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Image via Dyllyn Greenwood
By Ethan Merrill
Freddie Gibbs has never been one to mince words. Renowned for his lyrical prowess and technical skill on the microphone, Gibbs’ popularity has continued to increase after more than a decade in the music industry. His latest release, Shadow of a Doubt, proved as much: Gibbs put together a varied list of star features (Gucci Mane, Tory Lanez, Black Thought, E-40) without sacrificing any of his uniquely gritty style.
As the Gary, IN native approaches the Midwest leg of his Shadow of A Doubt tour, issues in America are hitting harder to home. I talked with Gibbs over the phone about a myriad of subjects, from the Flint water crisis to the upcoming presidential election—and why Al Sharpton might be getting money with Donald Trump.
Thanks for taking the time out of the tour to talk to me. What do the next couple weeks look like for you?
Just getting it in, getting it done. I’m grinding right now, back in L.A. after just leaving Phoenix.
What’s different about tour life now that you’re a little more famous and have a family?
The hotels, man. In the beginning it was bad hotels—now they’re all five star hotels. For the most part, everything is progressing and growing. With time everything gets bigger. The crowd gets bigger and the venues get better. When you’re first starting off you have to pay your dues, you know?
The tour brings you throughout the Midwest this month. One of the bigger stories in the national media has been the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. I see a lot of similarities with Flint, and your hometown of Gary, Indiana. Does what’s happening in Flint resonate with you?
Yeah, definitely. I have cousins in Flint. To me, Flint and Gary are the same city—the same kind of thing going on. It’s a part of the Rust Belt, with low income and depressed jobs. It’s a closed down factory town just like Gary. With that said, you get the same kinds of problems—the high crime rate, the drugs, the violence.
With this water thing, it’s just a slap in the face. I can’t believe the federal government would let something like that go on, let alone the local government. The federal government, though? They didn’t step in immediately, and that was sad to see. If that had happened in Beverly Hills, they would have had the Army bring in water right away.
If [Flint] had happened in Beverly Hills, they would have had the Army bring in water right away.
Can you see something like that happening in Gary?
Probably so. You never know. I could definitely see it happening. If it can happen in Flint, it can happen in Gary.
What do you make of the connections between increased lead in blood levels and violence?
I just read something where one of Richard Nixon’s people came out and said the War on Drugs was basically just a war on black people. So it’s nothing new, man. They’ve been trying to get us to kill each other—and to kill us. They’ve been pumping drugs into the community for us to sell. We gotta do what we gotta do [to make a living]. I know I rap about it, but I’m rapping about the reality of it. Due to the lack of opportunity, what can you do? It’s not a conspiracy. We know it’s us against them, and them against us at the end of the day. So if you recognize that and understand that, you’re off to a good start.
Most people in urban areas aren’t able to reach the audiences that you are. What would you tell those people so they can stand up and have a voice?
You’ve got to get involved politically and vote. Take action. Stick to your business, raise your family and have a good moral fabric. I think if you do that, you’ll be fine. A lack of morals put a lot of black people in the position that they are in the community. We tear up our own communities sometimes. They didn’t have to fuck up the water in Flint for people to mess up their community: to kill other people, fuck up the schools, or not pick up the trash and be dirty.
That doesn’t have shit to do with the water. We’re doing that in ghettos across America. We’re not taking care of our own shit, and we need to do that. We need to step up our game as people first and take responsibility. Then we can go out there and take action against the system politically.
I like what they did in Baltimore for Freddie Gray. They really stood together and held tight. I salute what they did in Baltimore. The way they stood peaceful and did their thing. I’m not promoting the rioting or anything like that—I’m not into that. You’re not doing anything but tearing up your own shit, man.
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So what else can people in cities like Flint do?
There definitely should be some sort of protest. I don’t think anybody should hurt anybody, go to jail, or fuck up property worse than it already is. How come one of these black leaders hasn’t done anything? Where’s Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton—all those people when you need them? They preach all this shit, but they haven’t said anything about Donald Trump. Probably because they’re getting money with the dude. If I were getting money with Trump I wouldn’t say shit about him either.
This world revolves around paper, man. All you can do is get paper and be powerful. You have to gain power to gain paper. When we can control our own money and our own community—then we’ll be more powerful. But we don’t even want to buy shit from each other but drugs.
You have to gain power to gain paper. When we can control our own money and our own community—then we’ll be more powerful.
Do you think hip-hop plays a role in bringing these issues to the table?
I definitely think hip-hop is a part of the culture, and it’s a reflection of that culture. I think that we bring some of the issues to the table – but not all of them. A lot of people in rap are having fun right now. I don’t think rap is in that realm where it’s really trying to inform anybody. And that’s not a bad thing. We’re supposed to have fun with music. I’m having fun with it right now.
Of course, I’m going to speak on some things. You definitely have to be socially conscious in everything you do—not just music. People aren’t asking any country singer to deliver a Black Lives Matter message. Why aren’t they asking Taylor Swift or someone like that? It shouldn’t just all fall on the rap game, because it’s not a rap game issue or a black issue—it’s an American issue. Why don’t those artists make songs about that shit? Why don’t they do anything to raise awareness? They’ll go over to another country and give all their money, but they won’t go to Flint. They won’t go to Gary or Compton and spend any money.
Does hip-hop get a bad reputation for the messages it sends?
I think there are just a lot of motherfuckers that send a fucked up message sometimes. I do think rap gets a lot of blame that it shouldn’t. Rap is no different from heavy metal and all the things they’re talking about. It’s the same shit—rap is just more visible and vivid. We’re more of the torchbearers for the whole culture. I think we carry the torch for clothing. The whole aesthetic of the youth and what the streets look like—it’s not just the music. Of course it’s going to get a lot of the blame.
With that being said, do you think hip-hop is becoming over-commercialized?
Nah, man. People say that—but when they get a check they don’t say that. You can say it’s over-commercialized and all that shit—but it’s all about getting money. I just saw Lil Wayne on a Samsung commercial. I’m not mad at that shit at all. I love it. If you say rap is too commercial, then you’re tripping. You want to be able to do stuff like that [Samsung commercial]. Beauty is all in the eye of the beholder, so it’s all about what you like and what you do. If you think rap is too commercial, then you might not be getting paid off the shit.
I just saw Lil Wayne on a Samsung commercial. I’m not mad at that shit at all. I love it. If you say rap is too commercial, then you’re tripping.
Do you have any thoughts on the upcoming Presidential election?
It is what it is. Either way it goes, it’s us against the government—regardless of who gets elected. Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump—it’s still us against them.
Is that a mentality you’ve been raised to have?
Definitely—at all times. My people came from slaves, man. There hasn’t really been any retribution for that, you know? There will be one day.
Let’s end the conversation on a bit lighter note and talk some basketball. What went wrong with your Bulls this year?
Fuck the Bulls, man. I’m done with the Bulls. They’re so disappointing. I’m about to pick me a new team—I’m tired of this shit.
There’s a pretty good young team over there in Detroit…
I like your team in Detroit. I’m not about to shit on my Bulls and rep another team in the same division, though. But my Bulls are fucking up. They lost when they fired Tom Thibodeau. The Bulls are in shambles—they just need to hit reset on the whole team. If I were Jimmy Butler I would have left [last summer]. I would have gone to the Lakers or something. Go lose in L.A. I’d rather lose in L.A. than in Chicago.
Can anybody beat Golden State in the playoffs?
I think Golden State got it. It’s a wrap. The only team that can challenge them is the Spurs. If they beat the Spurs, then they win the championship. No one in the East can beat them—it’s going to be a sweep.
Not even a motivated LeBron?
No way LeBron gives them a run for their money. He doesn’t even want to be in Cleveland anymore. I think after this year he’s going to be so devastated that he’s out. That’s why he keeps talking about playing with Carmelo, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. He definitely wants to get another ring, and he’s not going to get it in Cleveland. No one wants to come play in Cleveland—it’s too cold, bro.
Freddie Gibbs is on tour in support of his ‘Shadow of a Doubt’ album. Find the tour dates here.
