If that title somehow got you to click on this little review of the Freddie Gibbs x El Michels Affair Jazz Fest main stage show, then my work is done. Freddie Gibbs does indeed, hate the police, like many rappers who have had run-ins with the law (from the street life he is so far from now), but he had to let it be known after every song, as he got progressively more and more stoned throughout his set from the consistent blunts he smoked. “Lemme hear you say Fuck Poliiicee,” he chanted with the crowd of 30,000.
This performance was a live reimagining of his work with The El Michels Affair, a neo-soul instrument group that has worked with The Wu-Tang Clan and most recently, Black Thought. But Freddie pulled out some older numbers from his Pinata days with Madlib and a few choice numbers from Alfredo, his seminal album with The Alchemist.
In fact, he stopped the track “1985” a few times as well as “Thuggin'” to get the bars just right. There were a few times when it sounded like he was just growling and forgot the words, but this was part of Freddie’s charm.—a monumental rapper who got a little too cooked on stage and forgot the words to his songs. Regardless, it was an enjoyable watch and a hell of a show.
