\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe East Village\u2019s TabeTomo Ramen is quiet on a Tuesday afternoon \u2014 but not for long. Freddie Gibbs<\/a> and The Alchemist<\/a> soon stroll in, with the former colorfully explaining his tardiness: \u201cI was underwear shopping\u2026I\u2019m gonna get fucked in these,\u201d he informs, admiring the three-pack as he sits in the sleek, empty restaurant. The duo, who released their Alfredo 2<\/em> album in July, arrive with several men who join Gibbs\u2019 manager, Ben \u201cLambo\u201d Lambert, in the back corner of the restaurant. Customers periodically come in and ogle our nearly 10-man group, with one younger man \u2014 and surprisingly, an older chef \u2014 coming to our table to laud Gibbs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGibbs downs several sake shots, but he didn\u2019t need those to be as unfiltered as he is on social media. He riffs on his love life before eyeing the recorder and striking it from the record, and tells me about how a chance jail encounter with a Parisian named Akpan Love led him to a lawyer named Dr. Maya, who helped acquit him of his 2016 sexual assault charges; with the delivery of a seasoned comedian, he tells us about Love being released from jail then unexpectedly visiting him two days later. He also reflects on the difficulties of making it out of Gary, Indiana, with labels asking him if they could bill him as a Chicagoan to make him more marketable.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019m like, not really,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThat\u2019s my cousins and my family. But I couldn\u2019t do that because I knew eventually down the line somebody\u2019s going to be like, \u2018Wait a minute, motherfucker!\u2019\u201d Things worked out regardless, with his street tales and Freddie Kane persona amassing one of rap\u2019s most impressive catalogs, including 2020\u2019s Grammy-nominated\u00a0Alfredo<\/em>\u00a0with Alchemist, who says it\u2019s his most successful collaborative project.<\/span> Gibbs says it\u2019s his most successful project period, crediting the branding and merch. They ran it back in July with a sequel that pivoted from Gibbs telling stories inspired by the Italian Mafia to the Japanese Yakuza.<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \n\t\u201cAll rappers talk about the same shit,\u201d he contends. \u201cWe all talk about fuckin\u2019 bitches, gettin\u2019 money, violence, shit like that. Andre 3000 broke the shit down simple as fuck: He said rap ain\u2019t nothing but talking shit. When I heard that from him, I was like, \u2018Damn, you know what? I just got to talk shit differently than everybody else.\u2019\u201d They paired the album with a short film shot in Japan, which satisfied both of their appetites for jumping into cinema. They also shot the video for \u201cA Thousand Mountains<\/a>\u201d in rural Japan; they\u2019re set to return after the upcoming U.S. leg of their tour. \u201cGot some surprises,\u201d Alchemist promises of the tour. \u201cSo whoever comes, they\u2019re going to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tTheir chemistry is easy to hear on the Alfredo<\/em> series and noticeable in person. Alchemist gives Gibbs his space to riff, but knows when to interject and add on to the conversation. In the midst of our discussion, their banter yields an idea for the tour. \u201cThis is how all good ideas happen,\u201d Alchemist says. \u201cNot in meetings, when you just eatin\u2019 fucking ramen, and drinking [sake.]\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tTheir promotional run is later than usual, but some of that may have had to do with Alchemist being on tour this summer with Erykah Badu for their upcoming Abi & Alan<\/em> album. It\u2019s just one project of many that fans are anticipating from Alchemist. Last December,\u00a0he told\u00a0Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a>\u00a0that 2025 was set to be his \u201cbiggest year ever,\u201d and he is delivering on that goal, collaborating with Yaasin Bey, Hit-Boy, Mobb Deep, Boldy James, Armand Hammer, and more on upcoming projects.<\/span> But right now, it\u2019s Alfredo<\/em> season. The two agree that the importance of the series isn\u2019t just the musicality of Gibbs\u2019 sticky, rapid-fire cadences over Alchemist\u2019s smoky production, it was the tangible success that they hope will inspire other indie lyricists.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIf it was as dope as it is and didn\u2019t [garner] the success that we\u2019re having, it wouldn\u2019t be [effectively] leading by example,\u201d Alchemist says. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to show some of these younger guys, \u2018Yo, you can be successful doing that.\u2019 To be honest, the Grammy nomination did that, and I didn\u2019t expect that on the first album. They used to try to put the music that wasn\u2019t commercial in these shoe boxes, like \u2018You stay there underground.\u2019 We started coming out of the fucking shoebox, and we\u2019re here on the same playing field as all the big dogs. I think that\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \n\tThey recently told Complex<\/em><\/a> that they\u2019re already cooking up new music. During our talk, Gibbs hints at additional songs coming from the Alfredo 2<\/em> cycle. \u201cWe still got more to do,\u201d he says. \u201cShit, we going do deluxes, all this shit. We going to ride this motherfucker out.\u201c Over a plentiful spread of Japanese cuisine and sake, Alchemist and Gibbs spoke to Rolling Stone<\/em> about Alfredo 2<\/em>, their musical crafts, and recording at Malibu\u2019s legendary Shangri-La studios.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWhat\u2019s it like moving around in Japan?\u00a0<\/strong> \n\tThe Alchemist:<\/strong> They\u2019re big on honor and respect out there. You\u2019ll come home and feel like you need to be more honorable. They\u2019re so respectful and make you feel like you need to be more [respectful as well].\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGibbs:<\/strong> I felt that way too when I came home. I cussed my baby mama out, and I was like, \u201cDamn, I\u2019m raising my voice.\u201d They don\u2019t even yell over there. I\u2019m like, \u201cSorry bitch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tY\u2019all recorded most of the album at Shangri-La studios. What was that like?<\/strong> \n\tAlchemist:<\/strong> It also felt like we needed to make good because that studio is so ill and you know how much legendary shit goes on over there. We was having fun, but I also knew we were going to get a lot of good shit out of these sessions. We are not going to waste this. [It\u2019s like] having a nice dope canvas. If you\u2019re a painter, [you\u2019re like] \u201cI\u2019m not going to fuck this up.\u201d It was a no-brainer for me. Yeah, we was able to work over there. We had the studio locked in for a whole week. We was sleeping there some nights.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHow do you think the technological advances of the recording process have affected your craft?<\/strong> There\u2019s new beatmaking tools where you can pull the instruments out of an older song in a way that you weren\u2019t able to do so before.\u00a0<\/strong> \n\tFreddie, how did you feel about the reception to $oul $old $eparately<\/a><\/em>?\u00a0<\/strong> \n\tI was trying to search and find a tweet where I basically said \u201cGibbs\u2019 discography stacks up against all of the artists in the Big 3 discussions.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong> \n\tNew rap fans are deranged. Anything that\u2019s not about their guy is \u201chating.\u201d<\/strong> \n\tGibbs:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been laughing at it. I like Team Gunna vs. Team Young Thug<\/a> right now. They talking about how both of them snitched. They showed that video [of Thug in the interrogation room]. I was like, \u201cDamn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThey said that had been out and I didn\u2019t know that.\u00a0<\/strong> \n\tAlchemist: <\/strong>Once all that dies down, all you got left is the artistry. If you\u2019re not putting fire out, a lot of these artists that were real big, when that happens, that varnish gets stripped off them and then you see what it really is. And that\u2019s not for anyone in particular. I\u2019m saying I\u2019ve seen it happen. To have longevity you have to have something that has some type of quality to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGibbs:<\/strong> I got a chip on my shoulder when it comes to MCing because I\u2019m from Gary. There ain\u2019t a lot of MCs [from there] and I love the art of MCing. It\u2019s like a sport to me. I love being a great rapper. I don\u2019t know why it\u2019s in me like that, but I love that I take my craft so serious. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t even rap with people if they\u2019re not serious. This shit is real to me, [like] I\u2019m about to strap up and get a quarterback sack or something when I go in the booth. That\u2019s how I feel. I think the day I lose that, then I\u2019m going to stop. But I don\u2019t know if I ever will. I feel like I\u2019m addicted to it. Of course, I have my days like, \u201cFuck that rap shit.\u201d But then I\u2019ll listen to somebody else rap and the competitor in me can\u2019t help but to be like, \u201cI could do that. I would\u2019ve did that verse like this. I would\u2019ve did this. Fuck that, I\u2019m about to go rap.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tCan you take me into filming \u201c<\/strong>A Thousand Mountains<\/strong><\/a>\u201d video? Was that your first time with a sword?\u00a0<\/strong> \n\tAlchemist:<\/strong> We were trying to keep it quiet, too. I didn\u2019t want people to know that we was cookin\u2019 Alfredo 2<\/em> because we knew the minute that people [saw] that cover, it\u2019s on. The expectations have been there for years. That was my most successful collaborative project and I\u2019ve done a lot. I was like, \u201cWe already know if we follow this up, we going to have [a lot of demand].\u201d We weren\u2019t worried about rollout perse. It was like let\u2019s get all the chips lined up, let\u2019s get the video shot, the film, the music, the art, because once we put one thing up, I\u2019m pretty sure we\u2019re going to have a lot of attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGibbs:<\/strong> Right. This is my most successful project period. I got two albums with Madlib, so coming into this shit, I had a bar that was already set. We had to reach it or we was wasting our fucking time. So like I said, everything gets greater later, man. Now I feel like we created a franchise and now we not doing nothing but building on top of it. This Alfredo<\/em> shit going to feed my kids for the rest of their life. I created something that they can always fall back on. We gone, we want them to do art exhibits on this shit and documentaries and film and shit like that. We creating a footprint that can never be erased.<\/p>\n \n\tSo what was it like when y\u2019all decided to actually go forward with part two? Was it a conversation?<\/strong> \n\tAlchemist:<\/strong> Obviously, Virgin Music Group is our partner now, but I always like to mention when it was time, it was just us. I got beats, got a studio, he got the rhymes. We didn\u2019t need any check or anything. It was literally the power of us two as artists going, \u201cLet\u2019s get back to it, it\u2019s time now.\u201d And then we started and before you knew it, he had some of the most important records already. Luckily, God bless, we were both in positions where our kids are straight, we made money, so we could just get up and do this. Some people might\u2019ve been like, \u201cLet\u2019s go get the check first.\u201d We could have did it like that. We were like, let\u2019s make this because we are both about the art first.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAlchemist, last time we talked, you said you were looking to this year as your biggest best year yet. How are you feeling about your year so far?\u00a0<\/strong> \n\tGibbs:<\/strong> [Next year], I think I\u2019m just going to do features and movies and shit. I\u2019m not doing nothing. I\u2019m going to take a little break next year. I\u2019m going to tour like crazy. But my belly is full off Alfredo<\/em>. I\u2019m just going to keep chillin\u2019, doing that. I\u2019m going to drop little loosies and shit here and there. I love to rap, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to do another album for a while.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAlchemist:<\/strong> I\u2019m going to send him some fucking beats though. I ain\u2019t going to let him get away with that. I dunno what he\u2019s talking about. We going to still cook. [Laughs<\/em>] That\u2019s never stopping.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGibbs:<\/strong> I got a couple movie scripts I\u2019ve been reading. I\u2019m going to do a couple movies.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tLambo was telling me your vampire movie,\u00a0<\/strong>Night Patrol,<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is going to the festival circuit.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong> \n\tWhat do you get from acting? What do you enjoy about it?\u00a0<\/strong> \n\tAlchemist:<\/strong> I want to act more. I always felt like it would be something cool to try. I did it last year, me and Hit-Boy have a whole film that we did that\u2019s crazy. And acting is like\u2026I didn\u2019t think I would enjoy it. The challenge of it, it\u2019s a real artform like he\u2019s saying.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAlchemist, I\u2019ll see a lot where if fans don\u2019t like an album, they\u2019ll be like, \u201cMan, this artist needs to lock in with a producer and focus.\u201d How often do you see that discourse about artists and think, \u201cDamn, I wish they would reach out to me.\u201d<\/strong> \n\tFreddie, what\u2019s the status of Montana <\/em>with Madlib?<\/strong> \n\tYou sure? You said that when you hear something good you get motivated.<\/strong> \n\tAlchemist:<\/strong> That\u2019s four [Gibbs collab] albums between just me and Otis and then his whole catalog and my catalog.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
\n
Gibbs:<\/strong> Everybody nice. Everybody got honor. They don\u2019t even bump into you. They don\u2019t step on your shoes. They don\u2019t walk and talk on the phone. They don\u2019t throw trash on the ground. I seen a motherfucker out there picking up cigarette butts with tweezers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gibbs:<\/strong> I just like being in Malibu. It\u2019s right by the beach. It\u2019s a good vibe, man. Away from everybody. That\u2019s the way I like to record. If I\u2019m not recording at home or his spot, I don\u2019t like being around a lot of people. I mean, we partied in there, I ain\u2019t going to lie, but with the right people.<\/p>\n
Alchemist:<\/strong> That\u2019s a dream. [It\u2019s] shit we wished back in the day like damn, \u201cI wish I could take this voice out and sample this part.\u201d Those were dreams when we were younger, we were kind of forced to use parts of the song that had the open moments. It was more clear what our job was. That\u2019s<\/em> the part. Now, Pandora\u2019s box is open. So 1757171480 I\u2019m like a kid in the candy store, \u201cOh, I can take that vocal out of this now? I can do this?\u201d I don\u2019t know how the younger guys are doing it, but for the older people, it\u2019s dope because it\u2019s shit we always wish we had. But it\u2019s also important to keep bookends and some type of limitation. Because with no limits [you\u2019re] falling down the black hole of options and plugins. Sometimes it\u2019s good to have a limit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gibbs:<\/strong> Every time I feel like my shit\u2019s underrated. I feel like I\u2019m just now getting the credit that I deserve. I\u2019ve been dropping shit. Motherfuckers like, \u201cOh yeah, your discography is crazy.\u201d I\u2019m like, yeah, I know. Did you know that when I dropped the shit nigga? I just feel like one of the most slept on rappers of all time.<\/p>\n
Gibbs: <\/strong>And when I say shit like that or comment on things of that nature, people take it as like, I\u2019m disrespecting the proverbial top rappers. Shut up. I\u2019m not hating. I\u2019m just saying how good I am. I\u2019m not trying to disrespect nobody by saying that I belong in the conversation. What\u2019s wrong with that?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alchemist:<\/strong> When did rappers become sports teams?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gibbs:<\/strong> I didn\u2019t know that either. Both of those guys make good music. I hope they get past this shit. I wish we stopped blending all this street shit with the rap shit on the internet and all that. Real street niggas used to keep that shit in the streets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gibbs:<\/strong> Yeah. I had been training with it through the week though, so I knew what to do so I wouldn\u2019t cut my dick off or nothing like that. That was an amazing experience being in that rice field in Japan. It was a lot of weird bugs and shit, but it was great. I had never been to that part of Japan, so it was a different experience. Very inspiring. When we was doing that, I was like \u201cAw yeah, we about to kill it, bro.\u201d Cause ain\u2019t nobody doing no shit like this for the album. The fact that we did all of that and nobody knew we was doing it was crazy. I love the way we did this shit, man. We rolled it out perfectly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gibbs:<\/strong> It\u2019s organic, man, that\u2019s my boy. So we always going to work regardless of whatever he working on or whatever I\u2019m working on. And then shit, it\u2019s timing. We knew when it was time. The first one came out five years ago. And we was both doing our thing, both working. We knew when it was time to push the button.<\/p>\n
Alchemist<\/strong>: I feel like I didn\u2019t play myself because when I said that I was a little nervous. I didn\u2019t want to give it up that I was already working with Erykah Badu, Yaasin, me and Hit-Boy have a record, Life Is Beautiful<\/em>. So this year it all came together. I knew Alfredo<\/em> was coming, so if nothing else hit, I knew I was good here. It seems like I\u2019m on a dash, but it\u2019s really the same speed I always work, all these records [just] ended up lining up [in] the time period. Yeah, I\u2019m glad that I didn\u2019t fuck myself up on that quote. I feel like I\u2019m following through. I was like next year, put some duct tape over my mouth so I don\u2019t say some dumb shit\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gibbs<\/strong>: Yeah. I think we going to get a theatrical release. I got my ass beat in there, but it\u2019s going to be crazy. I was fighting against CM Punk. [He\u2019s one] of the cops. I was like, \u201cOf all the people in this shit, y\u2019all put me against the biggest motherfucker on set.\u201d I tried to shoot him \u2014 I ain\u2019t going to tell you the movie, but he fucked me up, I\u2019ll tell you that. But I love him, I loved working with him and Justin Long. Now, we\u2019re getting more acting opportunities. That\u2019s really a passion of mine. I\u2019ve been writing some scripts, too. So I\u2019m trying to get into that lane and expand on that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gibbs:<\/strong> It\u2019s another form of art, man. It\u2019s like when I\u2019m in a great rapping bag, I want to act. When I\u2019m shooting a movie, I want to rap. So all it all does is inspire me. When I was on set shooting a vampire movie, I couldn\u2019t think about, \u201cDamn, I want to get in the booth.\u201d I had to bring my mic in my fucking trailer. All of it really works hand in hand. When I\u2019m doing a movie, I\u2019m thinking about the soundtrack. When I\u2019m doing the album, I\u2019m thinking about doing a movie to it. I see the shit all visually anyway. So it\u2019s all like one thing. Every movie I do, I want to be on a soundtrack. Directors and shit be mad at me. I\u2019d be like, \u201cHey, y\u2019all doing music to this shit?\u201d They be like, \u201cNah nigga, go read your lines.\u201d [Laughs] So like I said, it all go hand in hand with me, but I love it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alchemist:<\/strong> All the time. I\u2019ll be lying if I said otherwise, but that\u2019s an individual thing. With some of those artists, if you could think of them, I\u2019ve probably hit them up. If I have a relationship with [them], I throw my shots and I get in where I fit in. Everybody\u2019s not in tune I guess, or cares about that. Things work where they\u2019re supposed to, but I see it.<\/p>\n
Gibbs:<\/strong> I\u2019m not dropping it next year for sure, man. Me and Otis, that\u2019s like my sensei. I think we just got to lock in and knock it out. We did a couple joints already. Maybe one day we\u2019ll drop it. I\u2019m not definitive on it, but I know next year I\u2019m not dropping shit. I can tell you that for sure.<\/p>\n
Gibbs:<\/strong> I\u2019m going to get motivated. That don\u2019t mean I\u2019m going to drop it next year, though. I might just make a lot of shit. I might stockpile. I\u2019m going to record a lot. But as far as on an album run, I\u2019m about to run Alfredo<\/em> into the ground. Just do my thing with this. You going to feel it when it\u2019s time. We all need to go on tour together. That\u2019d be crazy, right? All us on stage together. People never seen no shit like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n