Cold Day In Hell

Stepping out of Gary, Ind., Freddie Gibbs has been making moves for nearly a decade now. In the late \'00s, he had the Internet goin\' nuts. Rocking a compelling mix of thugged-out street tales and sensitive/intellectual musings, he was briefly signed to Interscope and has since dropped a gang of impressive mixtapes (such as *The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs* and *Full Metal Jackit*). He\'s also collaborated on EPs with Madlib and Statik Selektah; another one with Ski Beatz is in the works. On *Cold Day in Hell*, he joins forces with a diverse crew of fellow emcees, including big names like Young Jeezy (\"Twos and Fews\"), 2 Chainz (\"Neighborhood Hoez\"), and Memphis O.G. Juicy J (\"Str8 Slammin\'\"), as well as more obscure cats like B.J. the Chicago Kid, Alley Boy, and Polyester. The production is fantastic and surprisingly varied, with tons of soulful samples and more straightforward synth bangers. Vocally, Gibbs combines the raspiness of a young Ja Rule crossed with the deep thinking of Scarface or Big K.R.I.T. Check out \"Anything to Survive,\" \"Natural High,\" and \"Barely M.A.D.E. It.\"

The Indiana rapper's newest mixtape is arguably his most well-rounded, accomplished offering. He's recognized his weaknesses and produced a lush, versatile record that works around them.

When Gary, Indiana’s Freddie Gibbs signed to Young Jeezy’s CTE imprint earlier this year, it was hard to ignore the irony: Jeezy seemed like a poor choice to put out an album from the famously label-stymied rapper, given his recent struggles to release his own album. (Thug Motivation 103 has been delayed for a full…