Sy ShacklefordFor the past 16 years, Gary, Indiana’s Freddie Gibbs has been part of the upper echelon of hip-hop’s coke rhymers. Several guest appearances, a few EPs, and a couple of critically lauded albums with Madlib established him as a rapper with an endless supply of drug-related crime narratives. With the prolific beatsmith known as the Alchemist, they crafted 2020’s “Alfredo”, a Grammy-nominated 10-track cinematic album showcasing Gangsta Gibbs’ ability to keep the raps in his niche genre fresh and never stale. Five years later, Gibbs and the Alchemist have reunited for “Alfredo 2”. There’s a clear evolution to this sequel, not just in terms of sound, raps, or even the increase in songs. But for one, compare the album cover to the 2020 original: It was a painting of a plate of plain alfredo pasta strung together by a marionettist’s hand. For the sequel, the album cover is a painting of the same marionettist, but this time the hand puppeteers a bowl of Japanese yaka mein. This goes hand-in-hand with the album’s Tokyo crime theme shown through its accompanying short film entitled “Alfredo: The Movie”.
The murky “Mar-A-Lago” contains several sampled dialogue snippets from 2001’s “Baby Boy” while Gibbs lyrically anticipates a federal raid on his property. The penchant for designer fashion that comes with a life of crime is shown on “Lemon Pepper Steppers”, where Gibbs displays his customary gangsta swagger over Al’s psychedelic beat. The album features three guest appearances and the first of which is Anderson .Paak on “Ensalada”, the Spanish word for salad, but Gibbs and .Paak are really using it as a homonym throughout the song. Continuing the food theme on “Empanadas”, Freddie dances all over this beat while taking shots at Benny the Butcher.
As “Alfredo” began with “1985”, the sequel takes its opener a decade further with the single “1995”.
Also, “Alfredo 2” is divided into three acts and the opener sets the tone for the album’s graphic soundscapes and picturesque lyrics. For the first half of the track, it’s a loop of a soft, airy sample. Halfway through, Al converts it into a guitar riff as Gibbs declares his authenticity while also calling out imitators with “Boy, your bars is under question, under review / Nothin’ new, another crew of Freddie clones / I put more niggas on this field than Jerry Jones”. The accompanying video is interspersed with scenes from the album’s movie:
The deep kickdrums and Gibbs’ opening interpolation of an Ice-T’s “Colors” define “Skinny Suge II”, where Freddie declares himself a don, but one with no fear of getting blood on his hands. Larry June provides an assist on “Feeling” and his delivery, in contrast to Gibbs’ fast-paced delivery here, is awfully chopped and screwed over Al’s syrupy piano-driven production. “I Still Love H.E.R.” is an extended metaphor for Gibbs’ devotion to the game, be it rapping or the crime life. The beat for “Shangri La” sounds majestic as Gibbs employs a breathless flow that fits several rhymed syllables into each bar. “Gas Station Sushi” has Gibbs showing vulnerability, seemingly lamenting some of what he’s done and also still grieving the loss of Mac Miller.
Starting the conclusion for Act III is “Lavish Habits”, showing off Freddie’s tendency for opulence juxtaposed with a paranoia about the drawbacks of being Black and successful in his lifestyle. Dreamville’s J.I.D. appears on “Gold Feet”. Though Gibbs employs an impressive double-time flow, J.I.D. raps his verse like it’s his last and, in the process, outshines Gibbs on his own track. On “Jean Claude”, Gibbs takes his cue from “Bloodsport” and asserts his confidence with “No matter how hard they plot / I can’t be knocked from my spot” despite his perceived lack of love in the rap game. Lastly, “A Thousand Mountains” is the most cinematic, incorporating woodwind samples and moody piano keys to make the listener imagine themselves immersed in a Japanese crime drama. If there’s any album to compare this to, it would have to be The Clipse’s recently released “Let God Sort Em Out”, as both are similar and uncompromisingly raw in sound and content. But “Alfredo 2” differs in style and tone. The album’s edge? It has a narcotic swagger with flash and no polish, as well as being a very welcome and well-timed contemporary follow-up.