Freddie Gibbs feels caught between two worlds. His major label move ‘$oul $old $eperately’ won acclaim, but didn’t quite result in the crossover his die-hard fans sought. Equally, his often wayward – to put it one way – social media identity gave a feeling of chaos, someone blessed with a grasp of the art yet never quite finding focus. New Halloween drop ‘You Only Die 1nce’ comes close to settling those debates, presenting Freddie Kane at his most rugged – a return to the underground, it reminds you exactly why he remains such a beloved figure for rap fans.
Aside from one skit, this Halloween project plays it relatively straight. There’s a huge amount here to feast on – the soulful palette on ‘Cosmo Freestyle’ underpin some bold truths from Freddie Gibbs, while the eerie laughter on ‘Brick Fees’ gives way to a bravura performance from the MC.
Rising to rap’s upper echelons, Freddie Gibbs have never forgotten his come-up – ‘Steel Doors’ is as plain as they come, a look at poverty, societal pressure, and the ways out that some men choose. ‘Ruthless’ takes this energy into a different lane, the neat, laid-back guitar strum redolent of those glossy MTV hits circa ’99.
It’s a crisp run-time – 13 tracks, with one interlude, and a mere 37 minutes of music – but ‘You Only Die 1nce’ leaves its mark. Closer ‘On The Set’ goes for the jugular – the dark-edged production redolent of his work with Madlib, the world-building providing the perfect foil for Freddie Gibbs’ hard-won truths. A song about lives lived short, and the legacies left behind, it seems to sum up where the rapper finds himself – out there in the trenches, caught between two sides, working out his own peculiar place in the world.
7/10
Words: Robin Murray
