Since the mid-2010s, gangsta rap has largely been led by the deep voice of Freddie Gibbs. The Gary, Indiana native backs up his stature with classic project after classic project. Many hold 2014's Piñata with Madlib as his holy grail, and for good reason.
It's proven to be one of the most timeless records of the last 20 years in hip-hop thanks to the raw production and incredibly effortless rapping from Freddie. However, you also have other smashes such as the beloved Alfredo from 2020 with The Alchemist.
You can't count out Bandana, You Only Die 1nce, nor $oul $old $eparately either as excellent gangsta rap albums. At the end of the day, we have a couple of legends to thank for his catalog even existing. Those we have to credit are 50 Cent and Scarface.
In a new interview with The Ryen Russillo Podcast, Gibbs named the G-Unit icon as the man who first got him into the genre. As caught by Complex, he said, "The first rapper that made me be like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna rap,' is 50 Cent. I love what he’s doing. I’m gonna do that too," he added thinking back on what he was saying to himself as a child.
Freddie Gibbs Alfredo 2
Continuing further on his obsession with Fif, he went into more detail on how his "underdog story" was so cool to him. "It was an underdog story to me. That’s what made it interesting. Everyone was going against him. They shot him and all of that. He even made a song about it."
Moreover, Gangsta Gibbs respects his overall work ethic and various contributions to the genre. "I admired his whole hustle about the game, like the G-Unit mixtape. Everything he was doing. The business side of it was impressive to me."
He then touched on Scarface's influence. "The first person to make me fall in love with rap, period as a child, was Scarface. When I heard 'Mr. Scarface’' and [the Geto Boys' 1991 album] 'We Can’t Be Stopped,' it clicked because I could relate to everything he was saying."
You can catch all of these comments by the Grammy-nominated MC around the 40-minute mark.
News on his background and inspirations arises just weeks after the release of Alfredo 2. Teaming up with Uncle Al once again, the iconic duo called on a handful of big guests for it. Larry June, Anderson .Paak, and JID hopped on three of the 14 tracks.
The album had a top 13 debut on the Hot 200 after selling 37,000 album equivalent units, with 14,000 being from pure sales.
