In the near 20-year arc of Freddie Gibbs’ career, no album quite embodies his evolution like Alfredo. The Alchemist-produced endeavor found the lone wolf of Gary, IN with a Micheal Jordan-like defiance. His competitive spirit pushed his pen alongside collaborators like Conway The Machine, Tyler, The Creator, Rick Ross, and Benny The Butcher, resulting in his first and only Grammy nomination. Outside of Pinata and Bandana, Alfredo marked a new chapter in Freddie’s career where he was actually able to reap the fruits of his labor. More importantly, it was a feat that spat back in the face of his critics and doubters. It felt more apparent that his pen worked efficiently when working out of spite. Like Michael Jordan, it sometimes warranted amplifying–or straight-up fabricating–his vendettas to fuel his prowess.
That attitude has pushed him through the hurdles of his career–blackballing, beef, and arrests (at home and abroad), etc. A level of invincibility in his tone made each of his wins much sweeter. 2022’s $$$ felt like a celebratory leap into the big leagues after earning a reputation for his antics beyond his music. High-profile collaborators, celebrity cameos, and a star-studded list of producers tied together his Blockbuster major label solo debut for a commercially viable endeavor. It didn’t necessarily produce a top 10 hit like Warner probably expected but it proved that regardless of Freddie Gibbs’ standing, he’ll create a pocket if there isn’t one already created for him. The casino-themed body of work emphasized that after nearly two decades of working the underground circuit, there was a light at the end of the road.
When you consider albums like You Only Live 2wice in his catalog and Shadow Of A Doubt, this moment was never far from reach. The latter arrived on the heels of Pinata with contributions from Boi-1da, an incarcerated Gucci Mane, and Tory Lanez helping Gibbs bridge the gap between critical darling of the underground and aspirations of becoming a household name. But between both albums, a false rape accusation derailed his career when he was on the cusp of a career incline. And while he was acquitted of all charges, the momentum he had built up in the first half of the 2010s died completely. Thus, You Only Live 2wice served as a reincarnation where he returned with an indisputable Album Of The Year contender. The cover art embodied this second chance–a Renaissance-inspired painting of Freddie Gibbs resurrecting in front of a crowd.
In contrast, the cover art for its sequel, the Halloween-themed, You Only Die 1nce, finds Gibbs fighting his demons from the coffin, some who’ve been with him before rap was a viable career choice, and others who followed him since he was arrested in Austria. Trust issues, loyalty, and paranoia are sandwiched between street legends, political musings, and baby mama drama.
On “Wolverine,” co-produced by Pops, 454, Moo Latte, Freddie Gibbs’s guillotine-like flow shreds through the lounge-like jazz production with mob-like bravado and depicting overcoming a system set up against him. “… These Europeans, they still don’t seem to treat us like human beings/ They stripped me of my culture and my language/ I still flipped and got famous, platinum card, no, no complainin’,” he raps. A few lines later, he draws a grander portrait of the double standards between people like Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly. “Them crackers rich forever, you Black, they want the whole thing/ R. Kelly singing for commissary/ And no, I don’t condone the shit he did, but he got heat in my library,” he continues.
Throughout You Only Die 1nce, Freddie comes to grips with mortality in ways that juxtapose, and sometimes contradict his resilience. “It’s Your Anniversary” transforms a joyful sample of Tony! Toni! Toné!’s “Anniversary” into a malignant celebration of his enemy’s downfall while “Brick Fees” describes his ascent in the streets through dizzying flows and dexterous rhyming where his regrets take a backseat to the cut-throat circumstances of survival. It’s these moments where he hyper-focuses on the disingenuous relationships in his career and personal life. Songs like “30 Girlfriends (Yeah Yeah)” create a cool atmosphere where he asserts his player status while “Ruthless” transforms 112’s “Cupid” into a brute response to the drama surrounding his exes that have littered the timeline.
Whether it’s the rap feuds, the baby mama drama, or the lingering effects of the street, the question that he explores across this album is whether the cost of success and comfort was worth the hardships. Its culmination leads us to the penultimate song, the haunting BNXY-produced “Origami,” where PTSD flashbacks of street warfare weigh against the exploitive nature of the entertainment industry as he raps, “Got millions in the bank and I still feel like a slave/ My real life your entertainment, these bills gotta get paid.”
This line echoes across the album’s closer, “On The Set.” Produced by Pops and Mischa, Gibbs expresses his disillusionment with the idols he once looked up to while paying tribute to his fallen peers with references to the Diddy case and the untimely deaths of Nipsey Hussle and Rich Homie Quan, among others. “I was gon’ retire from rap when I seen that shit with Nipsey/ Crazy when that shit hit your peers, that shit be hittin’ different,” Freddie raps. Not only does the underlying threat of celebrity linger over him but this line leans into the actual cost of fame and fortune.
You Only Die 1nce serves as the reality check post-$$$ where the voice of the devil on his shoulder grows in prominence as a Higher Power keeps Freddie grounded. But more importantly, he uses the dichotomy to explore the legacy that he will leave behind, whether it’s a catalog of albums that would put him in the Hall of Fame or the drama that has overshadowed the art. Perhaps, the thought of hanging up the mic has festered in his mind for too long, and stepping back from hip-hop is a reality he’s willing to manifest in the future. But with the level of vulnerability that consistently came across You Only Die 1nce, it feels like Gibbs is only beginning to peel the layers back.
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