Alfredo – Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

At this point, there’s not much debate that Freddie Gibbs is one of the best rappers alive right now. Everything he touches is gold, consistent with his sharp wordplay and versatility to match the best producers in the game. Coming off of Bandana, the 2019 collaboration with Madlib, Gibbs links up with another legendary producer in The Alchemist to deliver one of the best rap projects of the year. Marking their second collaborative effort following Fetti with Curren$y, Alfredo is a stellar performance that showcases the duo at their best.

Unlike Bandana where Freddie Gibbs’ gritty vocals can be a stark contrast to the left-field design of Madlib’s beats, he sounds perfectly at home with the jazzy, string-heavy boom-bap instrumentals that The Alchemist synthesizes. Part of this of course, is how Gibbs’ natural lyricism gravitates towards mafioso themes and gangsta rap which feels natural on the smooth opulence The Alchemist is known for. Whether it’s the extended guitar solo on “1985”, the sinister synths on “Frank Lucas”, or piano passages on “God Is Perfect”, Gibbs plays his part perfectly as he adjusts his flow to glide over the production. Although Gibbs’ lyricism remains largely unchanged, he nonetheless commands a striking presence with his dexterity to rap over anything. Sometimes, the lack of change becomes evidently stale on tracks like “Baby $hit” that seem to exist as a means to move the album forward before offering new ideas. Does Alfredo tread new ground? Not really. But at the same time, it doesn’t have to because it’s simply two masters of their craft bringing their absolute best.

In its tight 35-minute runtime, Alfredo doesn’t waste a single bar as Gibbs navigates the vintage production laid down by The Alchemist. With fantastic features from Rick Ross, Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, and Tyler, The Creator, one might expect Gibbs to falter but that never seems to be the case. As always, Gibbs never seems to be outshined by the features even with the Griselda members bringing their A-game and Tyler having one of the best guest features in recent memory. At the end of the day, Alfredo is supposed to feel more like a victory lap for Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist than anything else. With both of them having nothing left to prove, Alfredo should be something to cement their status but strangely enough, they still manage to achieve new heights together. Whether it’s their chemistry together or simply because they are the best at what they do, Alfredo is an instant classic that represents some of the best work in their respective catalogs.

Must Listens: 1985, Scottie Beam, Something To Rap About

84/100

About the Author

Jeff

I turned my incoherent ramblings on music, anime, and video games into an entire blog.

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