Gangsta Boogie.

At the top of last year, Freddie Gibbs’ divorce from Young Jeezy’s CTE went public. But instead of biting his tongue, Gibbs siphoned his frustration into his full length debut, ESGN: Evil Seeds Grow Naturally.

Gibbs begins his deposition on “Lil Sodi”. On the track, Da Snowman’s vocals echo, “Shout to Gangsta Gibbs, he’s the next to blow.” You can call it prophesy, but Gibbs doesn’t harp on his former boss for too long. He refocuses his double time snarl on “Came Up” and the haunting “One Eight Seven”. Inspired by UGK’s “The Game Belongs To Me”, he returns to his dope boy roots on “Have U Seen Her”. On the hook, he asks, “Looking for the white bitch, cocaina have you seen her?”. The Pimp would be proud.

Gibbs is no average MC and he uses his baritone to his advantage. He does so on the harmonious “9mm” and “The Color Purple” before passing the buck off to BJ The Chicago Kid on the equally dulcet, “Lose Control”.  His most exciting moment however, comes on “Eastside Moonwalker”. The menacing track finds Gibbs getting it the ski mask way, “I’mma pull up slow, I’mma pull up slow/Run up with the mask, put them hoes on the floor.” 

Although the album’s only downside is its slew of features, Fred knows how to keep his product organically dope.—B.Dot