FREDDIE GIBBS Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The vinyl version of Freddie Gibbs' latest LP Soul Sold Separately has finally dropped, doing ultimate justice to one of the rapper's few concept albums. Explaining the toxic relationship between the omnipresence of free drugs in the hip-hop scene and the exchanging of favours that may or may not artistically compromise on the work of the music-maker, Gibbs uses a smart meta-narrative to hammer home the fact that the process of selling one's soul for success in the biz doesn't happen with a single instantaneous flick of the pen, but a slow boiling of the pot - in which it is often impossible to know when the door is closed behind you. Our rabbit protagonist traverses dramatic and confident worlds of hellfire across 20 gut-punching trap cuts, with gloomy highlights including 'Zipper Bagz' and 'Gold Rings'.

Review: Freddie Gibbs and Madlib's hard hitting sophomore album Bandana has proven a real hit over the last five months. Now though, many fans get what they have been waiting for; an instrumental version that pairs things back to the essential beats. It makes for a record that covers plenty of grind - from sunny day and feel good instrumentals to much rawer, harder hitting beast that arm with attitude even without the explicit vocal deliveries. Plenty of the soulful samples remain in situ to help colour things and make this such a characterful record.