Spectreview: MadGibbs – Bandana

-LIGHT CORAL-

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“In the jail, I’m in the cell, can’t see the fam
Say my prayers, alhamdulillah, no bacon ham
Bacon ham, and cold salami, that’s all they serve us
Stomach hurtin’, the devil working, but I ain’t nervous”

When it comes to music, collaboration takes bravery, a willingness to compromise your vision for the greater good. Freddie Gibbs spent his early career making art out of his experiences making and selling crack in Gary, Indiana, one of the most crime-ridden cities of America. His partnership with Madlib, a renowned experimental hip-hop producer whose multifaceted career dates back to the early 90’s, doesn’t make a ton of sense if you’re aware of Gibbs’ hard-edged style and graphic imagery. Then again, that’s what their first album together, 2014’s Piñata, a surprising success. Yet as the busted piñata on the cover art of Bandana is meant to show, the pair is slowly growing into a complete whole, as Gibbs’s breakneck bars make even more sense over Madlib’s unconventionally ornate, soul-sampling beats.

Gangsta rap as a artistic pursuit has arguably suffered somewhat against the rise of world-domineering conscious hip-hop artists like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, but its formidable power still lies in submerging the listener in the dire world of drug pushing. Madlib does his best to provide that bed, with consistently excellent results. He bestows a profoundness on “Patience”, a remorseful account of a past mistress, through a bed of Donny Hathaway’s “Make It On Your Own;” he flips the script halfway through “Half Manne Half Cocaine” from trap music to an actual trap, from the triplet hi-hats of the street to the atonal dissonance of the crack house. You don’t often see tracks like the string-led, dejected “Gat Damn” or the luxurious Sunday afternoon of “Palmolive” from a producer normally known for being lo-fi, and it’s a lovely turn of style. Gibbs, meanwhile, is as verbose and uncompromising as ever,  rivaling Big Boi in his ability to stuff bars with syllables like he’s making up for lost time. Technically he is, having been jailed on rape allegations that were eventually proven false, a time he recounts bitterly across the album. While in 2019 this makes his raps are a little harder to listen to on top of some questionable views (including some bewildering anti-vaxxer sentiments), it’s one of those instances where there’s still simple pleasure to be found in the simple friction of word on word. Gibbs’ near-incomparable flow, combined with Madlib’s whipsmart production, makes for a one of the most compelling high-profile gangsta rap albums released this year.

Recommended for driving through every red light in Gary, and don’t you dare stop.