By Ty

It’s been a big year for Freddie Gibbs. Last year, the Indiana-bred rapper dropped Str8 Killa, a fierce gangsta rap mixtape that incorporated contemporary production with the brazen gangsta rap of past. A retail version of the tape followed, and then the majors came calling. Gibbs made a surprising move and signed with Young Jeezy’s Corporate Thugs Entertainment (CTE). Jeezy’s own problems with releasing an album on a major have been well-documented, so to tide fans over until he gets his major label chance, Gibbs teams with omnipresent underground producer Statik Selektah for the EP Lord Giveth, Lord Taketh Away.

The seven song EP is very guest-heavy, with nine featured rappers, only one solo song for Gibbs, and an “Intro” that does not even feature Gibbs, but instead is spoken entirely from Boston rapper, Slaine. Nonetheless, the six songs that follow showcase Gibbs in true form. The title track provides a sleek soundscape for Gibbs to speak greasy on; allowing Gibbs to showcase the image that made him popular on the blogs of 2010.

For the rest of the tape, Gibbs rhymes alongside a variety of guests. He flosses with DPG’s Daz Dillinger on “Rap Money,” an ultra-smooth beat that harkens back to Tha Dogg Pound’s hey-day. Freddie chops it up with NY new jack REKS on the boom bap-laced “Affiliated.” Gibbs stays with the East Coast theme to rhyme with Termanology and XXL Freshmen Class alumnus Fred The Godson on another Statik smooth boom bap offering, “Wild Style.” Gibbs next takes a tour down South to collaborate with veteran Trae Da Truth on the highlight “Already,” featuring verses that allow the two MCs to get real for a moment.

The EP ends with one last collaboration, “Keep It Warm For Ya,” featuring Smoke DZA and Chace Infinite. The song is a slow-rolling, soul-tinged smoke anthem that is right at home for a rapper like Smoke DZA. Even though Gibbs gets the bulk of the mic time, it still feels like a Smoke DZA song and that Gibbs is merely a guest, much like most of this EP. Statik keeps the beats smooth and bumping, with much more diversity than he has shown on recent projects, but with so many guests jobbing for mic time on such a short EP, Gibbs’ presence is too secondary. It’s a shame because Gibbs is capable of carrying an album by himself. Nonetheless, even if Gibbs’ voice is not fully pronounced, it is a solid 25 minutes of music, and a good sampler of a MC to keep an eye on.
  Out of 5

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