Freddie Gibbs teams up with renowned producer ‘The Alchemist’ to bring us ‘Alfredo’ – this is their first official collaborative project; the name of the album is a combination of both their names ‘Al’ plus ‘Freddie’ equalling ‘Alfredo’. The album is composed of 10 tracks including features from: Tyler the Creator, Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, and Rick Ross.
The combination of Gibbs’ exceedingly impressive skills with pen and paper and his expert delivery in conjunction with ‘The Alchemist’s ’refreshing versatile production creates a masterful yet ingenious project.
As always Freddie uses a great variation of retro-inspired samples which are integrated in such a fashion they seem to amplify the track's individual atmosphere. Even though Gibbs wasn’t cooperating with his usual partner in crime –Madlib, whose association with Gibbs is reasonably prevalent within the industry – he still manages to retain his genuine and real persona; his usual harsh tales of slinging ‘crack’ with boastful fortune are still highlighted throughout the majority of tracks. Alchemist manages to give the beats a lifeline of ‘70s soul vibes, which allows Freddie to perform to his usual high standards and if not more. The album contains some of Gibbs's best flows and performances to date.
The first track ‘1985’ on the album was already released on 29/05/2020, the track proves Gibbs to be one of the best in the current rap scene. From the constant guitar flare, which gives me a grimier and less refined variation of ‘Cream’, to the essential increase in tempo and development regarding Gibbs's assertive flow and lyrics establishes a real energy. The second track ‘God is perfect’ continues this forceful and forthright style from the first track, however ‘God is perfect’ has a strong and highly repeated hook that seems to weave in and out of spurs of quick flow and epigrammatic lyrics are very likable and differs from the ‘1985’ regarding the hook.
The album's tracks start to develop a more sensitive and recollected feel, Rick Ross is featured on the next song ‘Scottie Beam’ and complements a slower and more thoughtful track. Rick Ross as a rapper is mostly known for his simple flow, that at times feels so slow that it sounds as if he is rapping in slow motion to put it kindly. Nevertheless, he owns a deep and soothing voice that is frequently featured on many high-class records and artists' albums that is accompanied by his famous adlibs ‘Unnh’ and tag ‘Its Mayback Music’. My first impression of the Rick Ross feature is that it seemed out of place and didn’t quite fit the style Gibbs and Alchemist were trying to achieve. Yet, after listening to the song again at a later date the verse was pleasantly surprising and contained several above-satisfying bars and lyrics and I have to admit that Gibbs was gifted with a ‘better’ than average Rick Ross verse on the song.
Even though it’s not in chronological order I decided to group the tracks ‘Look at me’ and ‘Something to rap about’ as they both echo the same laid-back sentiment. Both songs contain comforting instrumentals that are accompanied by Gibbs’ consistently unique and reassuring sounds. The latter of the mentioned, ‘Something to rap about’, features a verse from Tyler the Creator that gels well with the overall vibe of the song and is definitely a refreshing experience.
The songs ‘Frank Lucas’ and ‘Baby $hit’ both employ a more upbeat feel. ‘Frank Lucas’ felt to me to be the more poignant of the two due to the near-constant connotations of violence, and the track in general seemed to have more of a topic and story behind it. The song seems to be centered and motivated by the theme of addressing haters or critics to some sort of degree. ‘Benny the Butcher’ is featured on the track and seems to mirror Gibbs’ general attitude. Furthermore, I enjoyed the progression of ‘Benny the Butchers’ verse. Towards the end of his segment the repetition of the words ‘two’, ‘too’, or ‘to’ were very effective and left a mental mark on me. Like ‘Frank Lucas’, ‘Babies and Fools’ also feels as if it possesses a story of both Gibbs’ and Conway the Machine's progression from the start of their lives and careers and they both express their characteristics and viewpoints. Additionally, both of the components of the song are underlined with an aggressive and exuding confidence.
Lastly, the finishing tracks ‘Skinny Suge’ and ‘All Glass’. ‘Skinny Suge’ has the constant presence of an addictive guitar riff. Furthermore, the song seems to be telling a story of Gibbs’ past memories, his actions, regrets, and the emotional consequences. The track also suggests connoting a sense of losing contentment or a sense of mistrust and misjudgement via the exclusion or possible loss of family and friends. The final track on the record combines a few of the previously discussed techniques and sentiment provided. I personally feel that this track symbolizes the ‘No Fucks Given’ attitude that Gibbs is known for within his raps and outside them. The higher level of referencing in the track helps bring about the conclusion to the album.
In conclusion, the album is generally of a very high-quality record it displays Gibbs’ ability to enhance and project a variety of skills. It just works as an album, it has a synergy to it. The production on the record doesn’t disappoint ‘The Alchemist’ does not miss a beat (as to be expected) Overall, this album is one of Gibbs’ best.
Rating: 8/10
By Gus B. Waight
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theo is a slacker