Freddie Gibbs is a direct product of Gary, Indiana’s East Side. An uncut distillation of his surroundings, Gibbs was born into a dire situation; industrial divestment from the Midwest has created a vacuum of poverty. It’s a tragic sight, or it would be if there were anyone to document it. Freddie Gibbs had his work cut out for him. Freddie’s keen survivalist mentality and work ethic won him a scholarship to Ball State for football after high-school, but he was dismissed over questionable allegations. It’s fair to assume that Freddie hadn’t completely divorced himself from the streets, but whatever the case, higher education was no longer a viable option. Gibbs was cast back into the sink-or-swim realities of his upbringing, and he resorted to pimping and manufacturing freebase to keep the lights on. A humble critic, Freddie never meant to be a part of the problem, and explored means of supporting himself without partaking in the cyclical plague of drugs and prostitution. A gifted writer who stood out amongst his peers with his reserved wit and command of language, Freddie began to rap about the things he saw. As word of his skills spread to the coasts, he aligned himself with notable producers like The Alchemist, Polow Da Don, Just Blaze, and Buckwild to create a discography that illustrates his experiences as a struggling denizen of a blighted community, but he doses each compilation with positivity and humor as well. XXL Magazine caught wind of Freddie’s unique approach and nominated Gibbs to their Freshman Top 10 earlier this year, a prophetic announcement that has come fully to fruition. Freddie Gibbs’ mixtapes are amongst the most praised of the last few years, frequently capturing the forsaken instrumental aesthetic of 90’s boom-bap and juxtaposing it with his distinctly Midwestern double-time flow. Freddie Gibbs has positioned himself as a recession-era mascot for the disenfranchised Midwestern working class and he wears the title exceptionally well while also giving a cognizant nod to the classic sonic pillars of hip-hop. This sound is fully evident in his release with Decon, the Str8 Killa EP. It was Public Enemy’s Chuck D that once famously called hip-hop “the CNN of the ghetto”, and the sentiment is particularly applicable to Freddie’s music. In 2010 Gibbs is reporting live, stay tuned.
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