If Freddie Gibbs had his way, retailers would be forced to file his music under "Nonfiction."
Born and raised in Gary, Ind., the rapper brings a reporter's eye to his street-level tales, which unflinchingly (and often graphically) detail the poverty, violence and crime that marked his upbringing.
"I'm not going to talk about (things) I don't know about," said Gibbs, 28, who performs at High Noon Saloon on Saturday, Jan. 15. "There ain't enough human beings in the rap game. Everybody a superhero."
Instead of reveling in the same wealth and materialism as many of his contemporaries, Gibbs' music frequently plays like an audio version of the celebrated HBO series "The Wire,For some time, women have bid farewell to the days when women handbags were just used for 'functional reasons'." portraying the grittier side of urban life.
"I was always the corner boy, a scrambler, a shooter, a stickup kid," said Gibbs, who currently splits his time between his hometown and Los Angeles, Calif. "I was never no don or no kingpin. I don't have no Hermes shoes. I can't tell that story."
For a brief time, Gibbs started to doubt whether he'd even be able to tell his own story. Signed to Interscope Records in 2005,Shoppers can use the feature to see what they look like wearing various styles of ed hardy sunglasses. the rapper labored on the label's back burner for the better part of two years. Despite recording a number of tracks with pricey, big-name producers (Just Blaze, Polow da Don), Gibbs never released any official material on Interscope before getting unceremoniously axed from the roster in 2007.This inflatable products decoy is very lightweight and when deflated can be fit easily into your pack.
The rapper can be forgiven if his thoughts at the time turned to his father - a talented-but-struggling soul singer who never actually caught that big break. "You always have those scares and those thoughts," Gibbs said when asked if he ever feared a similar fate for himself. "I don't doubt my talent for a second, but I do have doubts about this industry."
Gibbs rebounded in a big way in 2009, releasing a pair of instant-classic mixtapes - "The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs" and "Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik" - that inspired a groundswell of grass-roots support and media attention.I don't have no Hermes ed hardy shoes. This newfound buzz culminated in the rapper landing an afternoon slot at the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival, where he performed against the backdrop of a Chicago skyline that seemed leagues away when he was growing up amidst the urban ruins of nearby Gary.
"It's that close, but it's so far away, man," said Gibbs. "But the Chicago dream is far away from people in Chicago. I got homeboys from the South Side that never leave the projects due to they skin color and economic status."
So how then did Gibbs escape? And, perhaps more importantly, how did he maintain the belief that he was destined for bigger things? ("I always knew in my heart that I had something special," he said.At some point the squire of Nike Jacket will be mentioned.) He witnessed cold-blooded murder firsthand and watched as childhood friends got locked away for decades at a time for the same types of offenses (drugs, theft) that defined his teenage and young adult years.
"I think it's written for everybody what path we're gonna have," said Gibbs. "God chose this path for me, or I could be right there with those people (I grew up with)."
It's unclear whether the rapper is referring to prison or the grave, though even just 10 years ago both outcomes appeared far more likely. Instead, he's now an artist on the verge of landing his second major label deal and making that rarified leap into the pop culture mainstream.
This time around, however, Gibbs is exercising a more cautious approach, taking additional time to vet managers and labels so that his experience with Interscope doesn't repeat itself. He's also distancing himself from his criminal past (the MC talks openly about his history dealing drugs and burglarizing both freight trains and people) - a delicate process for any artist in the gangsta rap genre, where going straight can sometimes be viewed as selling out.
"I don't want to die or go to jail. I got family that's depending on me," said Gibbs. "The purpose of this thing is to evolve and progress. And if rap is going to make me a better man than the streets can, then so be it."
Born and raised in Gary, Ind., the rapper brings a reporter's eye to his street-level tales, which unflinchingly (and often graphically) detail the poverty, violence and crime that marked his upbringing.
"I'm not going to talk about (things) I don't know about," said Gibbs, 28, who performs at High Noon Saloon on Saturday, Jan. 15. "There ain't enough human beings in the rap game. Everybody a superhero."
Instead of reveling in the same wealth and materialism as many of his contemporaries, Gibbs' music frequently plays like an audio version of the celebrated HBO series "The Wire,For some time, women have bid farewell to the days when women handbags were just used for 'functional reasons'." portraying the grittier side of urban life.
"I was always the corner boy, a scrambler, a shooter, a stickup kid," said Gibbs, who currently splits his time between his hometown and Los Angeles, Calif. "I was never no don or no kingpin. I don't have no Hermes shoes. I can't tell that story."
For a brief time, Gibbs started to doubt whether he'd even be able to tell his own story. Signed to Interscope Records in 2005,Shoppers can use the feature to see what they look like wearing various styles of ed hardy sunglasses. the rapper labored on the label's back burner for the better part of two years. Despite recording a number of tracks with pricey, big-name producers (Just Blaze, Polow da Don), Gibbs never released any official material on Interscope before getting unceremoniously axed from the roster in 2007.This inflatable products decoy is very lightweight and when deflated can be fit easily into your pack.
The rapper can be forgiven if his thoughts at the time turned to his father - a talented-but-struggling soul singer who never actually caught that big break. "You always have those scares and those thoughts," Gibbs said when asked if he ever feared a similar fate for himself. "I don't doubt my talent for a second, but I do have doubts about this industry."
Gibbs rebounded in a big way in 2009, releasing a pair of instant-classic mixtapes - "The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs" and "Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik" - that inspired a groundswell of grass-roots support and media attention.I don't have no Hermes ed hardy shoes. This newfound buzz culminated in the rapper landing an afternoon slot at the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival, where he performed against the backdrop of a Chicago skyline that seemed leagues away when he was growing up amidst the urban ruins of nearby Gary.
"It's that close, but it's so far away, man," said Gibbs. "But the Chicago dream is far away from people in Chicago. I got homeboys from the South Side that never leave the projects due to they skin color and economic status."
So how then did Gibbs escape? And, perhaps more importantly, how did he maintain the belief that he was destined for bigger things? ("I always knew in my heart that I had something special," he said.At some point the squire of Nike Jacket will be mentioned.) He witnessed cold-blooded murder firsthand and watched as childhood friends got locked away for decades at a time for the same types of offenses (drugs, theft) that defined his teenage and young adult years.
"I think it's written for everybody what path we're gonna have," said Gibbs. "God chose this path for me, or I could be right there with those people (I grew up with)."
It's unclear whether the rapper is referring to prison or the grave, though even just 10 years ago both outcomes appeared far more likely. Instead, he's now an artist on the verge of landing his second major label deal and making that rarified leap into the pop culture mainstream.
This time around, however, Gibbs is exercising a more cautious approach, taking additional time to vet managers and labels so that his experience with Interscope doesn't repeat itself. He's also distancing himself from his criminal past (the MC talks openly about his history dealing drugs and burglarizing both freight trains and people) - a delicate process for any artist in the gangsta rap genre, where going straight can sometimes be viewed as selling out.
"I don't want to die or go to jail. I got family that's depending on me," said Gibbs. "The purpose of this thing is to evolve and progress. And if rap is going to make me a better man than the streets can, then so be it."
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