Album Review - Freddie Gibbs: $oul $old $eperately
$oul $old $eperately ($$$) (2022) is Freddie Gibbs’ first full-length LP without the executive help of a collaborative producer since 2018’s Freddie. Gibbs never truly found a consistent stride within his past individual efforts, but $$$ attempts to steer the tide in that regard. $$$ has an underlying narrative that is reinforced by celebrity guests who seem to be trying to entice Gibbs with vices in his newfound state of luxury, and while the rapper seems to occasionally submit to his desires, $$$ exhibits a fresh outlook on life and Gibbs’ maturity. The album presents a contradictory perspective from Gibbs at times though, such as his reconciliation for extensive feud with Jeezy on “Rabbit Vision”; meanwhile, he still actively trolls people like DJ Akademiks with seemingly no regard. Gibbs is one of the most consistent technical performers, and $$$ is no exception, even with the murky presentation of the themes at hand.
Couldn’t Be Done (feat. Kelly Price) (8.5/10) - Freddie Gibbs emphatically reintroduces himself with a confident defiance towards those who’ve tried to hinder his prosperity. The booming bass serves as a stark, but powerful, contrast to its looped backing vocals. Price also concludes the cut with a soulful affirmation of Gibbs’ claims.
Blackest In The Room (8.5/10) - The Alchemist returns to collaborate with one of his favorite partners in crime, providing Gibbs with hotel-elevator-esque production that starts off in a way that sounds like how a masterful producer would interpret royalty-free instrumentals. The beat switches smoothly, but the subject matter stays the same. Even though it is difficult to leave a life of crime and carelessness behind, Gibbs understands how important public perception is for him as a successful African-American man in the U.S.
Pain & Strife (feat. Offset) (4/10) - Starting off with an homage to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony rapidly layered and melodic vocals, “Pain & Strife” opens with a clear intent of becoming an earworm, or something relatively catchy. Unfortunately, Gibbs’ verse sounds uninspired and Offset’s is flooding with auto-tone to the extent that it becomes unintelligible at times because of the distortion of its pitch. Offset doesn’t add much substance as well, as his lyrics mostly consist of the usual flaunting and boastfulness that he’s known for.
Zipper Bagz (6.5/10) - Another heavy-hitting producer, now KAYTRANADA, is brought in for musical reinforcements to Gibbs’ vocals. The track feels mostly redundant at times though; the beat is endlessly looped without variation, while Gibbs doesn’t actually spit a verse, only refrains and choruses that don’t have much depth.
Too Much (feat. Moneybagg Yo) (7.5/10) - “Too Much” follows in this early pattern of style over substance, but Gibbs flows between the chorus and his verse so effortlessly that it is impressive in itself. This intoxicating energy does not falter until a phoned-in Moneybagg Yo verse that has some “lyrical gems” such as “momma knew I was a hustler in her stomach as a fetus/I went back and forth the quarter, now I'm ballin', alopecia”. Sometimes Gibbs needs to know when to stop handing out feature spots, a notion that is further supported by the following track.
Lobster Omelette (feat. Rick Ross) (7/10) - While $$$ does not seem to be a concept album, it is clear that there is supposed to be some overarching narrative that correlates to a night in a luxurious Las Vegas hotel, as emphasized by the recurring celebrity phone-call skits. All “Lobster Omelette” does is stray away from this thematic approach, mostly at the fault of Rick Ross’ irreverent addition to the track. Gibbs’ reinstates the gangster rhetoric that he has grown to love and hate about himself, but Ross’ verse feels like a stream of consciousness that ends with a leading question.
Space Rabbit (8.5/10) - We finally get our first sincere depiction of introspection since “Blackest In The Room” on this cut. Gibbs spends much of his initial verse reminiscing on African-American idols, such as G-Unit and Michael Jordan, but that the grind to reach that kind of prosperity was a lifelong battle; a battle versus executives that diminished his musical style, as well as a fight against his own tendencies to rely on drugs as a coping mechanism. Now that Gibbs can reflect upon his reckless lifestyle, he feels secure in his own status as a man.
Feel No Pain (feat. Anderson .Paak & Raekwon) (8/10) - Anderson .Paak contributes a hauntingly detached hook to “Feel No Pain”, a song that showcases Gibbs, .Paak and Raekwon expressing how they are able to withstand the workload that they have undertaken throughout their lives. Gibbs and .Paak both begin their verses with the line “shit heavy, but I carry it with ease”, alluding to a journey that is reminiscent of The Myth of Sisyphus; lives that are an endless struggle.
Rabbit Vision (9/10) - The piano instrumentalism that reaches escalating crescendos through Gibbs’ performance is lush and refined, but it is repetitive and open-ended enough to allow the rapper to spit an extended verse throughout the track’s 3-minute runtime. Gibbs refuses to enable listeners to interpret his paraphernalia-laced past as one to look up to with bars that outline the pressure that comes along with street politics, gang relations and whether making fast money is just a self-conscious outlet to shine on others.
PYS (feat. DJ Paul) (8/10) - It feels like every hip-hop artists nowadays requires at least one reference to Tennessee’s chopped-and-screwed heritage (ala Drake and A$AP Rocky), and Gibbs is no exception. DJ Paul employs psychedelic, and almost whiney, production for Gibbs to come out of the gate soaring with bars toppling over each other. DJ Paul predictably matches this energy in his verse that consists of typical pimp rhetoric.
Dark Hearted (9/10) - James Blake provides the spacey production for “Dark Hearted”, of which Gibb’s pays further homage, this time to 2Pac’s preachy melodies. Gibbs’ attempts at memorable choruses usually present themselves as self-indulgent, but he sounds genuinely impassioned in his singing on this cut. Following the themes of “Rabbit Vision”, Gibbs sounds disgusted by the murder that permeates the crime that he constantly raps about, presenting an existential crisis for one of the most prominent “coke-rappers” in the game.
Gold Rings (feat. Pusha T) (8/10) - The same self-awareness that Gibbs voices his concern for in “Dark Hearted” is swiftly dispelled by his recruitment of the “coke-rapper” of coke-rappers, Pusha T. The harp instrumentation throughout the track almost makes Gibbs and Pusha T’s relationship with the drug game seem romantic. This is only accentuated by quotables by Pusha T, such as “dope game, I'm the ultimate create-a-player/2K21, Savage like 21/Fridays are draft night/you bitches is one-and-dones” and Gibbs’ cold-hearted story of making an ex-girlfriend take the blame for his drug enterprise. The duo are wholly unapologetic.
Grandma’s Stove (feat. Musiq Soulchild) (8.5/10) - The penultimate track of $$$ details Gibbs’ journey from rags to riches; a process in which he has had to cut out bad influences from his life to much of his former peers’ dismay. Gibbs’ knows that his ultimate goal of self-preservation is selfish and inconsiderate, but he can’t bear to travel down the same route as other rappers (“I bought a house out in Cali, I made it out for real/Pop Smoke killed in the Hills, that shit gave me the chills”), especially now that he is a father.
CIA (6.5/10) - For an album that started with so much identity, “CIA” merely limps across the finish line. Madlib returns to work with Gibbs’ for this culminating moment, but the rapper seems to be content with harping on government hypotheses; an approach that depicts an aura of bitterness for past shortcomings, such as having no record deal after gracing XXL’s cover and getting banned from Instagram. Fortunately though, Gibbs comes around to express his gratitude for his accomplishments, like his 2021 Grammy nomination and his extensive catalog of partnerships with legendary producers.