Happy 10th Anniversary to Freddie Gibbs & Madlib’s debut collaborative album Piñata, originally released March 18, 2014.
A couple of years ago, I wrote a tribute to Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music (2012), his collaborative effort with producer El-P. Among many other superlatives, I described the project as “a pairing that no one would have anticipated, but it somehow made complete sense.” That’s how I’d characterize Piñata, the first collaborative album between Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, released 10 years ago. At the time, did I know that a partnership between one of hip-hop’s best producers and the best pure gangsta rapper since Ice Cube would be so dope? No, but I’m sure glad that they both had the vision to unite and put out one of the best albums of the 2010s and the 21st century overall.
Gibbs is a special talent, a “can’t miss” hip-hop prospect who has made good on all of his promise. The Gary, Indiana native is a rapper in the mold of Scarface, MC Ren, and the aforementioned Ice Cube. He’s an extremely talented wordsmith who also possesses superior storytelling abilities. He oozes charisma and can be quite funny when he feels so inclined.
Gibbs has been on his grind for about two decades and was at one point signed to Interscope Records. Mostly, he’s made his name through his mixtapes, earning acclaim during the mid ‘00s to the early ‘10s with releases like Full Metal Jacket (2004), The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs (2009), and Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik (2009). He eventually signed with Young Jeezy’s Corporate Thugz Entertainment label, releasing Cold Day In Hell (2011) through the imprint. He parted ways with Jeezy in late 2012, later saying that his label boss seemed only interested in promoting his own career.
Madlib is, of course, Madlib: one of the best producers to ever walk the earth. By the early 2010s, the reclusive Oxnard born beat-maker was already considered in the top-tier of his field. He was already responsible for producing Madvillainy (2004), his collaboration with the late, great MF DOOM, which is also one of the best albums ever. Gibbs had appeared on Madlib’s radar after he heard Cold Day In Hell and they connected through his manager Ben “Lambo” Lambert, who had at one time worked at Stones Throw Records. “Lambo wanted to see if he could do something different over my style of beats,” Madlib told Rolling Stone in a 2014 interview.
Madlib gave Gibbs eight different beats CDs and then Gibbs began to craft the album. The recording process lasted over three years, with Gibbs recording vocals in his own studio, and then Madlib adding additional flourishes when he received the completed tracks. During the lead-up, the pair released a trio of EPs, featuring some songs that made the finished project and others that did not, before finally dropping Piñata (formally Cocaine Piñata). The collaboration was a success, as each of the pair exceeded expectations and knocked it out of the park.
Piñata is Gibbs’ and Madlib’s version of a Blacksploitation soundtrack. Madlib builds a soul-influenced, yet dusty and grimy soundscape. Overall, the beats sound different than his previous offerings, but are still unmistakably Madlib. On the mic, Gibbs covers a whole range of topics. He’s adept at creating the type of “traditional” gangsta rap that I loved in the late 1980s/early 1990s, where he depicts street life in all of its stark and violent glory, describing both the triumphs and consequences that go along with living as a criminal.
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“I was still in the streets when I first started [Piñata],” Gibbs told Rolling Stone. “I was, then I wasn’t. You can tell the progression on the record, though. You can tell the different places that I’m in, ’cause I did it over the course of three years, coming up with the ideas and concepts.”
Gibbs spends a good amount of Piñata reflecting on his rough and tumble days doing dirt. The album-opening “Scarface” sets the album’s tone. It’s a short, rugged, almost breakbeat influenced track. Gibbs is in full aggressor mode, describing his criminal escapades on the streets of Gary. He mines similar territory on tracks like “Shitsville” and “Thuggin’,” where he reflects on his life as a “thug,” and how others perceive him.
Gibbs’ further tracks his past on “Harold’s,” named after the “Harold’s Chicken Shack” franchise primarily located in Chicago, but present throughout Indiana as well. He reminisces how his love for the “six wings, mild sauce” special and fries carried him throughout his younger years selling crack and was present during the pursuit of the opposite sex.
Gibbs explores the complications that can arise from relationships on a pair of tracks. The first is “Deeper,” which I’ve heard described as Gibb’s version of Madvillain’s “Fancy Clown.” Gibbs chronicles his conflicted thoughts after he learns that his girl has met another man and gotten pregnant while he was incarcerated. He’s filled with bitterness as he discovers that she’s opted to be with someone who’s not from the same background as him, “green as a leaf, looking sweet.” “Shame” examines the other side of the situation, where Gibbs cheats on his girl for a drunken 2 a.m. fling, then tries to find a way to live with the regret and mend fences.
Gibbs also knows how to unload with pure fury when he wants to. “Real” is split into two memorable sections. For the first half, Madlib hooks up one of the album’s best tracks, sampling a portion of an obscure late 1960s electronic track, with warped keys backed by complex percussion. Gibbs lays out his gangsta bona fides, before shifting to the track’s second half, where he unloads on former partner Young Jeezy. “Thought I'd say this shit cause you ain't man enough to come discuss it,” he snarls. “You wanna be JAY-Z? N***a, you just a fucking puppet.”
“Uno” is my personal favorite track on Piñata and one of the best marriages of Gibbs’ rhymes and Madlib’s beats. Madlib samples portions of an obscure 1980s synth record, over which Gibbs elaborates on the themes he explored on the first half of “Real.” He contrasts his own street credentials with other rappers who are much less authentic. “I'm just blessed to be out here living life,” he raps. “Giving these n****s hell, so reckless with everything I write.”
Gibbs and Madlib employ many talented guest emcees throughout Piñata, each adding to the tracks where they appear. It does say something about Gibbs’ skill that he always goes bar for bar with his collaborators and is never outshined. He teams with Danny Brown, who gives a supremely amped-up performance on “High,” a dedication to their love of marijuana. On “Bomb,” Gibbs partners with Raekwon to kick some gritty, raw hip-hop. Gibbs fashions himself as “the evasive black American gangster, sinister corner hugger” who makes his living “robbing like my problems ain't gon’ catch up to me later.” The synth and string-based track cooked by Madlib is some primo Wu-Tang influenced gutter shit.
Gibbs records a track with one of his biggest influences, Scarface, on “Broken.” Sometimes dream collaborations fall short of their potential, but both Gibbs and Scarface meet the challenge. Gibbs gives a particularly strong performance, as he depicts the complicated relationship with a fictionalized version of his father. Here, his dad is a crooked cop who got him into the dope game. Gibbs contemplates how the only way he relates to his father is through the pursuit of money through illegal means.
“Robes” is one of the most underrated songs on Piñata, as Gibbs joins forces with then Odd Future members Domo Genesis and Earl Sweatshirt. Each emcee creatively describes the processes that they use in order to stay motivated and excel in the music industry. “I see where n*****s fall off tryna perfect the puzzle,” Domo raps. “You ain't gotta like my work—shit, respect my hustle.” Again, Gibbs shines the brightest, contributing one of his best verses on the album. After noting that “I ain’t shit without my haters,” he muses, “Know this pussy A&R that threw some bullshit 'cross the table / The next year, I still be rapping and he be fired from his label.”
With “Lakers,” Gibbs and Black Hippy/TDE member Ab-Soul describe their respective lives and memories of Los Angeles. But while Ab-Soul was born and raised in southern California, Gibbs speaks from the perspective of taking on Los Angeles as his adopted home. Both of his verses are extremely personal, as he explains journeying to LA in a ’77 Cutlass, sleeping on his homies’ couch, and making connections with local hard rocks, all in order to pursue his hip-hop dreams.
On similarly basketball-inspired “Knicks,” Gibbs focuses on his life in Gary, during both 1995 and 2005. He describes going through the same cycles of selling drugs and committing crime. He feels tested and hardened by the rougher side of life but is still committed to hustling in order to survive. The beat is one of Madlib’s smoothest, as he incorporates a soulful piano sample with portions of vocals. Gibbs and Madlib would later release a remix of the track, featuring verses from New York-based emcees Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, and Ransom.
Piñata was the first step in a successful partnership between Gibbs and Madlib. They released another extremely dope album, Bandana (2019), and they have apparently been working on a third effort since that album dropped. Both artists have particularly packed schedules, especially considering that Gibbs has been plying his trade as an actor over the last few years. However, with this album demonstrating the type of musical magic this pair can create together, I hope they continue to revisit their chemistry throughout the rest of their respective careers.
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