Rapper Freddie Gibbs partners with producer The Alchemist to release Alfredo 2. It is the sequel to their 2020 effort Alfredo and the third collaboration of theirs when including 2018’s Fetti which was also helmed by Curren$y. Alfredo 2 sees its two chefs going back to the stove to cook up something fresh with ingredients that they each know so well: poetic street poetry by Freddie Gibbs and soulful production by The Alchemist. Gone, however, is the Italian mafioso influences of Alfredo with the preference of style instead going to the Japanese yazuka; hence the bowl of ramen that adorns the front cover.

Freddie Gibbs returns listeners to his lifestyle of crime, luxury and drugs. He offers clarity to the potential tribulations of his untenable situation on the standout track “Ensalada” which is amplified with a hearty chorus performed by Anderson .Paak. He fires explicit disses at foes and then theorises his eventual premature demise on “Lavish Habits”. He brings a fluid double time performance on “Gold Feet” in preparation for its guest appearance by JID who brings an excellent verse. He and Larry June get romantic on “Feeling” for the most laidback track of the album. All of Freddie Gibbs performances are set to the backdrop of The Alchemist being perfectly in sync; the beats are reflective, refined and never complicated enough to distract.

Freddie Gibbs is an incredible talent and he has now proven again as to how effective his projects can be when he is partnered with the one producer. The Alchemist provides some lavish production here that is always what it is supposed to be. The continued partnership between them revels across a dish served just right.

Alfredo 2
Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist
Featuring: Anderson .Paak, JID, Larry June
Production: The Alchemist
Singles: “1995”