REVIEW: Freddie Gibbs - Freddie

Shit, wrong Freddie...

Ah, there's Freddie.  Freddie is the twelfth full-length project from Freddie Gibbs.  He isn't too well known as an artist, but his 2014 collaborative project with esteemed producer Madlib, Pinata, was received very well on internet communities.  This album was dropped with little notice, as the first we've heard of it was a teaser on YouTube the day before.  I don't listen to much Freddie Gibbs, but I wanted to take a break from the Kanye onslaught for a while.

Positives

And by a while, I mean 25 minutes.  The project didn't overstay its welcome as it is only 10 tracks and nothing more.  This doesn't have to do with the music, but I love the album art.  It looks like the cover of a 70s or 80s R&B/soul album.  It's kind of funny that they went with that cover, given the fact that none of the songs resemble it whatsoever.  The production was very trap-focused, with a majority of the beats coming from Kenny Beats and RichGains.  Some of these beats are incredibly hard, and Freddie makes sure to do them justice by laying down some nasty flows and hard-hitting delivery.  One of the album's strongest aspects are the hooks, as they are the highlights of songs like "Weight," "Automatic," and "Set Set."

Negatives

For an album titled Freddie, you probably could expect some personal cuts.  That's not really the case.  I'm not mad that this was the album we got, but the lyrics don't stand out and can border generic at times.  There are a few songs that fill out the trap essentials checklist: selling dope, something shiny on your wrist, and being able to slay pussy.  Sometimes he doesn't switch his flows, which can be boring on some tracks, and a lot of these songs, especially in the second half, tend to blend together and sound the same.

Features

1) 03 Greedo (Death Row) - The lone guest rapper is an up-and-comer from the west coast who may be serving a couple decades in prison.  It's a shame because his verse on "Death Row" is great.  His delivery is resemblant of Eazy-E's on his most famous song "Boyz-n-the-Hood."  He does that flow justice and delivers a great verse.

2) Cassie Jo Craig (Diamonds 2) - The first of two guest appearances on the closing track is a good singer, but I didn't care for her outro.  It's solid, but it goes on for a bit too long.

3) Irie Jane Gibbs (Diamonds 2) - She harmonizes at the very end of the song and doesn't have any lyrics.

Best Tracks

1) Weight - This track had one of the best hooks as Freddie Gibbs plays the word wait off the word weight.  He touches on dealing drugs and delivers some nice flows and interesting lyrics.

2) Automatic - We got some hard production from Kenny Beats, who is also amazing at his use of bass.  The hook is one of the strongest aspects and Freddie's verses flow very well.

3) Death Row (feat. 03 Greedo) - Kenny makes an amazing use of "Boyz-n-the-Hood" by Eazy-E for this beat.  What really stood out was 03 Greedo's verse.

4) Set Set - Another amazing Kenny beat.  The bass sounds absolutely amazing.  This was also one of the few times that Freddie switches his flows.  The second verse is just great.  I also really like the line "holes in his chest, Fruit Loops" on the pre-chorus.

Worst Track

2 Legit stood out as the worst track because it didn't feel as hard as the other songs.  It has one of the weaker hooks and Freddie's use of slang just sounds weird.  His use of "lit" on the second verse was honestly cringe-worthy.

Conclusion

It's a short, fun album.  I think it's definitely worth a listen.

Score: 7/10

This will be my last review until this coming weekend.  I'll be back tomorrow with another post.