Thursday, December 16, 2010

Freddie Gibbs - Ready for Freddie (Best of 2010)


Late last year, two of my favorite music journalists each wrote an article shedding light on Freddie Gibbs, the Gary native/L.A. transplant golden child of neo-gangsta rap (read: The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs by Jeff Weiss; Wrapping Up by Sasha Frere-Jones). I had a feeling then, as I still do now, that Gibbs would be an artist to watch for years to come. While prodigies Blu and Jay Electronica flash glimmers of hope every once in a blue moon, Gangsta Gibbs stays shining consistently. Believing the hype paid off, finally. In 2010 he hopped on a slew of feature tracks, dropped a promotional mixtape, and released a critically-acclaimed EP titled Str8 Killa. I can only expect greater things from Gibbs in 2011 (i.e. debut LP, working with The Alchemist and Bun B, etc.). Ready for Freddie, my eighth 'Best of 2010' compilation, draws its inspiration from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's 1961 LP of the same title, released under Blue Note Records (slideshow here). And it's a fairly appropriate title, right? Are you ready? You better be. Enjoy... and turn it up!!