Gibbs is basically Isaac Hayes if he could spit a hot 16, his union with Madlib proof opposites really do attract.The Lowdown: The hip-hop scene has never been more diverse than in 2019. The chemistry between Madlib and Gibbs is perfect and there’s a timelessness to these songs that will make you think of raw black cinematic worlds such as Super Fly or Truck Turner. In many ways, ‘Bandana’ feels like this year’s DAYTONA, another hardcore rap album that prioritised experimental soul loops and cutting lyrics about distributing Black Mafia Family level of narcotics. You can already picture the mosh pits forming when Gibbs hits the road later this year. Gibbs hits this beat with cold precision, going in for the kill and threatening to “kiss your wife and then piss on your grave”. One of the best moments here is ‘Half Manne, Half Cocaine’, a thumping trap anthem, filled with sun-drenched synths and dangerous funk.
‘Cataracts’, which samples criminally underrated soul singer Norman Whiteside’s grown-up sex anthem Teach Me How, is even better, as Gibbs uses the smooth beat to warn the next generation of rappers to not trust anybody as you “ might get fucked by the n****s eating with you”. Burman’s Bollywood jazz groove Mutki Theme on ‘Education’ is beautiful, inspiring guest Bey to hit ‘Black On Both Sides’ kind of form with a blistering verse that poignantly references the prison industrial complex. The music here is also wildly inventive, with Madlib channeling that raw edge of 1970s soul. ‘Bandana’ should mark the moment the Indiana emcee starts to truly be considered as an elite rapper. Despite having elite lyricists such as Pusha-T, Killer Mike, Yasiin Bey and Black Thought among the guests, Gibbs never sounds second-best. There’s a sense Gibbs is making every single lyric count, and that recording these tracks was a cathartic experience after a difficult five years that included being locked up in Europe after being falsely accused of sexual assault. Gibbs’ bars, with which he triumphantly talks about going from food stamps to making millions, are inspiring and have a real resilience about them. He still makes an art out of violent imagery (on the potent ‘Flat Tummy Tea’ he threatens to use a sword to knock “white Jesus” off a horse), but now has developed much more of a philosophical edge, too. On ‘Bandana’, Gibbs hits another level as a lyricist.
Thankfully any teething issues have been completely ironed out for follow-up ‘Bandana’, which is a tighter, more cohesive album that might just end up being remembered as the best rap album of 2019. Yet when these two came together for 2014’s sunny ‘Piñata’, something magical happened, with the odd couple producing one of the best ever rap albums about selling cocaine.īut as brilliant as ‘Piñata’ was, it was still a little rough around the edges and there was a sense the pair was still working each other out in the studio. The former is a gruff gangster rapper who evokes a thuggish Tupac in the Death Row days the latter is an experimental rap producer who makes intricate worlds out of niche soul samples. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib play to two very different audiences.