Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, sometimes known as MadGibbs,
is an American
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
duo formed in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, in 2011. The duo is composed of
Gary, Indiana
Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...
-based
Freddie Gibbs
Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper and songwriter. He signed with Interscope Records in 2006 and recorded his debut album for the label; however, its release was cance ...
rapping and
Oxnard, California
Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...
native
Madlib
Otis Lee Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic, music sample, sample-heavy production style, he is rega ...
producing. The duo has released two
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
s, ''
Piñata
A piñata (, ) is a container, often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth, that is decorated, filled with candy, and then broken as part of a celebration. Piñatas are commonly associated with Mexico.
The idea of breaking a container fill ...
'' in 2014 and ''
Bandana
A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvre-chef'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana or bandanna, is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the Human head, head, face, or neck for protective or decorative purposes. The popularity of ...
'' in 2019. They have also released five
extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
s (EPs) together.
History
2011–13: Formation and debut EPs
On November 18, 2011, at the Madlib Medicine Show live event at Mighty in San Francisco, Madlib brought out Freddie Gibbs and announced their first collaborative EP titled ''
Thuggin'''. The project had been concealed for at least six months until it was made available for sale at the event.
Gibbs performed the title track and "Deep" during his collaborative set with Madlib.
Following the surprise performance, five hundred copies of the limited-edition EP were sold at the venue.
The EP was exclusively on sale at Madlib's shows, but was made available for retail purchase on November 21, 2011, by Madlib's
Madlib Invazion imprint.
The EP contains two main vocal tracks, instrumentals and two bonus beats.
[ On January 16, 2012, a music video for the lead single "Thuggin'", directed by Jonah Schwartz, was premiered online.
Speaking with ]Jay Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by ''Billboard'' and '' Vibe'' i ...
's ''Life + Times'', Gibbs decoded a few lines from "Thuggin'", explaining how he extracted from personal experiences in Gary, Indiana, for the track: "The song is "Thuggin'". First line, I say, We're not against rap, but we're against those thugs. Speaking about how society wasn't against rap music but against the thug element of it. I felt like that's what I represent," he said. "What I'm rapping is what I'm living. I'm using rap as a vehicle to get me away from that type of living. You may get to that level, selling drugs and engaging in certain activities in the street," he continued. "You might end up selling drugs to one of your family members, hell, you might end up shooting one of your family members. The drug and the crime shit really deteriorated our community - my community, at least. And then I say something about my uncle was addicted to drugs in the verse. That's real shit. That's a true example of a king to a fiend, someone who was a prominent and hard-working guy in the community that went from not having work and being addicted to crack cocaine."[
Their second EP '']Shame
Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness.
Definition
Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...
'' was released on July 10, 2012, by Madlib Invazion in both digital
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits.
Businesses
*Digital bank, a form of financial institution
*Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company
*Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...
and 12-inch vinyl
The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compar ...
formats. The eight-track EP includes two vocal tracks, "Shame" featuring singer BJ the Chicago Kid
Bryan James Sledge (born November 23, 1984), better known by his stage name BJ the Chicago Kid (or simply BJ), is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Sledge is best known for frequently collaborating with Top ...
and "Terrorist", as well as instrumentals, ''a cappella
Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
s'' and two bonus beats by Madlib.
Their third EP ''Deeper
Deeper may refer to:
Music
Bands
* Deeper (band)
Albums
* ''Deeper'' (Delirious? album) or the title song (see below), 2001
* ''Deeper'' (Lisa Stansfield album) or the title song, 2018
* ''Deeper'' (Meredith Andrews album) or the title song ...
'', released on September 24, 2013, was the final EP in the trilogy before the release of their full-length LP, ''Piñata
A piñata (, ) is a container, often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth, that is decorated, filled with candy, and then broken as part of a celebration. Piñatas are commonly associated with Mexico.
The idea of breaking a container fill ...
''.
2014: Debut album
In a press release, Gibbs described ''Piñata'' as "a gangster Blaxploitation film on wax". "I will show you my flaws, I'll show you what I've done wrong and what I've fucked up at. I don't regret shit, but I'll show you the things I'm not proud of. I'm about to show niggas how to rap again. Everybody else is going to fall in line." Madlib added. "My stuff, it ain't fully quantized… it has more of a human feel, so it might slow down or speed up. So you have to be the type of rapper, like MF Doom">/nowiki>MF Doom">MF_Doom.html" ;"title="/nowiki>MF Doom">/nowiki>MF Doom/nowiki> or Freddie, who can catch that, or else you'll be sounding crazy."
In February 2014, the track list and the cover art of the album were released. The cover art shows Gibbs wearing a black Adidas tracksuit and hanging out in a neighborhood park, with a zebra print border surrounding the image. In a March 2014, interview with ''Rolling Stone'', Madlib spoke about how they started working on the album, saying, "I met him through Ben Lambo. He used to work at Stones Throw. I heard some of an earlier album with Jeezy on it ibbs' ''Cold Day In Hell'' And Lambo wanted to see if he could do something different over my style of beats. That's where it all started… I had gotten over eight CDs worth of music to him, and just let him pick out whatever he could vibe to. I didn't do anything special, I just let him pick stuff that he could write to. I thought he'd pick different types of beats, ut it wasall raw shit. I didn't have to tell him, but that's what he wanted to record." He also spoke about how they recorded the album separately, saying, "No, he recorded the vocals on his own. Like, I handed him all the CDs, and he picked out all the beats he wanted, he recorded them at his studio, then he handed those off to me, then we finished it. I would add little things, like these choruses. That's what usually happens: I let 'em record what they want, then I add stuff as needed after that, like extra horns or whatever… I'm usually working on other thangs, you know what I mean? I don't have time to sit there and coach somebody that just already knows what to do, and that's the kind of people I usually work with… I don't want to sit there like a babysitter." Gibbs also spoke about how the album was recorded over three years, saying, "We two different guys, man. I was still in the streets when I first started that Madlib album. I was, then I wasn't. You can tell the progression on the record, though. You can tell the different places that I'm in, 'cause I did it over the course of three years, coming up with the ideas and concepts."
Preceded by their 2014 album, '' Knicks (Remix)'' was released on October 20, 2014, by Madlib Invazion in both digital and 12-inch vinyl formats. The six-track EP includes two vocal tracks, "Knicks (Remix)" featuring Action Bronson
Ariyan Arslani (born December 2, 1983), professionally known as Action Bronson, is an American rapper and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, he released his debut mixtape ''Bon Appetit ..... Bitch!!!!!'' in January 2011 and indepe ...
, Joey Bada$$
Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper and actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York City, he formed the regional hip-hop group Pro Era in 2011, with whom he ...
and Ransom, and "Home" featuring singer BJ the Chicago Kid, as well as instrumentals and two bonus beats by Madlib.
2016–present: Hiatus and sophomore album
During Madlib's talk with Red Bull Music Academy
The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...
on May 7, 2016, he announced that he and Freddie Gibbs will be releasing a second collaborative studio album called ''Bandana''. Madlib also mentioned that many of the rejected beats he auditioned for Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
's ''The Life of Pablo
''The Life of Pablo'' is the seventh studio album by American rapper Kanye West. It was released on February 14, 2016, through GOOD Music and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place from 2013 to 2016, in Italy, Mexico, ...
'' would appear on the new project. Freddie Gibbs confirmed this on Twitter while his manager tweeted a teaser picture of Madlib beats.
On February 7, 2019, Madlib posted an Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
picture of his cartoon alter-ego Quasimoto
Quasimoto was a side project of hip hop producer Madlib, from Oxnard, California. Quasimoto is composed of Madlib and his animated alter ego Lord Quas. Lord Quas is known for his high-pitched voice, which often interacts with Madlib's regular ...
with the cryptic caption "we are clearing samples ...", alluding to ''Bandana'' having finished being recorded. On February 12, Gibbs shared a clip of himself with Madlib further teasing the project and stating that they "Might put some shit out. Might. Thinking about it. We thinking about it." The next day, on February 13, Gibbs continued to tease upcoming music and wrote on his Instagram story that the "Album is done. Finished. Finito." On February 20, Gibbs and Madlib released the single "Flat Tummy Tea" and announced that ''Bandana'' was set to be released in 2019 by Keep Cool Records
Keep Cool Records is an American record label founded by Tunji Balogun, alongside Right Hand Music Group founder Courtney Stewart, A&R Jon Tanners and marketing executive Jared Sherman. The label is a joint venture with RCA Records, a subsidiar ...
, RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
, Madlib Invazion and ESGN. A second single, the title track "Bandana", featuring the dancehall artist Assassin
Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives.
Assassinations are orde ...
, was released on March 5, 2019. On May 11, 2019, Gibbs and Madlib announced that ''Bandana
A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvre-chef'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana or bandanna, is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the Human head, head, face, or neck for protective or decorative purposes. The popularity of ...
'' would be the second installment of a planned trilogy, following ''Piñata'', and that the third would be called ''Montana''. On May 28, 2019, the official album cover was revealed, showing Madlib's animated alter-ego Quasimoto
Quasimoto was a side project of hip hop producer Madlib, from Oxnard, California. Quasimoto is composed of Madlib and his animated alter ego Lord Quas. Lord Quas is known for his high-pitched voice, which often interacts with Madlib's regular ...
wearing a bandana around his neck and sitting on a zebra as they watch buildings in Hollywood being set on fire. On May 30, the single "Crime Pays" was released and ''Bandana'' was later released June 28 to commercial and critical success.
In December 2019, Gibbs and Madlib recorded a concert for NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's Tiny Desk Concerts
''Tiny Desk Concerts'' is a video series of live concerts hosted by NPR Music at the desk of former ''All Songs Considered'' host Bob Boilen in Washington, D.C.
The first ''Tiny Desk Concert'' came about in 2008 after Boilen and NPR Music edit ...
series, performing four tracks from ''Bandana''. Abby O'Neill of NPR called it "the best Tiny Desk of the year."
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays (EPs)
Singles
References
{{Madlib
American hip-hop duos
Musical duos from California
Musical groups established in 2011
RCA Records artists