The Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik mixtape soon followed, as did a feature in The New Yorker that found writer Sasha Frere-Jones declaring Gibbs “the one rapper I would put money on right now.” Late in the year he released the 81-song mixtape The Labels Tryin’ to Kill Me. In early 2009 he released the Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs mixtape/compilation to critical and message board acclaim. He returned to Gary, and then moved to Atlanta until producer Josh the Goon convinced Gibbs to give L.A. When the label signed Gibbs in 2006, he moved to Los Angeles and recorded a debut album, but a year later the management of Interscope changed hands and the rapper was dropped.

Figuring he could do better, Gibbs began writing his own lyrics and cut some demos that would eventually land in the hands of Interscope. He dealt out of a Gary, Indiana recording studio, absorbing a steady stream of uninspired rhymes while pushing product. Influenced by the likes of 2Pac, Biggie, UGK, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Gibbs filled his lyrics with honest and compelling stories of his hometown’s demise, a steady decline which he helped contribute to as a drug dealer. In 2004, rapper Gibbs set out to be the Midwest’s unofficial street poet, releasing a series of mixtapes that were as complex as they were gritty. The latter became his first LP to crack the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 and subsequently earned a Grammy Award nomination. After he issued the commercial mixtape Freddie (2018), he reunited with Madlib for Bandana (2019), and with the Alchemist cooked up Alfredo (2020). Following his first properly distributed release, the Str8 Killa EP (2010), he began releasing proper studio albums, including the well-received Madlib collaboration Piñata (2014), Shadow of a Doubt (2015), and You Only Live 2wice (2017). He made a name for himself with a series of self-released mixtapes throughout the 2000s and early 2010s. He’s equally at home rhyming over booming breakbeats or trap beats, and has collaborated with a diverse array of rappers and producers including Young Thug, Jeezy, DJ Drama, and Statik Selektah.

Praised for his technical proficiency as well as his provocative lyrics, rapper Freddie Gibbs has won over fans of gangsta rap as well as underground hip-hop.

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