Rap Game Easy

I am of the belief that fame and talent don’t always have a direct correlation. Take a moment and think of well-known people that aren’t that talented. Now, take another moment and think of talented people that aren’t that well-known; Fredrick “Freddie Gibbs” Tipton comes to mind.

His recent album “Shadow of a Doubt," which was released on Nov. 20, 2015, is what the streets are talking about. So I’m going to join the streets and give you a run-down of this album which is an overall quality production.

I would classify the songs in the beginning of the album, “Rearview” through “McDuck," as those that “old-school” hip-hop fans might enjoy. The songs in the middle, “Mexico” to “10 Times,” are for people who enjoy trap music a lot, especially more recent trap-music styles. “Lately” through “Freddy Gordy” are songs that are for people that love R&B and rap. These songs might resonate a lot with Drake fans just because there is a bit of singing and the instrumentation is a little more R&B-like than the other songs.

The first song “Rearview” begins with some incomprehensible noise then what sounds to be a white man saying “Welcome to Los Angeles International Airport.” Then the beat drops and we are welcomed to Freddie Gibbs’ hard style of rapping. Gibbs has well placed breathing in his horse-ish flow and his manly voice gives his rap authority; there is nothing silly or clownish about his rap. In “Rearview,” Freddie Gibbs showcases his flow and story-telling off the bat. Some rap fans might appreciate the simple hook which does not distract from the story Gibbs is telling. Immediately, after “Rearview” began, I wanted to start free-styling, but I’m not a rapper.

The following song, “Narcos," begins with audio that sounds like young men conversing in a “trap house” or recording studio. Gibbs' first line, “Dope game hard," let’s us know what is taking place. “Narcos” is a hard hitting trap song. The bass nicely accompanies Gibbs' lyrics about the difficulty of the dope game and easiness of the rap game, which he demonstrates well thus far into the album.

The beauty of rap is the variety it has. Also, rap, from my experience, samples a lot of old hits. From Diddy, to Kanye, and lesser known producers, the art of sampling an older song elevates rap music to another level. The first two songs are Gibbs rapping about his experiences with “dope” and the rap game. The next song, “Careless,” is, in a sense, a hood lovesong. It samples George Michael’s “Amazing;" a lovesong about his amazing baby and savior. Now, Gibbs isn’t necessarily calling the woman in the song his baby or savior. Plus, the song is about more: he talks about his money, clothes, cars, too. Uhh, maybe calling it a lovesong is a stretch, but the beat gives me hood-lovesong vibes while the lyrics give me Mike “Mike Jones WHO” Jones “Back Then” vibes as he talks about having a lot of hoes and a lot of pesos.

The songs “Up the Count," “Extradite” (feat. Black Thought), and “McDuck” (feat. Dana Williams) are for the streets, the hood. Gibbs nicely includes OJ Da Juiceman’s famous lyrics “Make the Trap Say Aye“:

Quarter-brick, half a brick

Whole brick, aye!

Quarter-pound, half a pound

Whole pound, ok!

These lyrics definitely resonate with the trap; and it’s not because of the trap house and bricks for constructing said house. In “Extradite," Gibbs references Erykah Badu’s song “Bag Lady” by calling himself the "bag boy." No one will ever know what Erykah Badu has in her bag, but Gibbs gives us plenty of clues about what he’s carrying in his.

“Mexico” (feat. Tory Lanez), “Packages” (feat. ManMan Savage), and “10 Times” (feat. Gucci Mane & E-40) have the more modern or recent trap-song beat and aura. If you are into current trap music heavy, you should definitely check these three songs out. Most of the lyrical content is, of course, about the dope game and trappin’, but Gibbs is telling his story and his flow is nice so I won’t deduct any points for the seemingly repetitive content.

“Lately," “Basketball Wives," “Forever and a Day," “Insecurities," and “Freddy Gordy," have a bit of R&B/Soul instrumentation to them. Don’t get me wrong, the songs are still fire-like rap; but, the beats are songs you can listen to rolling down the freeway with your baby. The end of “Insecurities” has an almost Drake “Take Care” album vibe. The end where Gibbs is talking makes you miss the lover you never had. The song, like the other’s mentioned in this section are a nice marriage of soul and trap that I suspect will bring people together whether you’re from the hood or the suburbs.

I did not want to do this, but Gibbs made me! I rocked with the album so close til the end that I was literally going to end the review by saying “there are no skip songs.” But, there is one, the last song “Cold Ass;" which is how I would describe this song, some cold ass. Admittedly, there are a few songs I would play less than others, but no one should bother listening to “Cold Ass.” The beat is dumb, and sounds like an experiment rather than an intentional finished production. The lyrics are weak. Simply, the song is unnecessary.

Is the album worth listening to? Most definitely. Is the album flawless? Definitely not. I would not call the album a classic or the best album of 2015 but it definitely showcases Freddie Gibbs’ talent and possibly adds him to the list of rappers you will follow.

#FreddieGibbs #ShadowofaDoubt