Freddie Gibbs

Gibbs' rap career began in 2004, self-releasing his first full-length project, a mixtape titled Full Metal Jackit, which he followed up with a sequel that same year.[11] Around that time, he was signed to Interscope Records and began working on his debut studio album, but was dropped from the label in late 2006, when the man that signed him, Joe Weinberger, left the label.[12][13] Gibbs released his debut extended play Str8 Killa in August 2010.[14]

Gibbs (right) with Young Jeezy in August 2011

He would continue self-releasing mixtapes until 2011, when he signed to Young Jeezy's record label CTE World. In February that year, Gibbs announced on his website that he had joined up with fellow rappers King Chip and The Cool Kids to form the supergroup Pulled Over by the Cops (P.O.C.).[15] In October, he released the mixtape Cold Day in Hell, which featured guest appearances from Young Jeezy, Juicy J, and 2 Chainz, among others.[16] The mixtape received significant coverage from publications such as Pitchfork and XXL, appearing on the latter's Freshman List Class of 2010.[17][18] Gibbs and hip hop producer Madlib released their first and second extended plays, titled Thuggin' and Shame, in September 2011 and June 2012, respectively.[19][20] The EPs served as previews for their upcoming collaborative album, which was originally titled Cocaine Piñata, and later renamed to simply Piñata.[21][22]

Shortly after the release of Cold Day in Hell, Gibbs announced that his next mixtape would be a Gangsta Grillz mixtape titled Baby Face Killa. It was released on September 25, 2012 and featured guest appearances from Pharrell Williams, Jadakiss, Jay Rock, Currensy, YG, and others.[23] The second track from the album, "Still Livin'" was featured on the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V's virtual in-game radio station Radio Los Santos.[24]

On December 11, 2012, Gibbs announced that he was no longer a member of Young Jeezy's CTE label. He elaborated saying that there is no beef between the two rappers.[25] On May 27, 2013, Freddie Gibbs announced he would be releasing his debut album ESGN (Evil Seeds Grow Naturally) on July 9, 2013 through his own record label of the same name.[26] The album ended up being released on June 20, three weeks before the planned release date, due to a leak.[27]

In September 2013, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib released the final EP from the Piñata previews trilogy, Deeper. Piñata was eventually released on March 18, 2014. The album received universal acclaim from music critics with a score of 82 on the review site Metacritic.[28] It peaked at number 39 on the US Billboard 200 and number seven on the US Top Rap Albums charts. On July 1, 2014, Gibbs, Young Thug, and ASAP Ferg released a single titled "Old English".[29] It was produced by Salva and Nick Hook and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 23, 2020 for selling over 500,000 certified units.[30] In October 2014, Gibbs and Madlib released their fourth EP, titled Knicks (Remix).[31]

In March 2015, Gibbs released a three-track EP titled Pronto, which was followed up by his second solo studio album, Shadow of a Doubt, released on November 20, 2015.[32]

During Madlib's talk with Red Bull Music Academy on May 7, 2016, he announced that he and Freddie Gibbs would be releasing their second collaborative studio album titled Bandana.[33] A few days later, Gibbs and Madlib announced that Bandana will be the second installment of a planned trilogy, following Piñata, and that the third and final album will be called Montana.[34]

In January 2017, Currensy announced that a collaborative album between him, Gibbs, and record producer The Alchemist entitled Fetti was in production.[35]

On March 8, 2017, Gibbs returned from a hiatus by announcing his third solo studio album, You Only Live 2wice, along with its release date of March 31, 2017.[36] The only single, "Crushed Glass", was released on the same day alongside a music video directed by Eric Nelson.[37] In June 2018, he released his fourth studio album, Freddie without any prior announcements.[38]

On September 21, 2018, Currensy announced that his half of Fetti had been completed, nearly two years after its initial announcement.[39] Five days later, Gibbs posted the tracklist and release date on social media.[35] The album was released on October 31, 2018.[40]

On February 7, 2019, Madlib posted a picture of his cartoon alter-ego Quasimoto on Instagram with the cryptic caption "we are clearing samples ...", alluding to Bandana being finished recording.[41] A few days later, Gibbs shared a clip of himself with Madlib, further teasing the project with Gibbs stating that they "Might put some shit out. Might. Thinking about it. We thinking about it."[42] The next day, on February 13, Gibbs continued to tease upcoming music and stated on his Instagram story that the "Album is done. Finished. Finito."[43] On February 20, Gibbs and Madlib released the single "Flat Tummy Tea" and officially announced Bandana. The album was released on June 28, 2019 through Keep Cool Records, RCA Records, Madlib Invazion, and ESGN, to further critical acclaim.[44][45] A titular second single, "Bandana", featuring the dancehall artist Assassin, was released on March 5, 2019.[46]

On May 27, 2020, Gibbs and The Alchemist announced that they would be releasing a collaborative album titled Alfredo.[47] The album's lead single, "1985", was released one day later alongside an accompanying music video directed by Nick Walker.[48] The album was released the following day on May 29, 2020.[49] It debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200, making it both Gibbs' and The Alchemist's highest-charting album to date.[50][51] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards,[6] making him the first artist from Gary, Indiana to be nominated for a best album award by the Grammys since Michael Jackson's HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I was nominated in 1995.[52]

In June 2020, Billboard reported that Gibbs had signed to Warner Records.[53] He would then go on to release his first two singles through the label: "4 Thangs", which features guest appearances from fellow rapper Big Sean and hip hop producer Hit-Boy,[54] as well as "Gang Signs", featuring fellow rapper Schoolboy Q, in October 2020 and February 2021, respectively.[55]