Freddie Gibbs Proves He's One of the Best Around on Alchemist Collaboration 'Alfredo'

BY Clayton TomlinsonPublished Jun 1, 2020

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Freddie Gibbs proves yet again why he is the one of the best rappers right now. Hot off his reunion with Madlib – last year's Bandana – he has dropped Alfredo with producer extraordinaire the Alchemist.

The short album has only 10 tracks clocking in at 35 minutes, and yet it doesn't feel slight, despite leaving listeners wanting for more. This is due both to the all-encompassing production (containing movie clips and beat-clinic rhythms) and Gibbs' mile-a-minute rapping style.

The album has features from Rick RossTyler, The CreatorBenny the Butcher and Conway the Machine – the latter two from the Buffalo rap group Griselda. The featured artists add context and texture to the album, managing to fuse their style with Gibbs', propelling the songs just that little bit further.

"God Is Perfect," the album's best, features Freddie's reflections on his gangster lifestyle, his rap one, and their differences. He explores some of his favourite themes, like how trauma can keep you stuck in dark times, and how alcohol and weed only do so much. His wordplay and lyricism come through on lines like, "But I be so proud to put the dope down for the microphone cheque" — the "cheque" serving as both money and the pre-show microphone check.

The current king of rap manages, yet again, to offer a searing insight into his life, past and present. The songs on Alfredo are fun even when the themes aren't.


(ESGN/Empire), (ESGN/ALC/Empire)

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