Freddie Gibbs & the Alchemist - “Alfredo ii” Review
Written by Beau Croxton
With Alfredo II, Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist deliver a cinematic, smooth and fully-satisfying sequel to their original, cult-classic collaboration.
Back in 2020, rapper Freddie Gibbs and producer The Alchemist released their first direct collaboration as a duo, Alfredo. The record (cleverly named after a combination of the “Al” and “Fred” of their names) landed during the pandemic to significant critical acclaim and reached a cult-classic status– similar to Freddie's prior records with Madlib. Freddie & the Alchemist consistently put out highly acclaimed projects individually, and Alfredo II continues to prove that when you put this particular 2 and 2 together, it only results in pure magic. Alfredo II was partly recorded at Rick Rubin’s legendary studio, Shangri La; a place where artists are known to go when they really need to lock-in, and that focus is heard front-to-back on this record.
In the last 40 seconds of their lead single for the album, “1995”, Freddie says “I’m back bitch! 50 in the clip.” Damn right. Freddie Gibbs constantly fires off top-shelf bars that mix street wisdom and high art, while The Alchemist brings his exquisite, dusty and luxurious beats. While their first joint-LP had a bit of a darker edge at times, Alfredo II finds most of its songs shimmering with a more dreamy vibe, akin to “Scottie Beam” from Alfredo or some old Roy Ayers’s deep-cuts, with a smooth 70s sheen. It's an oasis of rich, exotic beats, and quotable bars with tasteful flows.
Thanks to the elaborate visual world and Japanese samples that the duo supplied for the record, this album feels like an epic, slow-mo, Yakuza mobster scene in a Japanese nightclub , full of weed-smoke and fancy suits (see Alfredo: The Movie above). Listening to Alfredo II draws up imagery of brightly-lit neon signs lighting up the dark streets of Tokyo at night, or even the imagery of a simmering, purple and pink summer sunset....whichever way you picture the world that this record creates, the vibes are unmatched. With all its retro grooves, cinematic samples and Japanese flair– it often feels like a vivid, Tarantino-movie-style hip hop soundtrack.
Lead single “1995” opens with nostalgic, gospel vocals and a retro beat. The vibe is so heavy it feels like it would be a perfect track to listen to as you sit back and relax in a pool float while smoking a cigar. Gibbs thrills with bad-ass, quotable lyrics immediately – “Godfather Kane, I turned these sons to bastards / Belt to ass like Joseph Jackson” The track really starts to burn bright when searing, shredding guitar leads tear it up behind Gibbs’ artful bars: “with fetti thick like molasses, I’m out here stacking cabbage”. “Mar A Lago” moves with a dark and mysterious beat that streamlines the high quality further. “Lemon Pepper Steppers” is a dark, tough, stank-face inducing cut. Freddie is locked in and rapping like no tomorrow– he sounds hungry. His alternating flows on this track are masterful, while jazzy guitar samples keep things smooth. This track is a bold highlight, as Gibbs’ flow is on fire and ever-changing; it’s one of the most engaging tracks.
“Ensalada” keeps the winning streak going. Anderson Paak’s hook is classic and brings an immense amount of soul to Freddie’s bars — “it makes my heart break when I see gangsters turn to angels”. It’s got great samples of dreamy descending piano lines , chimes, and jazzy guitars. Ensalada is easily one of the best tracks.
“Empanada” is full of retro twinkling samples and a bassline that's so deep in the pocket of the groove– it would crush on the Shaft soundtrack. The beat between the bass and snare is not pronounced, in fact it's a bit muted, but even so– this track slaps hard, in the sense that everything else in the mix hits rhythmically. Incredible soul samples get completely warped for some great psychedelic moments — The Alchemist really shines in the second half of the track.
“Skinny Suge II” is a bit of a sequel to an Alfredo track and has great loops with fretless bass and screaming keys that sound like a banshee wailing in the night— it’s one of the most interesting and peculiar beats on the project by far. It's got a great, cold, unsettling feeling to it and Freddie is on his A-game.
“Feeling” is a very good track when Freddie is firing off on a steady flow, but unfortunately Larry June’s verse sounds like he stepped out of his hotel room hungover to record his feature —he almost sabotages the track. Luckily, Freddie’s rapid Bone Thugz-esque flow makes the track soar…nice try Larry. Alchemist shines yet again with this track's beat, and a great transition of harmonized flutes and someone speaking Japanese flows spectacularly into the next track. “I Still Love H.E.R” brings things back on track to being much more even. It thrives with a sweet, twinkling piano , and radiates with soul, via a vocal vibrato loop.
At this point in the record– we get to an unbelievable stretch of back-to-back, high quality tracks. “Shangri La” is a track that name-checks the studio. It’s serene in its samples, twinkling chimes and woodwinds, and Freddie gets in a killer pocket where he fires on all cylinders. Complete with its fun “Yeah hoe!” samples, “Shangri La” is a huge high point. “Gas Station Sushi” has an incredible beat with wobbling synths and fretless bass. The instrumental sounds like an old Asian jazz-fusion band, and it simmers in a grand, dark tone in certain spots . Gibbs gets extra braggadocious with the claim– “Could run that Fetti by myself, I’m the best with Al”
Alfredo II album art. Out now
“Lavish Habits” is a standout that triples down on the vibeyness with some incredible harmonizing guitar loops. Only a few bars in, Freddie takes shots at Gunna and humiliates DJ Akademiks: “I′m still gon' squeeze Akademiks titties, that fat bastard/ Gunna dissed me and took a plea, he a rat bastard” This line surely had folks hysterical with laughter around the world…Gibbs is just funny like that.
Another massive highlight is “Gold Feet” with JID– the beat alone is its own masterpiece. It has twinkling keys that pour down on the beat like a glorious, sonic rainstorm. Freddie displays a killer double-time flow amongst many others all in one track, while JID’s crisp masterful verse cuts through everything as a standout moment on the record. The contrast between the beat, Freddie, and JID’s crispy, fast flow works to great effect. “Jean Claude” is beyond solid and “A Thousand Mountains” closes the album on a very high note– as Gibbs cycles through about 5 different flows over dusty samples and killer drums. Gibbs hilariously exclaims over flute samples: “I should go get me a flute and disappear in the mountains, ya bitch!’.
Alfredo II alternate album artwork— out now
With a sequel, all you can hope for is that its quality of the original is met. Every bit of excellence that made the original Alfredo a cult-classic is well on display here– just in its own fancy, new clothes. Gibbs might have a little more variety with his flows on the first album, with more of a loose, freestyle feel. However,, Freddie might be even sharper in the sequel—he is tighter on a rhythmic level and he moves with more precision, with just as many quotable lines. He’s been here before with Alfredo, but perhaps his target is far more clear; he’s already been primed for the attack. Per usual, The Alchemist is cooking harder than Walter White — Alfredo II is chock full of retro loops and samples that are so vibey that they could make MF Doom blush through the mask. Alchemist has got a signature style that is timeless and it never fails to deliver..but there's just something about what he cooks up for Freddie that's extra potent.
Perhaps there’s a little more darkness and drive on the first project, but the retro-Japanese, neon, dream-sequence vibe on this project is just as intoxicating to be honest– maybe even more…depending on who you ask. It’s wild that they matched the magic with an equally amazing but different project.
There’s also the argument that “more is more” — Alfredo 2 has more bang for your buck at 48 minutes opposed to its predecessor’s 35 minutes, and the sequel doesn't deviate far from their usual strength throughout its runtime.
As they say, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”...and this collaboration has a hyper-specific chemistry that hardly needs alterations. Ultimately, what the listener craves is more of that delicious and reliable “Alfredo.” This record delivers all that and then some; even if they slightly altered their classic recipe– it's just as tasty.
In “Alfredo: The Movie”, Alchemist turns to Freddie and says — “Even at the top of a fucking mountain, there’s always another peak”. Here we have it folks– it’s another glorious peak indeed.
Occult Highlights: Ensalada, Lemon Pepper Steppers, 1995, Lavish Habits, Shangri La, Gold Feet, Gas Station Sushi
(…but we recommend you spin the whole thing as you disappear in the mountains)