shadow of a doubt shadow of a doubt freddie gibbs

Shadow doesn’t have as much humor as Piñata, but that’s fine. Suffice to say, this new album’s darker, tougher production fits him like a snug pair of fingerprint-concealing gloves. “It was like putting together a puzzle,” he told Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club.

Gibbs said that Madlib’s kaleidoscopic, sample-based beats - in contrast to the tighter, harder-hitting sounds he usually prefers - threw him off at first. Released 10 years to the month after Madlib’s classic album with MF DOOM, Madvillainy, it became the most critically acclaimed release of Gibbs’ career. Gibbs ventured out to left field with last year’s excellent Piñata, a joint album with legendary producer Madlib. Then he did, or at least he did something markedly different than usual. A deal with Jeezy’s CTE World also came and went ( and not without beef), but Gibbs never compromised his exacting style of gangster rap. Needless to say, Gibbs survived, building up credibility with his album-quality mixtapes The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs, midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik, Cold Day in Hell, the Gangsta Grillz installment Baby Face Killa, and, eventually, his actual debut album, 2013’s ESGN. In 2006, he signed with Interscope, but his deal went out the window when the man who signed him, Joe “3H” Weinberger, left the label. Those abilities combine here to form a strong addition to the 33-year-old’s already considerable legacy.įor Gibbs, it’s been a long, winding journey getting to this point.

It’s a telling moment on what is Gibbs’ most mature album yet, one that shows off his penchant for densely written verses, his impressive rapping technique, his knack for melodic hooks à la Bone Thugs and Z-Ro, and his astute ear for both sample-based and synthesized beats. Specifically, he samples Uncle Snoop’s correct observation that Gibbs, following the likes of Will Scrilla and the Grind Family, CCA, and MCG’z, has given Gary, Indiana hip-hop more of an identity than any artist before him. At one point on his third album, Shadow of a Doubt, Freddie Gibbs samples a clip of his June appearance on Snoop Dogg’s beloved GGN series.

Shadow of a doubt shadow of a doubt freddie gibbs