Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo ALBUM REVIEW
Yes, I reviewed Freddie Gibbs last week. Yes, this album was a surprise release and I nutted when I saw that this was out. I lost my shit. To help with the context, The Alchemist is one of my all-time favorite producers. So many projects of his are so underappreciated that it’s a crime, and in 2020, he’s been on a roll. In 2020 alone, he’s made great songs and sometimes entire albums with Eminem, Boldy James, Roc Marciano, Jay Electronica, Griselda, and now Freddie Gibbs. There’s not much else I can say about this. The album’s called Alfredo (get it?), and we’re just gonna get right into it.
Alfredo is a gangsta rap and jazz rap album, and most of the samples come from old and some unearthed jazz recordings. Freddie Gibbs is in top form, and if you know Freddie’s music and his style, there’s nothing different with it. It’s still his formula, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s addicting to listen to, and it’s also quite an aesthetic that’s unmatched by any other artist right now. What truly steals the show is The Alchemist’s production. It feels like you’re there with the both of them, and with an almost-cinematic production view, it feels like a soundtrack to a movie, and Gibbs and Alchemist are the stars. And with every movie, there are great supporting characters. Rick Ross adds yet another unforgettable feature to his career on “Scottie Beam,” and two-thirds of Griselda, Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher, prove themselves to be on tracks with Freddie Gibbs on “Babies & Fools” and “Frank Lucas,” respectively. But the feature that completely blew me away was none other than Tyler, The Creator himself, who had nearly half the track “Something to Rap About.” If you joined in on being a fan of his on IGOR or Flower Boy, this will be a very different Tyler that you hear. He is RAPPING on a level that was never seen in his albums, and personally, this feels like a victory lap for winning his first Grammy earlier this year.
The only thing I have ‘against’ Alfredo is how that it isn’t exactly…innovative. It doesn’t have to be by any means, but with that Soundcloud rap era in its sunset era, I’m very curious to know what subgenre of rap will be up next to be in this spotlight. In an alternate universe, it would be Alfredo or maybe Westside Gunn’s Pray for Paris that people would look back on as a shift from the Soundcloud rap to this vintage-beat sound that I enjoy quite a bit. You can’t wish for everything, though. It’s only a matter of time.
Alfredo is far and away my favorite rap album of the year, and maybe even my album of the year so far as well. Freddie and Al’s chemistry is unmatched, maybe Madlib and Freddie coming to a close second. I’ll take some time for it to sit and have a couple more listens, but I have a strong feeling that Alfredo is gonna be a future classic.
9/10
Stream Alfredo here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
Alfredo is a gangsta rap and jazz rap album, and most of the samples come from old and some unearthed jazz recordings. Freddie Gibbs is in top form, and if you know Freddie’s music and his style, there’s nothing different with it. It’s still his formula, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s addicting to listen to, and it’s also quite an aesthetic that’s unmatched by any other artist right now. What truly steals the show is The Alchemist’s production. It feels like you’re there with the both of them, and with an almost-cinematic production view, it feels like a soundtrack to a movie, and Gibbs and Alchemist are the stars. And with every movie, there are great supporting characters. Rick Ross adds yet another unforgettable feature to his career on “Scottie Beam,” and two-thirds of Griselda, Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher, prove themselves to be on tracks with Freddie Gibbs on “Babies & Fools” and “Frank Lucas,” respectively. But the feature that completely blew me away was none other than Tyler, The Creator himself, who had nearly half the track “Something to Rap About.” If you joined in on being a fan of his on IGOR or Flower Boy, this will be a very different Tyler that you hear. He is RAPPING on a level that was never seen in his albums, and personally, this feels like a victory lap for winning his first Grammy earlier this year.
The only thing I have ‘against’ Alfredo is how that it isn’t exactly…innovative. It doesn’t have to be by any means, but with that Soundcloud rap era in its sunset era, I’m very curious to know what subgenre of rap will be up next to be in this spotlight. In an alternate universe, it would be Alfredo or maybe Westside Gunn’s Pray for Paris that people would look back on as a shift from the Soundcloud rap to this vintage-beat sound that I enjoy quite a bit. You can’t wish for everything, though. It’s only a matter of time.
Alfredo is far and away my favorite rap album of the year, and maybe even my album of the year so far as well. Freddie and Al’s chemistry is unmatched, maybe Madlib and Freddie coming to a close second. I’ll take some time for it to sit and have a couple more listens, but I have a strong feeling that Alfredo is gonna be a future classic.
9/10
Stream Alfredo here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
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