Freddie Gibbs shares the one rapper who inspired his whole career: “He was like a God to me”
Freddie Gibbs has become one of the most prolific rappers of the last decade. Through his Madlib collaborative albums, Piñata and Bandana, his Alfredo project with The Alchemist, and solo efforts like $oul $old $eparately, the Indiana rapper is a force to be reckoned with.
Gibbs has admitted he wouldn’t have a career in hip-hop if it weren’t for one person. He grew up in Gary, not far from St. Louis, Missouri, so he was exposed to Nelly’s music from a young age. Inspired by the ‘Ride Wit Me’ artist becoming the most prominent rapper during the early 2000s, Gibbs believed he had what it took to have a career in music.
“That’s one of my main influences, dog. I love Nelly,” he told Pitchfork. “No Nelly, no Freddie. He was from the Midwest. To see somebody from [St. Louis] be the biggest in rap? That’s motivating like a motherfucker, dog. You can’t not tip your hat to that shit.”
He added, “Nelly was like a God to me. He innovated the style that n*ggas be using to this day. I don’t know how he doesn’t get more credit for that. Every n*gga. Every single n*gga. Lil Baby? N*gga, that’s Nelly.”
Freddie Gibbs credited Nelly’s 2002 album Nellyville as one of the albums that shaped him. “KRS-One was hating on my n*gga Nelly [laughs],” he said. “Rather have these n*ggas rapping than be breaking in your house. Nelly said, ‘I am number one!’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, Nelly’s fighting back.’ Nelly ain’t no hoe. Nelly’ll whoop yo ass. Nellyville went four times platinum or some shit. You put on ‘Hot in Herre‘ in a club right now, it’s about to be a 100% pussy rate, for sure.”
‘Hot in Herre’ reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and four on the UK Singles Chart, winning Best Male Rap Solo Performance at the Grammy Awards in 2003. Nellyville was also home to another hit single, ‘Dilemma’, featuring Kelly Rowland.
Aside from Nelly, Freddie Gibbs claimed Scarface was also like a “God” to people in his area of the US. He said the Geto Boys rapper was at the top of everyone’s list of favourite MCs in the ’90s, using 1997’s The Untouchable album to get him through high school.
“First of all, where we’re from—Chicago, Gary, that area—Scarface is a God to us,” he explained. “He can’t do no wrong. He’s everybody’s favourite rapper from that era. You had uncles or older brothers? He was their favourite. The Untouchable is probably my favourite Scarface album. I think I skipped school to buy that shit—the CD and the tape.”
He continued, “At that time, I was real heavy into sports and trying to get enough credits to graduate high school. [The Untouchable] was motivation. It was telling me everything about what was happening in my neighbourhood; and I didn’t wanna be that no more. It always gave me the sense of finding something to focus on so I didn’t fall victim.”