The Blogz are calling the union of Freddie Gibbs, Chip the Ripper, and Chuck Inglish, a super-group, but they are no Bad Company. The trio of Midwestern MC’s move impressively as a unit, but pairing the Gary gangsta with a Kid Cudi consigliere and a Cool Kid better known for production, does not a super-group make. We’re probably better for it. The egos are controlled and while everyone wants to show and prove, no one feels the need to peacock. “Authority” feels natural, the sort of spontaneous unpretentious product you’d expect from three Midwesterners with strong skills dressed in plainclothes. Nothing too fancy. Blended Babies’ beat places boom-bap drums atop Beats, Rhymes & Life-era Ummah keyboards, and Nate Santos’ fake patois hook that knows when to stop.
The effect makes for something relaxed and fun, something alien for a manufactured crew like Slaughterhouse (don’t get me started on this month’s XXL cover story). Inglish goes Rachel Ray rap talking about avocados, tacos, and tortilla soup. Chip takes Cudi’s old abandoned flow and Gibbs rubber bands syllables, bumping E-4-0 with his 40 and 4 Nickle, sounding equally comfortable outside of his Trunk Muzik pocket. Many moons ago, Zilla Rocca wrote a Beat Generation post about the failings of most would-be event songs — they usually just sound contrived. “Authority” succeeds because it doesn’t try to be revolutionary or IMPORTANT, it just wants to be good.
Download:
MP3: Pulled Over By the Cops (Chip the Ripper, Chuck Inglish, Freddie Gibbs)
