A Conversation With Freddie Gibbs: Rap's "Silent Killer" On Embracing Melody & Honoring Gucci Mane

Freddie Gibbs isn't even at his peak yet; "that's the scary part". Things haven't always looked this clear for Freddie Gibbs. The Gary, Indiana rapper could have ended his career as another major label casualty, stuck in a deal that didn't have his best interests in mind. After failed stints with Interscope and Jeezy's CTE World, Gibbs set his sights on the independent route, allowing him the freedom to give his loyal fanbase new music how and when he wanted. Last week, Gibbs released Shadow Of A Doubt, his second full-length release for his ESGN label, and first LP since his the celebrated Pinata project with Madlib. Where Pinata was a shared vision of its rapper-producer team, Shadow is Gibbs through-and-through, giving him the freedom to explore a large range of sounds throughout the project's 17 tracks. Having already established himself as one of rap's most technically proficient voices, Gibbs takes the opportunity to further hone his abilities as a songwriter, focusing more on melody and further challenging himself with his production choices. It's also his first full length since becoming a father, something he says has made him a more "delicate" man. The result is Freddie's most assured material yet, proving that there's no one better to guide the rapper's career than Gibbs himself. Describing his place in rap as that of a "silent killer," the hard-edged emcee is willing to be the artist lurking in the shadows of the industry, just as long as when he's done, people recognize that there was never anyone like him -- but don't worry, he's not even at his peak yet. We spoke to Gibbs about his region-less sound, putting on for Gucci Mane while he's locked up, and looking to Pimp C for songwriting inspiration. Read our conversation below. Pinata found you working with Madlib for an entire project, whereas Shadow Of A Doubt hosts over a dozen producers. Did you make an effort to work with as many people as possible? I was really just trying to expand. Get out there and just take risks musically. I pretty much fine-tuned my sound, working with a lot of the guys like Pops, Mikhail, Murda Beatz, and Kaytranada. I kind of stumbled on to something that I just wanted to keep going. I worked with Mike Dean -- he really helped me prepare for this project. I wanted to be really diverse. I just picked the beats that fit the best, that made the project cohesive. Someone today said my project wasn't cohesive and I was like "what the fuck you talkin' 'bout?". That shit sticks together like glue. You recently did a Canadian tour. What was the reception like? I love it, man. They always show love when I come up to Canada. Every city from Montreal to Calgary to Victoria. All the shows are crazy in Canada. I love it up there, it's like my second home. Everywhere I go they show me love. There are a lot of Canadians featured on the album (Tory Lanez, Frank Dukes, Boi-1da, Kaytranada, etc.). Did any of those collaborations come together during the tour? We were all just working and it just ended up happening. I think I was in Toronto when I was working with Tory Lanez. I was doing TIME festival or something like that. Everything happened organically for the record, nothing was forced whatsoever.