Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, sometimes known as MadGibbs, is an American hip hop duo formed in San Francisco, California, in 2011. The duo is composed of Gary, Indiana-based Freddie Gibbs rapping and Oxnard, California native Madlib producing. The duo has released two studio albums, Piñata in 2014 and Bandana in 2019. They have also released five extended plays (EPs) together.
History
2011–13: Formation and debut EPs
On November 18, 2011, at the Madlib Medicine Show live event at Mighty in San Francisco, Madlib brought out Freddie Gibbs and announced their first collaborative EP titled Thuggin'. The project had been concealed for at least six months until it was made available for sale at the event.
Gibbs performed the title track and "Deep" during his collaborative set with Madlib. Following the surprise performance, five hundred copies of the limited-edition EP were sold at the venue. The EP was exclusively on sale at Madlib's shows, but was made available for retail purchase on November 21, 2011, by Madlib's Madlib Invazion imprint. The EP contains two main vocal tracks, instrumentals and two bonus beats. On January 16, 2012, a music video for the lead single "Thuggin'", directed by Jonah Schwartz, was premiered online.
Speaking with Jay Z's Life + Times, Gibbs decoded a few lines from "Thuggin'", explaining how he extracted from personal experiences in Gary, Indiana, for the track: "The song is "Thuggin'". First line, I say, We're not against rap, but we're against those thugs. Speaking about how society wasn't against rap music but against the thug element of it. I felt like that's what I represent," he said. "What I'm rapping is what I'm living. I'm using rap as a vehicle to get me away from that type of living. You may get to that level, selling drugs and engaging in certain activities in the street," he continued. "You might end up selling drugs to one of your family members, hell, you might end up shooting one of your family members. The drug and the crime shit really deteriorated our community - my community, at least. And then I say something about my uncle was addicted to drugs in the verse. That's real shit. That's a true example of a king to a fiend, someone who was a prominent and hard-working guy in the community that went from not having work and being addicted to crack cocaine."
Their second EP Shame was released on July 10, 2012, by Madlib Invazion in both digital and 12-inch vinyl formats. The eight-track EP includes two vocal tracks, "Shame" featuring singer BJ the Chicago Kid and "Terrorist", as well as instrumentals, a cappellas and two bonus beats by Madlib.
Their third EP Deeper, released on September 24, 2013, was the final EP in the trilogy before the release of their full-length LP, Piñata.
2014: Debut album
In a press release, Gibbs described Piñata as "a gangster Blaxploitation film on wax". "I will show you my flaws, I'll show you what I've done wrong and what I've fucked up at. I don't regret shit, but I'll show you the things I'm not proud of. I'm about to show niggas how to rap again. Everybody else is going to fall in line." Madlib added. "My stuff, it ain't fully quantized… it has more of a human feel, so it might slow down or speed up. So you have to be the type of rapper, like [MF Doom] or Freddie, who can catch that, or else you'll be sounding crazy."