Not only is Freddie Gibbs one of hip-hop’s most astute and elevated lyricists, to the point where his recent Alchemist-produced Aflredo secured him his first Grammy nomination. Yet behind all of the sharp penmanship is a man who simply loves to revel in the antics — the more absurd, the better. As it happens, Freddie was given ample room to muse on the madness during an extended conversation with Joe Rogan and Brian Moses, during the latest episode of The Joe Rogan podcast.
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While there is, expectedly, much to unpack throughout the interview, Joe shared a few of the highlights on his official YouTube page. One such clip finds the pair musing on the fall of R. Kelly, who currently sits incarcerated for a laundry list of heinous crimes. When the topic of Kelly’s imprisonment is raised, Gibbs explains why he feels the situation is “fucked up” — a take that elicits a laugh from the bamboozled host. “The n***a had some fuckin’ jams!” says Gibbs. “I’m not saying he shouldn’t be in jail, he should be there. But it’s a waste of talent.”
“Right now, after all of the shit that has happened to R. Kelly, it’d be very, very difficult to listen to a new R. Kelly album,” continues Gibbs. “He’s got a lot of good songs. He’s a bit of shit, but he has some great songs…R. Kelly is an innovator, man. He’s the king of R&B.” He also explains that while he doesn’t forgive Kelly for his crimes, he does feel that the blame should not be reserved to one single figure. “A lot of those bitches and families and n***as that was letting their daughters go with R. Kelly knew what the fuck they was doing,” he states. “I’m not letting my daughter go with R. Kelly, nowhere. And then the shit with the hotel — I think a lot of that shit was bullshit. I think R. Kelly a nasty muthafucka, and he need to go to jail, but…”
For more from Rogan, Moses, and Gangsta Gibbs — including their real-time reactions to the unintentionally hilarious “Real Talk” — check out the full analysis on R. Kelly and the inevitable madness of fame below.