Prior to his recent partnership with Keep Cool/RCA, Freddie Gibbs ran through the independent circuit for most of his career. Although he became an underground staple, Gibbs thinks he was subjected to this status because he was "blackballed" by the industry. During a recent interview with the Breakfast Club, Gibbs explained how his spat with former boss Jeezy played a part in his banishment.
Gibb's got his first taste of mainstream success as an artist on Jeezy's CTE record label. Although when he left the company in 2012 he insisted that there no beef between himself and Jeezy, things heated up between the two over the years. Freddie tells the Breakfast Club that this tension began over a pair of Timberland.
"It was a show in Chicago and [Jeezy] wanted some Timberlands or something like that," Gibbs detailed at the 10:23 mark. "They came back with the shoes and he was like, 'Aw, these the wrong ones' and tossed them to one of his homeboys... I felt like that was disrespectful to me. That was one of the straws that broke the camel's back."
At the beginning of the interview, Gibbs talked about ASAP Rocky's recent arrest in Sweden. Not many Americans or rappers can truly empathize with Rocky's situation more than Gibbs. Like Rocky, Gibbs also spent time as a prisoner in Europe. In 2016, Gibbs was arrested in France for allegedly raping a woman following a show in Austria the year prior. Gibbs was held in an Austrian jail for several weeks until he was granted bail. During his trial it was revealed that his accuser actually had a dream she was raped by Gibbs and the incident never happened. This led to the rapper being acquitted of all the charges. This situation led Gibbs to share his opinion on Rocky's predicament.
"It's bad," Gibbs said when describing jail in a foreign country at around the 2:00 mark. "I don't really know the ins and outs of his situation so I can't really speak on it, but I see it, that's a different country."
"I mean, I got accused of something I totally did not do at all, off a dream," Gibbs continued. "A woman's statement in Europe is considered hard evidence. Guilty until proven innocent, so ASAP Rocky is guilty until proven innocent."
Gibbs reflects on his relationship with Jeezy, his time in prison, and more on his latest album Bandana, which is out now.
