Bandana Album Review
On Bandana, Madlib and Freddie Gibbs produce an album of the year candidate in a hard hitting sequel to the critically acclaimed Piñata.
Producer Madlib, otherwise known as Otis Jackson Jr., or his rapping alias Quasimoto is from Oxnard, California. (Sentences bout his music career until 2003 and 2004). The early 2000’s was met by Madlib with the release of the collaborations Chapmion Sound (J Dilla), and Madvillainy (MF DOOM), the latter of which is considered one of the most prolific hip-hop albums of all time. Most relevant, however, is Madlib’s collaboration history with Gibbs. He spent the 2010’s exploring this through the 2011 release of the “Thuggin” EP, and the release of two more EP’s “Shame” (2012), and “Deeper” (2013). These lead up to the eventual release of their first collaboration Pinata (2014), and hints at a future sequel project.
Hailing from Gary, Indiana, Freddie Gibbs gained notoriety with the release of projects like The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs, a collaboration of his work from before the album’s release. Following the release of two more projects “Baby Face Killa”, and “Cold Day in Hell”, Freddie signed with the label ESGN Records. His debut project with ESGN, “ESGN: Evil Seeds Grow Naturally”, was met with mostly positive reception. Following this project was the 2014 Pinata, a critically acclaimed album, and one of the best of this decade. This also marked the inception of the Madlib and Freddie Gibbs collaboration. Following the release of “Shadow of a Doubt”, Gibbs was arrested and kept in prison in Europe under allegations of sexual assault and abuse. After several months of being incarcerated, he was released as the charges were dropped, going on to release “You Only Live 2Wice” shortly after returning to the United States. 2018 saw him tease several snippets from the sequel to Gibbs and Madlib’s Pinata, Bandana, alongside the release of the self-titled “Freddie”, and “Fetti”, a compilation project between him and Curren$y. Following that release, Gibbs dropped several singles for Bandana, including “Flat Tummy Tea”, “Crime Pays”, and “Giannis”.
First of all, Gibbs and Madlib come out swinging on this project. The sound is an excellent cross between coke-filled gangster-rap braggadocio, and strong emotional waves as Madlib’s production sets an excellent backdrop for Gibbs delivery. Once again Gibbs shines with excellent storytelling of drug dealing and gangster related activities. Paired with his impeccable flow and delivery, Bandana highlights all of the things that Gibbs has made a name for himself with, and more. Half-Manne / Half cocaine is amazing; Fake Names is one of the best songs I have heard this year, Madlib’s sinister yet understated production accentuates Gibbs tough, yet smooth delivery. He grows on Bandana though, rapping about troubled relationships emotionally, and the history of the oppression of black people on Practice and Education respectively. Consequently, we see Gibbs at his peak on this project, hitting higher highs and growing without departing from his best style as illuminated by a song like Cataracts, which is both soulful and energetic, overall just a great cut. Even outside of Gibbs own rapping, the features here strike a perfect balance between producing amazing bars, and not outshining Gibbs own verses. .Paak assists Gibbs’ easy layup on Giannis. Pusha T offers one of his best guest verses on Palmolive, and of course Black Thought and Mos Def obliterate Education. While there are a few standout songs, of which two have been previously mentioned, Bandana essentially lacks “filler songs”, punching way above its weight in delivering song after song of either hardcore bars or soulful emotional cuts. Additionally, this project is amazing as an album in its cohesiveness; all of the songs share some similarity to each other, be it lyrically or sonically. It’s no concept album by any stretch of the imagination, but it doesn’t sound all over the place — a problem faced by both Gibbs and many other notable artists releasing albums in 2019.
Relative to piñata, one of the more notable differences lies in Madlib; he seems to almost be a half-step behind Gibbs on this one. In the past, he was able to deliver beats that on their own acted like half of a one-two combo that knocked you out. However here, he seems to take more of a supportive role, instead making beats that only elevate Gibbs, and not really hit you on their own. That said, these beats are still amazing, and Gibbs does slightly falter in a few situations. On Palmolive, he does drop an anti-vax line that is just not really that great, and on Education, his verse does highlight misogynistic tendencies in his 21 Savage shot.
Overall, I would say this album is almost certainly going to be one of the best of 2019, if not one of the best of the decade. It seems like a current culmination of the heat Gibbs packs, and the majesty of Madlib production. The album outdoes all of Gibbs previous work - Piñata included, and is probably one of the best Madlib collaborations, potentially rivaling Madvillainy in terms of quality.
Best songs: Half-Manne / Half-Cocaine, Palmolive, Fake Names, Giannis, Practice, Cataracts, Education.
Rating:
Flow and Delivery: 9.8/10
Lyrics: 9.6/10
Production: 9.2/10
Overall: 9.5/10
What do you think about this album, as an entire project, or the individual songs?
How do you think Gibbs and Madlib will progress as a duo?
I hope you enjoyed this review.
-J
Producer Madlib, otherwise known as Otis Jackson Jr., or his rapping alias Quasimoto is from Oxnard, California. (Sentences bout his music career until 2003 and 2004). The early 2000’s was met by Madlib with the release of the collaborations Chapmion Sound (J Dilla), and Madvillainy (MF DOOM), the latter of which is considered one of the most prolific hip-hop albums of all time. Most relevant, however, is Madlib’s collaboration history with Gibbs. He spent the 2010’s exploring this through the 2011 release of the “Thuggin” EP, and the release of two more EP’s “Shame” (2012), and “Deeper” (2013). These lead up to the eventual release of their first collaboration Pinata (2014), and hints at a future sequel project.
Hailing from Gary, Indiana, Freddie Gibbs gained notoriety with the release of projects like The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs, a collaboration of his work from before the album’s release. Following the release of two more projects “Baby Face Killa”, and “Cold Day in Hell”, Freddie signed with the label ESGN Records. His debut project with ESGN, “ESGN: Evil Seeds Grow Naturally”, was met with mostly positive reception. Following this project was the 2014 Pinata, a critically acclaimed album, and one of the best of this decade. This also marked the inception of the Madlib and Freddie Gibbs collaboration. Following the release of “Shadow of a Doubt”, Gibbs was arrested and kept in prison in Europe under allegations of sexual assault and abuse. After several months of being incarcerated, he was released as the charges were dropped, going on to release “You Only Live 2Wice” shortly after returning to the United States. 2018 saw him tease several snippets from the sequel to Gibbs and Madlib’s Pinata, Bandana, alongside the release of the self-titled “Freddie”, and “Fetti”, a compilation project between him and Curren$y. Following that release, Gibbs dropped several singles for Bandana, including “Flat Tummy Tea”, “Crime Pays”, and “Giannis”.
First of all, Gibbs and Madlib come out swinging on this project. The sound is an excellent cross between coke-filled gangster-rap braggadocio, and strong emotional waves as Madlib’s production sets an excellent backdrop for Gibbs delivery. Once again Gibbs shines with excellent storytelling of drug dealing and gangster related activities. Paired with his impeccable flow and delivery, Bandana highlights all of the things that Gibbs has made a name for himself with, and more. Half-Manne / Half cocaine is amazing; Fake Names is one of the best songs I have heard this year, Madlib’s sinister yet understated production accentuates Gibbs tough, yet smooth delivery. He grows on Bandana though, rapping about troubled relationships emotionally, and the history of the oppression of black people on Practice and Education respectively. Consequently, we see Gibbs at his peak on this project, hitting higher highs and growing without departing from his best style as illuminated by a song like Cataracts, which is both soulful and energetic, overall just a great cut. Even outside of Gibbs own rapping, the features here strike a perfect balance between producing amazing bars, and not outshining Gibbs own verses. .Paak assists Gibbs’ easy layup on Giannis. Pusha T offers one of his best guest verses on Palmolive, and of course Black Thought and Mos Def obliterate Education. While there are a few standout songs, of which two have been previously mentioned, Bandana essentially lacks “filler songs”, punching way above its weight in delivering song after song of either hardcore bars or soulful emotional cuts. Additionally, this project is amazing as an album in its cohesiveness; all of the songs share some similarity to each other, be it lyrically or sonically. It’s no concept album by any stretch of the imagination, but it doesn’t sound all over the place — a problem faced by both Gibbs and many other notable artists releasing albums in 2019.
Relative to piñata, one of the more notable differences lies in Madlib; he seems to almost be a half-step behind Gibbs on this one. In the past, he was able to deliver beats that on their own acted like half of a one-two combo that knocked you out. However here, he seems to take more of a supportive role, instead making beats that only elevate Gibbs, and not really hit you on their own. That said, these beats are still amazing, and Gibbs does slightly falter in a few situations. On Palmolive, he does drop an anti-vax line that is just not really that great, and on Education, his verse does highlight misogynistic tendencies in his 21 Savage shot.
Overall, I would say this album is almost certainly going to be one of the best of 2019, if not one of the best of the decade. It seems like a current culmination of the heat Gibbs packs, and the majesty of Madlib production. The album outdoes all of Gibbs previous work - Piñata included, and is probably one of the best Madlib collaborations, potentially rivaling Madvillainy in terms of quality.
Best songs: Half-Manne / Half-Cocaine, Palmolive, Fake Names, Giannis, Practice, Cataracts, Education.
Rating:
Flow and Delivery: 9.8/10
Lyrics: 9.6/10
Production: 9.2/10
Overall: 9.5/10
What do you think about this album, as an entire project, or the individual songs?
How do you think Gibbs and Madlib will progress as a duo?
I hope you enjoyed this review.
-J
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