Bleep

Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs teams up once again with LA beat king Madlib on his own Madlib Invazion imprint for their first collaborative LP Piñata, a cinematic exploration of everyday hood life. After a run of explosive EPs, the pair finally offer their first full-length together and it's a treat. While the Thuggin’, Shame, and Deeper EPs offered similar slice-of-life details on Gibbs’ troubled life back in Gary, Indiana, their shorter run times and less expansive sonic palettes now merely suggest they were dry runs for the masterful stroke contained here.

Soulful samples, Biggie ad libs and guest spots from, among others, Danny Brown, Raekwon and Scarface are just the icing on top of this team's delectable synergy. Switching from funk-laden double-time raps and straight-up Blaxploitation-inspired efforts, it's wide in scope and expansive in vision. Gibbs is viscerally honest, and this honesty has found its match in Madlib's emotive sampling. A true match made in hip-hop heaven, Gibbs and Madlib pull the best out of each other across this double LP.

On tracks like the smoothed-out funk of ‘Scarface’ Madlib pulls samples from all walks of life into the sonic world of Piñata to achieve his architectural vision. Post-punk-y basslines and reverbed horns make it sound like a party is going on downstairs as Gibbs stares straight into your soul with his tough talk. Better still is the NBA primetime matchup of ‘Lakers’ and ‘Knicks’ where Madlib twists soul and R&B elements into glacial bliss while Gibbs chases melodies across the audio channels with palpable glee.