![]() ![]() Hit-Boy, Jake One, and Justice League are all reliable additions, and it all fits together nicely. The machine-gun flow sounds at home over DJ Paul trunk-rattlers (“PYS”), smoked-out Alchemist (“Blackest in the Room”), or uplifting jazz courtesy of Madlib (“CIA”). Considering the variety of producers involved, the album maintains a level of cohesion that further confirms something Freddie rarely gets praised enough for – his adaptability. He’s an albums guy, although while this album is very good, it never hits the heights of “Pinata” or “Bandana”. That’s a popular rapper, and “Soul Sold Separately” being on Warner Records only boosted it four places higher in the chart (#11).Ĭhart performance isn’t what Freddie Gibbs is about, demonstrated by his distinct lack of hit singles. Hell, you could argue he’s had some crossover success with his last few projects considering he regularly charts in the Billboard 200, with 2020’s “Alfredo” peaking at #15. The way listeners digest music has certainly changed since the rise of the Internet, but the fact this Freddie Gibbs album is touted as his major label debut feels laughable, considering he’s very familiar to hip-hop fans. Considering the technological advances allowing artists to self-release their music directly to fans, and even top-tier musicians like Madlib crafting classics on iPads, the traditional structure of a major label album release feels very outdated in today’s environment. Whether it was local radio stations in the 1980s, mixtapes in the 1990s, or the likes of Datpiff in the 2000s – the goal was always to land a fat cheque at the end that granted the artist a budget, with access to better producers and songwriters. ![]() Hip-hop, perhaps more so than any other genre of music, became designed to build a talent up to ultimately be signed by a major label. It’s worth a read, but ultimately confirms the death of the record label, specifically the major ones. There was a fascinating article on The Nation recently that demonstrated just how sorry a state the music industry is in. ![]()
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