Those of you who read our previous SXSW-related post about Freddie Gibbs know how excited we are to witness the Gary, Indiana native’s career as it matures.  It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a rapper the likes of Gibbs; one whose career is built off of straight hustle and talent.  Everything about him suggests the complete package of skill, focus, delivery, speed, work ethic, lyricism, legitimacy, etc. etc. etc…  Over the last few years he’s dropped a handful of impressive mix-tapes.  In fact, he dropped 3 of them just last year alone, including the 81 track, The Labels Tryin To Kill Me!.  Even with that much content being released in such a short period of time, it is somehow still all remarkably solid.  After being signed and, subsequently, dropped by Interscope, Gibbs didn’t change up his image and/or shoot for another major label.  Instead, he went even harder, releasing more material, while focusing on quality and creation over hype and marketing.  This guy’s an anomaly, pumping out more and more work just to make room for the next shit.  Last week saw the rapper performing a successful set at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago and, over this week or so, Gangsta Gibbs is making even bigger moves in the way of creating more widespread notoriety for himself.

The Mixtape

Just today,  his latest mixtape was released and we have a free download for you to check it out right now.  The 21 track Str8 Killa No Filla is presented by east coast DJ, Statik Selektah and provides a nice opportunity for you to see what can be expected from Gibbs with his upcoming EP.  Plus, the final track “Slangin’ Rocks” is actually a fairly hilarious re-working of The Whispers‘ 1987 classic “Rock Steady” and the cover is a tribute to the classic Peter Tosh Equal Rights album.

DOWNLOAD LINK

STR8 Killa [EP]

On this Tuesday, August 3rd, Gibbs‘ new 9 song EP, STR8 Killa will also be released on Decon/Gibbs Family records.  The EP name is similar to the mixtape, we know… but they are different albums.  You can pre-order the EP for only $7.99 now through iTunes, by using THIS LINK.  Or preorder the CD for $8.98 on Amazon through HERE.

This week also marks the release of the first video for the new album.  With “National Anthem (Fuck The World)”, Freddie showcases his lyrical skills as well as his ability to shift and accelerate tempo’s with his cadence.  The track is basically just a “Fuck You!” to everyone and everything that has threatened to hold him back up until this point, but at this point, it doesn’t look like there’s much left than can.