Deen has no shame.

The latest salvo from Gibbs & Madlib ensures their batting average stays at a thousand. I’m far from surprised, but you know what they say about the best laid plans and all. Madlib provides the soulful soundscape (are we still required to reference RZA, ‘The Blueprint’, Kanye, Just Blaze and Bink after typing “soul?) while Gangsta Gibbs unspools a yarn about gaffling deex heauxs’ honor with minimal fuss. In other words: pimping. Of course he has to ruin it a bit by indulging his, frankly at this point, maniacal obsession with OPP. If you thought Wiz (well, he quit) and Curren$y were bad about OPP, then you haven’t listened to Gibbs nearly enough. I don’t think Freddie Gibbs has ever slept with a woman that wasn’t with someone else or a baby momma. Frederick doesn’t “wish (they) were his,” he just takes em and pimps em. He’s gotta chill some. Plenty of lonely and unattached Adele CD owners outchea. I figure he’s doing much better pockets-wise these days, so methinks he should consider upgrading to SINGLE models and groupies. Pause if needed. I’m just a big fan of keeping the peace. Maybe getting a Treach verse will get it out of his system. Just kidding; real niggas STAY tryna fanute some new new.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the seamless transition between BJ the Chicago Kid’s (is it too late to do something about this moniker?) lush hook and the sample. If I hadn’t seen the credits before listening, I might have mistaken BJ’s voice for a sample. Nigga damn near sounds like he was a member of The Manhattans (which reminds me – can we get some classy R&B groups again? It’s been too long)! He and Madlib get mucho brownie points for that trick. Good job, good effort all around.

However, for my money, “Terrorist” is an even more impressive feat. Probably because I tend to favor niggas talking shit, fly or otherwise, over fly ass beats – especially if said beats sound like stoned acid jazz workouts. And I can’t really explain why, but for once, an exceedingly brief rap song doesn’t leave me all dissatisfied and pissed off. Nonetheless, I’ll take an additional verse on the LP version if they have it stashed somewhere. Regardless of your preference in topics or production, Gangsta Gibbs sounds right at home – again, not a surprise to anyone that’s been paying attention.

Still on the topic of my money, I’d wager that there’s no “non-legend”/new rapper in the last half-decade as good as Freddie Gibbs. Some of these new jacks can match (no one exceeds) him for technique, have “hotter” co-signs, buzzier tracks or have more appeal to the demographics that matter, but none of them are making better music. NONE. When Gibbs isn’t rapping over run-of-the-mill “trap-rap” facsimiles (and even then, he’s up there with the best of ‘em), he’s close to indomitable at this rap shit. C’mon mane, listen to this shit. There’s no MC out there more complete than him. The only thing this nigga doesn’t do is make beats – but he sure can pick em.

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