Dan Flavin Nathan Donohoe
Music Editors
On May 29, 37-year-old rapper Freddie Gibbs released his second collaboration album with legendary producer The Alchemist. The project titled “Alfredo” is a strong album of the year contender.
The intro track starts off the project on a super high note. The sampled guitar lick and simple drums leave Freddie so much room to go to work on the track. He tells stories of his past and how he made it now. He does his fair share of flexing, but instead of flexing money he flexes his experience living on the streets. Freddie Gibbs is one of the best technical rappers in the game and it really shows on the track. His fast flow is still filled with powerful bars and fits perfectly to the beat. Although the track is the shortest on the project, it feels very complete and is a song to be remembered.
Track three with RIck Ross is “Scottie Beam.” The dancing piano travels up and down octaves incredibly smooth and the simple boom bap drums fill the gaps like it was meant to be. Freddie rolls with the slower tempo and carries bar breaking flows for almost two minutes straight. The hook, although short, is very catchy. The feature Rick Ross is more known for his trap style often working with rappers like Meek Mill, but he runs the slow simple beat like it was made for his voice.
The best track on the whole project is number 6 “Something to Rap About (feat. Tyler the Creator). The guitar and piano combo on the instrumental could be a song on its own. It creates a nostalgic vibe unmatched by any song in recent memory. On the track Freddie talks about how he is thankful for his rough past because it gave him something to rap about and therefore a career. Just as he is thankful for his past he is also hopeful he will live a full life unlike some rappers we have seen die young recently. Tyler’s verse goes for a different approach as he talks about exactly how the instrumental makes him feel. He describes the beat taking him to a lake with a boat he hasn’t bought yet. Although Tyler is not as technically talented as Freddie, he still runs his verse and creates one of the best songs of the year alongside him. Throughout his verse, he is laughing in the background and even making fun of his pronunciation at the end of the track. The real moments make the song sound real and tangible instead of sounding impossible to make.
The whole project is amazing and we honestly couldn’t find a negative. Every track was unique, but still fit the theme of the project. The production was flawless, Freddie Gibbs’s bars were perfect, his flows were effortless, the features were great, and the mix and master was top tier. Overall, Alfredo by Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist is a 10/10.
