The odds of Freddie Gibbs delivering audio dope when he starts a song off with the word “Slamming,” are even higher than the winning percentage of a regular Gangsta Gibbs song — or even higher than gangsta Gibbs himself. The second time I ever interviewed him, I smoked three blunts in one hour with him and Big Kill. I left my own weed in the apartment and nearly tripped over a shopping cart left out on Van Nuys Blvd. Memories. This song sounds as impressively disorienting as that ride.
It also starts multiple verses with “Slammin,” so you know that’s it’s as ruthlessly effective as his loud. What I like about the partnership between Otis Jackson Jr. and Frederick Tipton is that the swooning sad soul loops bring out a different side of the Gary rapper. That’s not to say that he’s remotely simping. There’s a half a kilo of heroin in the bathroom just in the first few bars.
But this is a linear narrative about love and the experiences that occurred adjacent — which in a Freddie Gibbs song means that everything is fucked up since the days he used to “finger fuck her on the bus listening to Usher.” That is a strong rhyme scheme and a strange image, but then again, those first two Usher albums were also pretty slamming. This reminds me a little bit of “My Homeboy’s Girlfriend,” which might be Gibbs’ most underrated song. Everyone wants to focus on the thugging side, but he’s always been three-dimensional since he was first freestyling over the “INC Ride.” There are also Jerry Springer sub-plots that unfold here. MadGibbs’ Pinata drops in February with guest spots from everyone but your homeboy’s girlfriend. In the meantime, you can buy the 12″ of “Deeper,” complete with a side of wings and some slaw.
