Freddie Gibbs

The no-nonsense rapper on his upcoming projects with Madlib and DJ Drama.

By
Ian Cohen
, June 20, 2012

Photo by Matthew Scott

Freddie Gibbs: "Pull Up" [ft. Young Jeezy and T.I.] (via SoundCloud)

As of last Monday, hard-nosed MC Freddie Gibbs' shitlist included, but was not limited to: Summer Jam security, tobacco lobbyists, dog owners of Silver Lake (who fail to measure up to the cleanliness standards of West Hollywood), nearly everyone else who's done a Gangsta Grillz mixtape in the past couple of years, rap bloggers, and Rick Ross (at least to the extent where he has to make it a point to clarify he's collaborating with "the real Rick Ross" on a community outreach program).

At the risk of joining that list, it's my journalistic duty to report that when I catch the L.A. transplant on a gorgeous June afternoon, his itinerary does not sound especially hardscrabble; our conversation falls between a crossfit workout with a personal trainer and a picnic date with a girlfriend. Then again, Gibbs' new fitness regimen is mostly based around boxing-- he likes the health benefits acquired from beating the s*** out of someone.

It makes perfect sense. Throughout our chat, there's not much delineation between the current state of boxing and that of hip-hop. "There's no heavyweight champion anyway, it's lost its luster," Gibbs explains. Also, in his mind, it's corrupt to favor guys with less integrity and skill than Freddie Gibbs, which according to Freddie Gibbs, is pretty much everyone that isn't Freddie Gibbs (or his CTE boss, Young Jeezy). If it were up to him, the game would just be bare-knuckle, one-on-one combat, all the better to weed out the weak: "I'm basically saying I'm gonna bump heads with you as soon as possible, and I don't give a f*** if you're Mike Tyson or goddamn Milhouse from 'The Simpsons'."

But Gibbs' artistry is a symbiosis of anger and excitement, and he's got a lot to be excited about nowadays, too. After the unexpected Thuggin' EP with with weeded-out crate digger Madlib last year, the second half of 2012 will see Gibbs reemerge in the form of a couple of complementary collaborations: another Madlib-produced EP called Shame (out July 10 via Stones Throw), and a Gangsta Grillz mixtape with DJ Drama, Baby Face Killa (featuring the track "Pull Up", above, and due for release at the end of July). He's confident the combination of the two will make you say, "What the f*** is that?" But he could give a s*** about whether you like him. "I ain't in this s*** to make no friends," he says, laughing.

"I study my competition for at least an hour a day. I get on the internet, look at what they doing, then I look at ways to defeat them."

Pitchfork: How did the Madlib collaboration originally come about?

Freddie Gibbs: I wasn't fully aware of the things that Madlib did musically, but my manager put me up on game. I'm not gonna act like I was a Madlib head when I wasn't. I didn't understand a lot of it at first. But it opened my mind to some things, and it's me bringing that gangster element to things that he does. It's like a perfect marriage.

Pitchfork: Put yourself in the position of a Freddie Gibbs fan who's hearing you on a Madlib beat for the first time. What are they thinking?

FG: He might be like, "What the f***?" [laughs] The beats I picked are so smooth. But it's not me changing my style up, it's me being versatile. It's not like I'm rapping like MF DOOM. I'm talking about the same street s***: weed, crack, robbery, b******. But it sets me apart from a lot of other rappers-- I don't wanna say nobody's name, but you know what I'm talking about. Most of the guys that rap in my genre wouldn't do a record with Madlib-- most of them don't even know who Madlib is. But I'm gonna show these m************ that I'm executing they a** lyrically, and then slap 'em in the face with that Madlib s***.

"Certain guys aren't gonna do the things I do musically
to set themselves apart. They just gonna be another
m*********** on Worldstar. Who gives a f***?"

Pitchfork: And doing a Gangsta Grillz tape has to feel like a serious milestone.

FG: I've been wanting to do a tape with Drama for a while-- I guess I wasn't cool enough before, but now I am. [laughs] I'm about to restore that prestige to Gangsta Grillz. There's some dudes that did Gangsta Grillz tapes who probably weren't worthy of it-- their label just put up the bread, or they did a favor. Drama did a lot of favors for some weak n*****, but my tape is gonna take you back to them Trap or Die days. Jeezy's the biggest artist to come straight from the streets the past 10 years, and that's the reason I f***** with him. I want to catch some of that magic. I want to be a part of that Death Row-like atmosphere, and that's what we're creating, without all the b*******. I'm putting the missing pieces together for the tape now. I've been on the phone with Pusha T, I got Jadakiss, I got a track with Z-Ro.

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib. Photo by Erez Avissar.

Pitchfork: Do you get nervous about how quickly things move in rap nowadays?

FG: I study my competition for at least an hour a day. I get on the internet, I look at what they doing, and then I look at ways to defeat them. I know their mixtapes track-by-track, I know some of their lyrics. I make sure there ain't another m*********** rapping like I'm rapping because if they do that I'm gonna have to chastise their a**. There's a couple n***** biting my style right now. I'm about to let that be known.

For the most part, I think I'm the best n**** doing this gangsta rap s***. I'm really one of the only n***** doing this-- a m*********** straight off the streets that can really rap. Plus, I did a record with Domo [Genesis] from Odd Future, and that s*** came out dope as f***. Ace Hood ain't about to go do no record like that. I ain't trying to throw the n**** under the bus, but it's just a comparison. Certain guys aren't gonna do the things that I do musically to set themselves apart. They just gonna be another m*********** on Worldstar. [laughs] OK, your s*** got 30,000 views, who gives a f***?

Artwork for Gibbs' Baby Face Killa Gangsta Grillz mixtape with DJ Drama

Pitchfork: When you talk about guys that you're studying, who's inspiring you to step your s*** up?

FG: You've got to look at the Big Seans and the Meek Mills of the world, but it ain't no one m*********** in particular. I really pay more attention to the guys who ain't really emerged yet; if you in the streets and you f*** around with the Mafia, you ain't gotta worry about John Gotti coming to knock your m************ head off, you gotta worry about one of the soldiers. But mainly, I look at these underground dudes. I used to see Kendrick Lamar when he was Jay-Rock's hype man, and I could see how that n**** can really go on the mic.

"I don't like people being something that they ain't,
and we got a lot of that in rap right now."

Pitchfork: You were at Summer Jam with Young Jeezy this year, how was it?

FG: It was dope. Though some punk-a** n***** made [CTE] leave the venue [after Young Jeezy's set]. I guess some m***********-- he knows who he is-- had us removed from the venue-- and we gonna leave that at that. Me and Young Jeezy were not allowed to watch the rest of the show. [Note: Rick Ross and Maybach Music performed after Young Jeezy.]

And the s*** that me and Jeezy got going on, it's a real special dynamic-- there ain't been no real gangsta rap s*** like this in a minute. At least no real s***. I just think, if a m*********** can rap about his life, then he should be that m*********** outside the booth as well. There's been some fake n***** that perpetrated and said they was from the streets, but they really wasn't. And they leading a bunch of sheep. Ninety percent of the general public aren't gangstas, so all of the rappers aren't going to be gangstas.

Pitchfork: I can assure you I am not a gangsta.

FG: Right. I respect m************ that be themselves. I don't like people being something that they ain't, and we got a lot of that in rap right now. It's all gonna be brought to light.

Artists:
Freddie Gibbs