Freddie Gibbs — $oul $old $eparately — Album Review
Hip-Hop | Rap
In the Hip-Hop community, Freddie Gibbs is deservedly renowned as a brilliant all-rounder, who has proven to champion many different sub-styles of Hip-Hop. Me being me, I was, once again, a little late to the party when it came to discovering the musical alias of Indiana rapper Fredrick Jamel Tipton, but thankfully not too late.
I first discovered the music of Freddie Gibbs in 2019, through his third collaborative album Piñata, which he released alongside producer Madlib. Now when I first listened to said album, I found both the musical style and near-constant mention of cocaine-culture a little polarising; yet I still enjoyed the album to a degree nonetheless.
When I started to truly become a swift fan of Gibbs, was through the record he released after Piñata. Yet another collaborative album (but this time alongside another producer, The Alchemist), Alfredo was where I truly got to appreciate the sense of luxury that lay dormant as a key element to Gibbs’ work, regardless of what style of Hip-Hop he pursues. I particularly loved his collaboration with Tyler, the Creator, in the form of the single “Something to Rap About”. If you wanted to get a taste of what Freddie Gibbs is all about, I recommend listening to that tune first.
But going forward into the here and now, we now arrive at Freddie Gibbs’ newest studio album, and the first solo work of his that I have reviewed.
Titled $oul $old $eparately, this album was undoubtedly highly anticipated; by myself as well. The whole rabbit imagery that champions this album cover kind of began with the single release of “Gang Signs” (or at least, that was when I first started noticing it) all the way back in early 2021. It was at this point when I first believed we would be receiving a new album from Gibbs, especially with subsequent 2021 singles that followed, such as “Big Boss Rabbit” or “Black Illuminati”.
But as the year of 2022 rolled over, it seemed that Freddie wanted to start the musical year with a blank slate. And in the case of how $oul $old $eparately ultimately sounded, I think that decision was certainly for the better.
Going into this, I had no real taste of what was to come, despite there being six actual teaser tracks being released earlier this year. That being said, none of the 2021 tracks made it onto the finished album. And yet, $oul $old $eparately is absolutely rich with a generous portion of amazing tracks. With 15 songs in total (if you include the bonus track “Decoded”), and a runtime that exceeds three quarters of an hour, I initially expected there to be at least a few misses on here.
But nope, pretty much every single track on this thing was just hit, after hit, after hit! Every single tune brought something to the table, whether it was simply by merit of being a catchy bop, or adding to the narrative.
Speaking of such, the narrative that binds this album together is a very interesting take on the glamorous success story. It’s far from a rare thing to see a rap artist gloat about how far they’ve come from the early day of making music. However, Gibbs dives further into the negative sides of success, and the lack of control and freedom that comes with it.
$oul $old $eparately ingeniously begins with tracks that shine a more positive light on Freddie’s success, namely tracks like the opener “Couldn’t Be Done”. And as the album progresses, Freddie begins to gradually cherry picks more real and not as positive aspects of success, such as dealing with naysayers, keeping the pressure on, balancing work and family, and more.
The aspect of stress that comes with success especially, is nicely made clear by the sound-clips of other famous figures trying to get hold of Freddie as he hides in the titular hotel and casino. It’s both an artful and understandable reflection of never really having the freedom to be left alone once you’ve reached a certain level of status like Freddie Gibbs has.
And while the consistency of how good the tracks are are indeed a credible merit behind why $oul $old $eparately is so enjoyable, the engagement it has with fans with its cautionary tale is where this album truly shines.
$oul $old $eparately really feels like a masterclass when it comes to everything that Freddie Gibbs has tried and tested, and it serves as both a cautionary tale and a victory lap for this incredible rapper.
Favourite Tracks: Blackest in the Room | Zipper Bagz | Too Much | Lobster Omelette | CIA
ESGN | Warner Records
