"Rap is too much like high school. It's a popularity contest but at the end of the day, it's all bullshit. But hell yeah, I was popular," Freddie Gibbs states. And just like any popular student, the talented football athlete loves the ladies. Presently in Los Angeles, he sees a lot of pretty girls in a cool breeze and under heightened circumstances. "I love the weather, the weed and the women. It’s enough to keep me satisfied.” As good as that sounds, there is more to the proclaimed gangster than one can expect after listening to his ghetto tracks and murder cuts.
Fresh out of Indiana with his hometown Gary on his back, Gangsta Gibbs doesn’t regret any past decisions. He laughs when discussing his gangster life but his time in the streets is far from over. His position in the hood hasn’t much changed, but its’ duties have. “I’ve dibbled and dabbled in street activities. It is what it is and everything I rap about I’ve lived it. That’s definitely something that I’ve been affiliated with, but that’s not all that makes me. That’s not all I’m about. As he understands what being affiliated with the streets can do, he creates music that raises awareness about what’s only going on not just in Gary but throughout the Midwest and the nation. Gibbs stands for much more that what’s happening on a sidewalk. “My music raises awareness to where we are as a people and what’s really going on. I don’t talk about it to glorify it but it’s the truth and it comes with the territory. We [artists] gotta put it out there.”
Gibbs puts it out there. His first two mixtape releases The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs and midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik were positively received with comparisons to many influential west coast and Southern rappers; reliving memories of a hip hop that was intellectual and stood for the people. He sees the honor in being recognized with these artists, but that’s not what he is necessarily striving for. “As an artist you wanna stay away from comparisons and stand out on your own and be an individual. I can’t deny the fact I grew up listening to Tupac. Someone that made a huge mark on something you definitely have to pay homage. It’s definitely a blessing to be spoken in the same breath as him, but I definitely don’t strive to be him.”
Gibbs enjoys music from Chicago group LEP Bogus Boys and southern cats Yo Gotti and Alley Boy but right now, he feels recent releases in hip hop are not up to par. In other words… “I listen to a lot of R&B now cause that new rap is wack to me. It’s a lot of that bullshit out there but it is what it is. What can you do?”
His past relationships with major record labels present a future of independence for the rapper who does everything himself with no help from the big dogs. Getting a deal is not as important to him as progressing and becoming a better performer for his supporters. “That’s not my day to day goal. I’m making the record, working the record, and I got my own shit popping. What the fuck is the point of me fucking with them? I ain’t worried about being in cahoots and being buddies with these label dudes.”
Making money is not an issue for Gibbs, it’s how he makes it and who it affects. He is doing what he can and making moves to become the best rapper. Selling out is not an option. The money will come as far as he knows. “I want to maintain my respect level and if I do that then I’ll make money. I do this shit because I love doing it. I wouldn’t do something out of the ordinary to get a paycheck.”
Str8 Killa No Filla is his newest collection of urban anthems and street music. He even has something for the women; unfortunately, it’s not as flattering as he thinks it may sound. “I got a song for the ladies, it’s called “Pussy So Amazing.” The mixtape has collaborations with Bun B and fellow XXL classmate Pill. Gibbs suspects that when you get a whiff of the upcoming release it’s going to be like that dope, raw, uncut, straight-hit-you-in-the-face-when-you-get-it-you-gone-be-like-whoa type of feeling.
Celebrating his June 14th birthday all month, he’s headed to the city of nice size behinds and relaxation. “It’s real open and a refresher. Lots of big booties in Atlanta. Lots of nice women down there and I like that the most.” We know it doesn’t take much to satisfy him. He’s buying the bar with his new drink Gibbs Lemonade. “Hennessy and Lemonade. Invented by me.” Let’s hope our weed adds up to Cali for the night.
My Way Home feat. BJ The Chicago Kid
