Review: Piñata - Freddie Gibbs & Madlib

Adlai: Ever since the 2004 release of the classic Madvillainy, the infamous collaboration between producer Madlib and emcee MF DOOM, fans of the prolific producer have been waiting patiently for the his next great collaborative work. This being true, the release of Piñata, almost exactly a decade after Madvillainy (only 5 days short of a decade, Madvillainy was released on March 23rd, 2004), brought with it a whole host of expectations (and roller coaster riders). As quite a few fans have observed, Madlib's collab with Freddie Gibbs is the first time since Madvillainy that Madlib has worked with an emcee that is as talented a rapper as Madlib is a producer. For those who are unfamiliar with Freddie Gibbs, he's a hugely talented rapper hailing from Gary, Indiana (but living in L.A.), who many have compared to the legendary Tupac Shakur (dude even looks a bit like him). However, even concerning the sheer amount of talent going into the project, some people were still unconvinced; it happens far too often, especially in the world of Hip-hop, that the sum of two parts ends up far below what it should be. That made the release of Piñata an exciting yet tense prospect for many fans. If MadGibbs meshed and played off of one another, the album would have the potential to soar to Madvillainy heights. If, however, the pair failed to create chemistry, the album would be a massive disappointment to fans.

Now I'm not here to tell you what you already know, so I'll just get this out of the way; Piñata is an exceptional product, fusing Madlib's smooth production with the classic Gibbs tough talk almost perfectly. You will be disappointed if you were hoping for Piñata to be the second coming of Madvillainy (since it looks like that isn't happening any time soon). Piñata is a gangsta rap album in the tradition of gangsta rap albums; money, cars, drugs, guns, women and thugs, it's all here, wrapped up in the one-two punch that is the MadGibbs duo.

The album starts with a 49 second long skit called "Supplier," done in the classic Madlib style, with a looped drum beat backing up the sampled movie/interview. After that, though, there's only one other song that comes in under 2 minutes. The rest of the album is the polar opposite of Madvillainy; 3-5 (and one 8) minute songs about the thug life, with hooks and repeated thematic ideas. Those worried that MadGibbs would be a mismatch need not worry anymore. Gibbs voice beautifully complements the production and vice versa. The one perplexing moment for me was Mac Miller's verse on the title track, the 8 minute long "Piñata." His presence is as confusingly out of place as Vanilla Ice would be on a 2pac track. Ultimately, though, this is an extremely minor complaint as his inclusion on the album is balanced out by some great features including Raekwon, Earl Sweatshirt, Ab-Soul, BJ the Chicago Kid, Scarface and one of the best Danny Brown features I've ever heard. Bottom line is, Piñata is a great project. To compare it to Madvillainy would be to compare apples and oranges, but this comes as no surprise, since Madlib's ability to change styles is one rarely seen in music.

Notables: High (feat. Danny Brown), Harold's, Shitsville, Broken (feat. Scarface), Lakers (feat. Ab-Soul & Polyester The Saint), Shame (feat. BJ the Chicago Kid)

Less Notable: None, except for the two skits and MAYBE "Knicks"

Score: 9.5/10

Kirikou: Kirikou, like all other music heads was awaiting this album for a long time. And while it is a great album it did underwhelm me. Madlib can do no wrong in the hip-hop community and this is reinforced in this album’s production, making even the lyrical low points aurally pleasing. Gangsta Gibbs definitely shows up on this record too. Songs like “Broken” featuring Scarface, which details the systematic racism in America and its affect on low-income citizens, leading to his distrust of the government along with the confusing relationship with his father, an ex-cop. “Broken” also brings the album’s strongest feature from Scarface, who augments the concepts put forth by Gibbs. Gibbs’ strongest lyricism and concept construction is on the songs “Shitsville,”  “Deeper,” “Harold’s” and the beat-changing, shot-firing Jeezy diss track, “Real”. No song on this album sucks but the only thing that would bring me to keep the album playing for the title-posse-track, “Piñata” is the banging beat. Same goes for the relatively weak Danny Brown feature on
“High” and the good-vibe but fairly whack track “Lakers”, which both featured artists, Ab-Soul and Polyester the Saint add to greatly, let down only by the mediocrity of Gibbs’ sandwiching verses.

This album will definitely get bumped by yerboi consistently but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t more excited for the possible release of the instrumentals than anything. The conclusion I’ve come to is that in about half of the songs there is no driving reason to listen to them again for lyrical content – they don’t blow you away and are digestible in one listening, leaving you satisfied but not eager to hit repeat. THE OTHER HALF IS OFF THE FUCKING CHAIN THOUGH. So don’t get me wrong, this shit is ill.

Notables: Deeper, Harold's, Shitsville, Broken

Less Notable: Lakers, Knicks, Piñata and Danny Brown's verse on High

Score: 8/10

Noah: Sitting in-between Frank Ocean and Fuck Buttons in my iTunes library, Freddie Gibbs has always been similarly sorely out of place in the rap scene. Part of me wants to describe him as purist gangsta rap such as Tupac and GZA, while the other part of me wants to categorize him alongside party rappers such as Schoolboy Q and Kevin Gates (due to his consistent braggadocio subject matter). While this collaboration doesn't cement him into any particular style, the sounds of Gibbs and Dilla contemporary Madlib mesh genuinely well. I was surprised at times by the depth of lyrical content (something i've found to be rare for Gibbs), and that this album is cohesive throughout it's 17 tracks. My surprise quickly turned into reverence after a couple of listens, and I can confidently call this album one of my favorite releases this year (so far).

The soul and funk influences of 'Scarface' kick off the album, detailing Gibbs's smoky and white line-filled daily routine. Madlib shines through with the flipped high-pitched violins of "Deeper," before slipping into the fast paced 'Higher'. With a beginning reminiscent of 70's washing machine commercials and the metallic whine of playground swings, Gibbs and Danny Brown trade verses in a definite highlight of the project. Gibbs had featured on the track "The Return" off of Brown's 2013 LP Old, and Brown himself had admitted that Gibbs had bodied him on his own song. Hopefully this traded collaboration between the two will lead to some future projects.  "Real" is an absolutely devastating diss track against (formerly Young) Jeezy, detailing nearly every one of the rappers low career points. "Robes" (featuring the Odd Future members Domo Genesis and Earl Sweatshirt) provides a stunningly beautiful soul sample for the trio of rappers to run off of.

All of the tracks I have mentioned so far from the first part of the album were extremely impressive to me on a lyrical standpoint, but the second half of the project stand out in terms of production more so than Gibbs's delivery. During the second half, I do think that the drug and pussy talk get a bit stale. That would be a MUCH bigger complaint on a solo Gibbs project, but Madlib's constant playful flipping of the beats keep it interesting throughout. Tracks like "Shame" and "Robes" are not only standout tracks on this project, but probably in Gibbs's entire discography.

Notables: Robes (feat. Domo Genesis and Earl), Shame (feat. BJ the Chicago Kid), High (feat. Danny Brown), Lakers (feat. Ab Soul and Polyester the Saint), and Real

Less Notable: "Shitsville," "Knicks," "Watts (feat. Big Time Watts)"

Bottom Line: If you are a rap fan, you will 100% like this entire project. My "skippables"

 are mainly skippable due to their repetition, but I appreciate them for their creativity and their place in the narrative of the project. My main problems with this project have to do with Gibbs's repetition of lyrical content, but nonetheless, he is creative with his lyrics even when he basically says the same things… BUY this and support Gibbs and Madlib! 

Score: 9/10

Hannon: I was pretty much thrilled to get the leak for this album, as I had been awaiting its release. Madlib delivers again what can I say? My dude just does not put out bad music, and Piñata is no exception. The beats are smooth and groovy. The interludes are telling and comical - plus the vocal samples are hella soulful. This record has the west coast soul vibe I like to ride to - straight thuggin from beginning to end as gangsta rap is survived by none other than Freddie Gibbs. I can't ask much more from him. He raps about pimp shit, (money, hos, clothes, and shows) and he stays in the pocket so his flow hits hard. The only thing that is weak on this album are some of the features. Although I love the production on "Lakers" with the sample of Cannonball Adderley's: "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," Ab-Soul really failed me. And Polyester the Saint didn't really boost the caliber of the track either. The last track is another good example of bad features. Too little talent is spread over too much time and just leaves me wondering how in the hell Mac Miller got featured on a Madlib production?? 

Aside from the weak verses of featured artists on the last song, the feature of Danny Brown on "High" is definitely a highlight. I'm a big fan of the Detroit native and he doesn't disappoint- that track bangs! The other quality features come from Domo Genisis and Earl Sweatshirt on "Robes." They spit good verses over a great beat- there's nothing wrong with that. Last but not least the 'ol cyrus of this shit, Raekwon the Chef makes a solid 
appearance. That OG from the slums of Shaolin still got it!

Overall I enjoyed this record quite a bit and I definitely support Madlib and Gibbs for putting it out. Gibbs true thug passion keeps me entertained and the one and only Madlib delivers on another tremendous project. This is hot shit, so check it out, pick it up, ride to it.


Notables: High, Lakers, Scarface, Thuggin

Less Notable: Piñata, Knicks, Shitsville

Score: 8.5/10

Dynamicism Final Score: 8.75/10