gangsta rap/all-star indie hip-hop

Unlikely rapper/producer pairing. Gibbs provides vivid street-talk, sometimes hilarious, sometimes horrifying, sometimes both. Madlib provides classic west-coast soul production as a backdrop. Both are super-proficient technically, and at the top of their game here, but this is very accessible stuff (assuming you like gangsta rap).

FCCs: none, because this is a set of radio edits i made. it speaks well of this album that i got into it all over again while having to relisten to it repeatedly to do edits.

RIYL: mobb deep, early 2pac, schoolboy q, scarface/geto boys, UGK, no-bullshit street rap

1. slow mournful strings, submerged bassline, tiny vocal samples as melodic elements. lyrics about stress and regrets over an old relationship that fell apart when the girl grew up and gibbs didn’t (“maybe you a stank h-/maybe that’s a bit mean/maybe you grew up and i’m still livin like i’m 16” is a great example of the just-reflective-enough anti-social attitude that pervades). 3:17
2. slow haprsichord (?) loop, generally breezy/sunny. flips same sample as styles p’s “good times” from 2000ish, but way more languid and off-kilter. frantic and hilarious guest verse from danny brown. second verse is raunchy, but no FCC words, and it’s edited enough that it’s hard to follow anyway. last ~:25 is a short but funny skit about overdoing it. (the song’s about getting high, in case you didn’t guess) 2:58
3. bouncy/upbeat. melody provided via a couple rhythm guitar loops, one bright and up front, the other more buried. sped up soul vocal snippets in background. heavy kicks w/ no decay, claps. reminisces about robbing and dealing, centered around meeting at chicken spots. bright soulful instrumental juxtaposed with aggressive don’t-give-a-fuck lyrics. 2:49
4. warm thick bassline, bright bells (which change up a bit on the chorus), slightly smeared strings. lyrics are sort of a basic character/personality statement for gibbs. laid-back braggadocio from rae (talking about living large, but in a believable way). last :25 is an instrumental non-sequitur, but very good. 3:43
5. dark fast strings, aggressive foreboding bassline (a bassy piano sample?). gibbs talking about the travails of street-level hustling and complaining about fakers who do it but act like they’re above it. up to you how to censor the title when you read it since i censored the rest. 2:49
6. opens with slow warbly melodic loop (guitar sample?). feels faster once the rhythm merges in (warbly melody stays, thankfully). warm bass, background strings. instrumental is warm and inviting. lyrics are about embracing your identity (in this case, as a thug). last 0:25 sounds like sampled blaxploitation dialogue over a short instrumental. 3:32
7. laid back, loungey/jazzy instrumental with old soul/R&B sample for the hook. lots of little piano and guitar samples kicking around under the surface. great hazy cloud rap verses from odd future affiliates domo genesis and earl sweatshirt. easy shit talking from gibbs to close it out, with out of tune singing for a couple bars (to good effect). 3:25
8. watery warbly melodicy, triangle accents, warm warbly bassline, loping drums. intermittent wailing soul samples. reflections on coming up hard, finding a way out, family conflict (gibbs mentions his dad was a cop, no idea whether that’s true IRL or in-song character-building). great guest verse from scarface, doesn’t fully display his narrative ability, but excellent flow/imagery/voice as usual. 4:09
9. first 0:24 is found sound and instrumental non-sequitur. main beat comes in, and it’s more laid-back west-coast sampled soul (twangy echoed guitar loop, circling strings). an ode to gibbs’ adopted home (LA; he’s from gary, IN). fine if unmemorable verse from wiz khalifa (tip: curren$y does a better job at pretty much everything wiz khalifa does). 4:32
10. jangly piano loop, shuffling cymbal and kick interplay, wah guitar sample, unintelligible soul vocal snippet. talking about coming up from selling nickel bags, friends lost along the way. 3:39


recommended: 8, 3, 7 (but all tracks are excellent, i picked my favorites to edit)