Song of The Year-Extradite by Freddie Gibbs featuring Black Thought produced by Mikhail

by Dan-O

Rap music is so hopelessly cool that the effect a new star has is inebriating. A new talent comes out of nowhere and changes the world…at least your world. So every critic has their own best-flow-in-the-business candidate and it usually changes every few months. Kevin Gates drops a mixtape & people forget that E-40 is still dope. It always tickles me when people discuss the best flow in the game and don’t mention Freddie Gibbs.

How great is Gibbs? When he first broke critics STRUGGLED for a comparison point. Is this like Bone Thugs? He carries a hook so effortlessly into singing range (on his new album Shadow of A Doubt see the song Careless for an example) but he’s not dedicated to a strict fast flow like Twista or Bone Thug.

Instead Freddie slides up and down the speed range like Johnny Hodges on saxophone sliding up the scale. Shadow of A Doubt showcases his flow in all its forms and at seventeen tracks with limited rap features (at least fifteen of the songs listed stand with Gibbs as the solo rapper) It could have been longer. It’s sleek and hard and better with every listen.

Extradite is Freddie on track with one of the best rappers who ever lived and wanting it to be seen as a competition. He steals the first verse over a timeless beat but Black Thought scorches back in the next and instead of giving his guest one shot and smothering him with follow up verses he comes back does his next verse(even better!) and hands off again. It shows a lot of respect to his guest, he wants to murder this track and Black Thought but wants to do it clean. Obviously no one murders anyone but the outcome of this song is the best lyrical back and forth of the year. Freddie Gibbs is the greatest Gangsta rapper in the world and you know that because he called up a rap feature hall of famer(remember Pun and Black Thought?) and asked if he wanted a new challenge.