‘Bandana’ by Freddie Gibbs and Madlib: Retrospective Review

As this is being written in June 2021, Freddie Gibbs might just be the best rapper alive. With his 2020 album with The Alchemist, Alfredo, striking huge success, plus an impressive run of features and singles, Freddie is unstoppable. Though he had a strong run of back to back albums throughout the 2010’s, it wasn’t until the final year of the decade that he gained major acclaim with his and Madlib’s fantastic second outing, Bandana.

Bandana album cover by frequent Madlib illustrator, Jeff Jank

Though Freddie has been an OG from the beginning, his first big moment in the spotlight came in the form of 2014’s Piñata. This unlikely team-up with Madlib, one of Hip-Hop’s greatest ever producers, is an important and truly brilliant fixture of 2010’s rap. However, Piñata tends to stand out for the interesting and novel contrast between Freddie’s personality and Madlib’s beats. It’s a brilliant piece of work, but the more polished and cinematic Bandana is where Freddie and Madlib’s styles truly began to align.

While Piñata has some very deep and saturated beats, Madlib’s production on Bandana is more atmospheric and airy, allowing Freddie to ride each beat with enough space to tell his story. Hearing just how detailed, personal, and unique these beats are, it’s incredible that Madlib made them entirely on his iPad.

Madlib and Freddie’s cartoon alter egos. Art by Matthew Madrigal

Thematically, its about as introspective a coke rap album as you’ll hear. In between each lyric about cooking crack, we get the story of Freddie’s life during and post drug dealing. He wrote most of the album while in Hungarian jail for a crime he didn’t commit, making many of these tracks honest confessions and reflections. Beyond himself, Freddie raps about the corruption of Hollywood (see album cover) but also of America itself. It’s a richly layered and cerebral album, expanding the coke rap subgenre to new limits.

“When this music shit wasn’t movin’ man…”

After the opening skit, the second song, Freestyle Shit, establishes that this is going to be unlike any other album out there. The beat is a collection of horns with a vocal sample and essentially no drum or baseline. In short, it is a very difficult beat to rap over…unless you’re Gangsta Gibbs. He attacks the beat like an expert, knowledgeably punching his way through with some reflective bars. It’s a pitch perfect start to the album, introducing the basic themes as well as informing us that Freddie is going to be taking on some unorthodox instrumentals.

Flat Tummy Tea single art by Jeff Jank

The beat switches on Flat Tummy Tea, Half Manne Half Cocaine, and the phenomenal Fake Names are just a couple of other moments in which Freddie impresses with his flowing abilities. However, it’s his navigation through Massage Seats that really sets Freddie apart. Even he admits that he doesn’t know how he figured out how to spit on this jagged and unpredictable beat.

Make no mistake, Bandana is still loaded with many smooth moments to complement the other rough cuts. Coke rap fans have their dreams come true in the form of Palmolive, a track featuring Pusha T and Killer Mike. The beat is difficult but smooth, tied nicely together by Killer Mike’s catchy hook and brought home by yet another fantastic feature from Push.

“I’m feeling like I might just leave, before I start a fire or a fight”

From Adult Swim’s trailer for ‘Bandana’

However, the main posse cut is the brilliantly symphonic and aptly titled Education. This song is the album cover incarnate, like watching the world beautifully burn down to the ground. Featuring Yasiin Bay and Black Thought, the three MCs mercilessly attack the haunting piano beat. They each express concerns on Black America and challenge the entire system face to face. Each performance is fantastic, but it’s Freddie’s ability to keep up with (and debatably outrap) these two titans that cements him as a new great.

While these standout tracks are brilliant, the reflective deep cuts are truly what makes Bandana what it is. One such example is Practice. This is the key moment on the LP in which Freddie addresses his infidelity and home-wrecking history interwoven with his drug dealing career. It’s as beautiful as it is heart wrenching. The beauty of his pain transitions with perfect juxtaposition into Cataracts.

“My hands are too busy catching blessings”

Cataracts is one of the most optimistic moments on the album. With a beat that sounds like a rebirth experience, Freddie busts plenty of religious bars on five percenter ideology. Its a beautiful moment, demonstrating his experience of self-salvation after the hell that he’s put himself and his family through. The final track, Soul Right, is an extension of these themes, with Freddie promising himself that he’ll right his wrongs.

From the ‘Crime Pays’ music video

It’s impossible to talk about Bandana without talking about what a summer album it is as well.  Each of the aforementioned tracks are great for nighttime reflection in nature, but there’s also some fun cuts. The first is one of the singles, Crime Pays, coming out on one of the hottest days of that summer. It feels like a paradoxically refreshing heatwave, with Madlib immersing you into the atmosphere while throwing cooling layers to it. The second verse is also Freddie’s most impressive flowing on the entire project, ripping the beat to shreds.

“Power, love, and loyalty, wash me clean today!”

And of course, there’s the Anderson .Paak-assisted Giannis. Simply put, this song is a lot of fun. It’s a summer song that will last a lifetime of nice weather. With an upbeat instrumental and .Paak’s lovable contributions, the two glide all over the song. Take note the title too, as Freddie established that, at age 37, he’s Hip-Hop’s MVP.

From the ‘Giannis’ music video

Bandana is a Hip-Hop achievement. Not only is it an impressive growth from Piñata, but its a fully fledged example of an artist experiencing true personal growth and maturation. Freddie had been an established talent, but Bandana will go down as the moment that he truly shined as one of the greatest to ever rap. The true brotherhood that he and Madlib share makes for one of the greatest modern, if not all time, Hip-Hop duos. There’s always an endless amount to say about their talents, both individually and together, but this will have to do. Montana can’t come soon enough!

Bandana Rating: Platinum

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, men of class. Art by: Kagan McLeod

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Jason Heilbronner | Twitter: @JasonHeilbronn1