Freddie Gibbs (aka Freddie Gordy, Gangsta Gibbs) has been rapping for years, but his rise was fairly recent. He caught buzz over mixtapes and small, local songs before truly blowing up through his masterful collaboration with Madlib (Piñata)as well as his great follow up album, Shadow of a Doubt.
You Only Live 2wice is Gibbs’ third album, and it only solidifies his raw, powerful, rapping style. Few people can spit so handily over such an array of beats. Freddie Gibbs is one of those rare rappers who can rap over anything and consistently make phenomenal music.
This is a beautiful, smooth project. While Piñata explored the weird loopy sounds that only Madlib can produce out of a diverse and long repertoire of old, discarded records, Shadow of a Doubt was full of bangers and anthems. You Only Live 2wice is a smoothed out, sweeter, tinkling piece. There are plinking, heavenly pianos, light trills and other such instrumentation over hard hitting drum patterns and some car-rattling bass melodies.
While the album sounds generally great, there are a few songs in which some of the sounds clash with the soundscape and make it much harder to enjoy the lyrics. The auto-tuned wailing over “Dear Maria” very nearly ruins the track. It adds nothing to the record. “Crushed Glass” is also worsened by a very poorly sung autotuned hook. Several other terrible musical moments hurt this otherwise great project.
The religious imagery on the cover of this album is no coincidence. This is Gibbs’ comeback album. Prior to this release, Gibbs had been held in Austria for months over a rape allegation. He faced a 10-year sentence if charged. This album, You Only Live 2wice, stands as exactly what the title suggests — a declaration of the start of Gibbs’s second life.
Gibbs continues with the slick, hard talk that he’s so good at. He starts this album with one of the most vicious, straightforward couplets in rap, “My ambitions as a rider, n*gga / Survival off that powder, n*gga.”
Besides the usual gangster-like talk, this album is full of references and introspective thoughts about the legal situation that almost ruined Freddie Gibbs’ career. Some of the most interesting verses on this project are about Gibbs’ visits to jail, his issues with the trial and his reflection on the result.
The song “Crushed Glass” has a lot of the most introspective lines: “Got me in this foreign prison, monkey in a cage,” and “Erica [his wife] visit, can’t wipe her tears from behind the glass.”
This album also showcases an underrated but important aspect of Gibbs’s rapping style, his humor. Songs are full of unexpected, snappy lines like “I be kicking shit like Solange in the elevator” and “your first mixtape was a snitch-tape.”
The intro track “20 Karat Jesus” is an incredible first song, possibly one of my favorite intros of the past few years. There is no setup, no real build-up; Gibbs just starts rapping full speed over a simple, smooth beat with a pounding 808 and a heavy kick.
Then, suddenly, the beat fades and a second one rises: Choral vocals flood in, the drums become groovier and smoother and Gibbs returns with a new flow and a new passion. The second beat is absolutely insane: It feels like heaven, like syrup, sweet and sublime. It reminds me of early Kanye West or 2000s Just Blaze production. By the time the song finishes, you feel thoroughly satisfied.
The following song “Alexys” is also great. The beat is simple and hard hitting. It loops several dozen times, and Gibbs just raps without taking any real pauses. This kind of song only works for very talented rappers. The verses flow out like waterfalls, rapidfire and smooth.
“Homesick” is the perfect closer to this short project. The smooth instrumental works great under Gibbs’ verses. The ending of that song is reminiscent of Kanye’s “Late.” Gibbs just quietly explains the past few years of his life over soulful, electronically tinged choral vocals and a haunting but slightly hopeful piano melody. His last few words are simple, but strong: “I’m back.”
This project is exactly the comeback album that Freddie Gibbs had to make. While it isn’t the best project he’s ever made, it still reinforces the fact that Gibbs is one of the best rappers of this generation. There are some sublime moments that are broken up by some less-than-perfect parts.
I really recommend people check it out, and if they like it even a little bit, they should go back and listen to Piñata, which I believe is Gibbs’ true masterpiece.
