Chicago-based independent hip-hop record label, Closed Sessions, has just dropped the full mixtape for Closed Sessions, Vol. 2. They have been dropping singles for the last couple months and Vol. 2 features classic hip-hop artists such as Blu and Raekwon and also many rising talents such as Freddie Gibbs, Action Bronson and Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire. You can also listen and download Vol. 1, which was released 2010. Check out a series of behind-the-scenes videos for the making of Closed Sessions, Vol. 2 here. Download or listen to the mixtape on Soundcloud below. You can also check out a trailer for Vol. 2 below.
Freddie Gibbs and Madlib release their collaborative debut today with Thuggin’. The 6-track EP was originally announced and distributed at a recent Madlib show, immediately selling out 500 copies. Despite being over six months in the making, Thuggin’ has been a well-kept secret. The blogosphere was suddenly hit with a release date yesterday, finding out that the wait for a MadGibbs release would be short-lived. This sparked a craze within both artists’ cult-like followings, and for good reason. This EP is straight fire, pairing Freddie Gibbs’ intricate drug tales with Madlib’s trademark hypnotic loops. This is arguably the best work Madlib has done since 2004’s Madvillainy with MF DOOM, and Freddie Gibbs does the producer justice. Hear the excellent title track below, and purchase your copy in either vinyl or digital format here.
Track: “Scottie Pippen (feat. Freddie Gibbs)” Artist:Curren$y & Alchemist Release Date: April 20, 2011 Label: Jet Life Recordings/Warner Bros.
This cut, taken from Curren$y‘s fifth studio album Covert Coup, features Curren$y and Freddie Gibbs trading verses over a dark, moody backing track courtesy of The Alchemist. Although only two verses long, “Scottie Pippen” is a nonstop showcase of both rappers’ lyrical and technical talents. Curren$y’s distinctive New Orleans drawl opens the track, bringing in a few basketball references and his signature punch lines before allowing Freddie Gibbs to take over the mic — and take over he does. Gibbs’s verse highlights the rapper’s incredible flow and rhymes, with the Indiana-based rapper spitting perhaps the strongest verse on the entire album. Seriously, is it even allowed for a feature to go this hard on a track?
“Scottie Pippen (feat. Freddie Gibbs)” is from Covert Coup, out now via Jet Life Recordings/Warner Bros. You can download it for free here.
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