling like he’s the Midwest’s Tupac, “My uncle died off a overdose/And the fucked up part of that is I know it’s a plot, the n-gga that sold it/Put a pistol to my head/I was way too scared, drunk off emotions.”
It’s the pinnacle of Gibbs and Alchemist’s powers: not a melody wasted.
Alfredo is a master class in rap — 35 minutes of cutthroat bars that feel like 15, leaving you hungry for another course. In a world where the basic function of waking up feels like a chore, Freddie Gibbs and Alchemist have served up a dish of quick comfort food packed with essential nutrients included, a surefire early candidate for album of the year.
Chef’s kiss.
Amazing production, no flaws to this album.
To be honest this album renewed my interest in this music.
What’s your favorite track?
at this time, something to rap about .. but ask me tomorrow and that might change
All glass almost made me throw my phone against the wall… The whole album is fuego.
Should of got a no hits in street fighter
Freddie Gibbs and Alchemist were the perfect team for this project. The replay value for this album is extremely high for me. AOTY most definitely.
Butter on a roll
Read the review. Disagree with the “flaws” mentioned. This is Freddies 3 peat perfect album release. AOTY contender for sure. Too many dope bars to start quoting and I catch new ones on every re-listen. This will be my album of the summer. Absolutely.
Fair enough. This is my personal AOTY thus far. I appreciate you reading the review.
And I appreciate you answering my comment.
For sure. I can’t answer them all, but when someone is clear, thoughtful, concise, and reads the review, yeah, I do appreciate it. I enjoy nuanced discussion.
Perfection
Freddie Gibbs is having an amazing run. This album is super dope with vivid bars and stellar production from start to finish. Freddie Gibbs is the new Tupac. Curren$y is the only person missing from the project. They owe us another Fetti album!
Fuck rap, I got it Poppin off a poppy seed
My name cocaine, they ain’t gon put me in the nominees’
My fav rapper for a decade. Glad to see him finally getting his flowers. This might be his best yet
Whole album slaps
Fetti, Bandana, Alfredo…back-to-back-to-back Fire! Freddie Cain is thee Boss right now.
Put them all on a playlists and shuffle that shit.
Freddie by far has AOTY halfway through 2020. Kane is 2 for 2 so far.
Damn he rapping about cops on a song with Officer Ricky. I wish he wasn’t on the album, didn’t Gibbs diss/ threaten that fat slob a few years ago?
You can tell the author really enjoyed writing this review.
Agreed
Thanks for reading. To be honest, it wasn’t easy. There were many rewrites and revisions in order to find the best words to describe the greatness I was hearing.
It was difficult to focus during these divisive times. Ultimately, though, I love how it came out and am proud of my work.
Thanks again.
How this album has (before I voted) 15 out of 15 votes for it to be a 5.0 rating and get talleyed up as a 4.5 review?! Sad… anyways, this is the album of the year so far and much MUCH needed. You can tell it’s hot off the press because he’s using Michael Jordan talking about the Bulls being a traveling cocaine circus from The Last Dance in one of his verses. Impeccable and impressive ??
Album of the year so far, Gangsta Gibbs and Alchemist stay consistent
M A S T E R P I E C E
5/5
This is easily rap album of the year so far
Freddie best rapper alive
You mean best album YOU’VE heard this year so far. And the years not over yet bruh.
Kane train!!! How isn’t this 5/5? He was robbed of a Grammy with Bandana and he comes back with more fire!!
Alchemist beats are just okay. Madlib smoked bandanna.
I honestly can’t say enough about this album. It’s perfect in every way. Some of the most vicious and authentic street raps over some of the coldest Beats. Only album I can compare this to is Hell Hath No Fury another classic. Respect!
Another brilliant Freddie Gibbs album. What is a great album will be regarded as a classic in the future for its ability to capture a fractured America in a snapshot in time.
.
4.5/5 is definitely it after a few days, if it stands the test of time, there’s not a doubt in my mind it will stay at 5.
You even mentioned Pac, I’ve been saying this about Freddie for years. Seen reactions and other reviewers compare him to a “real Drake”, or “everything Drake wants to be” – with the hood rep, I’ve been saying that, too, because he’s been doing the singing and the melodic rap effortlessly for a decade. It’s time to give Freddie his flowers while he’s still alive, as technically one of the best lyrical rappers to ever grace the mic. Dude got flow-switches, melodic styles, storytelling, wit, humour, and the whole persona, on and off camera, or IG. He handled the transition from blog-rap to streaming back to vinyl with back to back Classics.
He arguably he went for the three-peat with Fetti/Bandana/Alfredo too, with Al, Spitta and Madlib.
Definitely 3 peated
Dope
THIS MF HARD
Fucking dope ass album
“Verses autobiographical absolutely classical”
-T.I.
This one line captures this entire album will go down as a classic. Some of the most potent rap ever. This guy made a legendary producer take a back seat. Cannot day enough. Kudos Fred
Get’s better with each listen and that’s what classic albums are all about.
Gibbs never disappoints. So fire. 5/5
No duds, perfect beats, unreal flow. This man absolutely fucking rides a beat like no one else
This album deserves to be in any conversation about album of the year
Classic period! Gibbs just gets better !
It also sounds like a Versuz beat battle with Alchemist going up against Madlib with Freddie as the orator. Not sure we have another example of a rapper jumping onto two complementary producers’ albums so close to each other, felt like Alchemist was responding to Madlib. Incredible.
Production wise, Alfredo(Great)>Piñata(Great)>Bandana(Good).
I like that analogy
Can’t find any faults that would knock points off. Freddie’s flow and picture painting over Uncle AL’s production makes for a top notch project, these two are (currently) my favorite rapper/producer collab.(So far) Album of the year for me (“Something to write about” is the song of the year Gibbs and Tyler killed it).
*Rap
AOTY
Been a hip hop head over 25 years and this is one of the very best albums / eps I’ve heard. Freddie is an all time classic talent.
I totally get the reviewers reservations – but it’s prescience and sheer quality make it so rare that to me it sits with the best 5/5.
Everything this man touches is gold.
Freddie’s flow is similar to MC Ren”s both excellent in what they do!!
this album is good, why do men rap about sleeping with other mens wives, do you realize how nasty that is??? no need to compare this to bandana they are both great, this is even more grimy, wish mastering was better but thats how lib n alc like it. Alc in a hebrew israelite
Okay album. Nothing really special, but good. A bit one dimensional with the beats and they should’ve picked better guests.
Tell me the beats here that were one dimensional? Production was superb on this album.
I want to like this album more than I do. Production is solid but not Alc’s best work. Freddie rides the beats as usual. Nothing really jumps out. He brags about f****** somebody’s wife on every song which is soooo boring and typical. If you’re coming with the same stale content at least say it a unique or creative way. 4 stars is being generous. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Forgot to add the rating. 4
Alchemist does it again
This should be another 5/5 review. Album is phenomenal
1 star general only gives 1 star
5/5 easily. Freddie the best rapper right now!