BY Sam Wolstenholm
Freddie Gibbs released $oul $old $eparately on September 30th, 2022 as his fifth solo album. His best work is arguably done on his various collaboration projects with artists like Madlib, Curren$y, and The Alchemist. At least, that's where most of his numbers come from. That might change with this project though as it sounds as expensive as the artwork looks. He takes more of an accessible route here as far as the sound goes, but he is undoubtedly still Freddie Gibbs at his core. His rapping skills have been considered among the best in the scene, but he always sounds like he's got something to prove. Well, does he prove himself here?
For an intro track, this is exactly what I wanted. There's a great soulful piano (not sure if it's a sample or not) playing over a vocal sample. I could be wrong, but I think it's just a chopped up version of what Kelly Price is singing for this song specifically. She sounds absolutely amazing by the way. I haven't even mentioned my favorite part (or second favorite) though. For the first one, I am completely captivated by the horns in this instrumental. They bang. It adds an element to the track that just couldn't have been done in any other way. And then, my favorite part of this song is when Freddie does a purposefully terrible singing bit to match the vocal sample before yelling "bitch!" right before the horns come back in. This is when Kelly Price starts going bananas too. It's awesome. This is a great song. It also ends with a phone call. This is a recurring thing across the album. I'll talk about what it means when it's more applicable, but just know that it's part of the album concept. $oul $old $eparately is supposed to be the name of a fictional hotel/casino thing in Las Vegas (check out the website, it's awesome). Oh and I forgot to touch on this, but he's rapping. He's Freddie Gibbs. It's great. If you must know, he's pretty much brag-rapping. Money is a big theme of this album, and he's setting that up.
Very interesting song here. I'll get back to the phone call thing at the end, but let me discuss the song itself first. In the first half, I get jazz house vibes. It feels like I'm sitting in a smoke-filled dark room with Freddie on stage just rapping while I puff a cigar and sip some whiskey. That's oddly specific, I know, but still. He drops a lot of good lines here lyrically. A stand-out is, "This goat talk and I'll bet they put my face on that album too." That's hard. If you somehow don't know what that means, "goat" means "greatest of all time," and Freddie is talking from that perspective, making the claim that he actually is top-teir all time. He's also making a lot of references to black culture (which, I must admit, I did not catch them all). The whole jazz hall vibe matches the content as he's posing as the black artist in a room full of rich white audiences (like in a wealthy Vegas hotel situation...get it?). The Alchemist produced this, and I honestly could've guessed it. Those two work together frequently to great success. I love when the beat fluently switches halfway through to more hip-hop than jazz and Freddie just keeps going off on it. He's saying so many words at this point that you almost don't recognize the lack of drums by the time they come in (yes, the first half has drums, but they are more atmospheric thatn rhythmic).
Okay, now I'll do a whole separate paragraph to address the phone calls. My theory here is that this answering machine specifically is picking up from the phone ringing at the end of the last track. That doesn't happen throughout the album, but I think it's just doing it here to set up the concept. It gives a brief line about the $$$ hotel. Later in the album, various people leave voicemails, so this must be what they hear before they do so. It plays as if they are calling Freddie personally, so I think he's saying that this hotel is him and/or his lifestyle. I'll get more into this as I go because it is a complex idea that requires continuous and repetitive examinations. Alright, back to the show.
I don't like how this song starts. The beat doesn't exactly match his voice at first, but it gets better as it goes. This track is the perfect "money song" in more ways than one. There's the obvious fact that he's saying "gotta make that money mane" over and over again. He does this to make sure it's the catchy part. It's ironic because he knows this is a more pop-rap sound and is being meta about it. He's so meta about it that he gets an Offset feature. It's a decent one too. He's literally making a song about getting money in order to make money from it. I'm impressed at how self-aware this song is. The orchestral string ending just seals the deal. In all honesty, I don't think this is one of the stronger songs, but I'll probably add it to my playlist anyway simply because of how fun it is. No phone call ending either, but it's fine because it transitions prefectly into the next track.
I mean...drug dealing. That's what he's rapping about. He uses the term "bag" in a couple different ways, but there isn't anything super crazy going on here. There's nothing I can even dislike. I don't think the singing is amazing, but I guess that's the worst thing I can say about it. It's just regular Freddie singing. It could be argued that he raps too much. So if you don't like when somebody just does rap-rap for a decent amount of time over a dope beat, I understand (that happens a few times on this album). I do generally enjoy that, so I like the song. It'll probably go on the playlist for me, but I acknowledge that as a personal taste thing more than it usually is. Like it if you do. Don't if you don't. That applies to every song, but this one could go either way. It just works for me.
If this one doesn't become a hit, something is wrong with all you people. Freddie gets meta again by saying "too much" too much lol. It actually sounds great though. Freddie destroys this chorus, it's so good. The instrumental is a smooth, simple hip-hop beat with a cool reverse sample sound and trap drums. It's a banger. It's hype enough but allows the rappers to actually rap. Even Moneybagg Yo rips his part. I especially like the way he comes in when he says, "I get two hundred for a verse and two hundred for a show." His voice works with the sound of the track. It just all fits together perfectly. I'd call this my dark horse, but I have a feeling it'll be the biggest song to come out of this project (if it isn't already), and there's a reason for that. The only negative thing I can say about is that Freddie seems like he's trying to sound like Moneybagg Yo, and he succeeds. They do sound similar, but I think that works to this song's benefit. It's a crafting of an overall sound executed extremely well in my opinion. We got our first voicemail here! It's KD! He's just asking Freddie where he's at. This tells me that KD (Kevin Durant) is at the $$$ hotel and is looking for Freddie. They planned on hanging out. This is a flex on Freddie's part too. More speculation to come.
Another flawless transition between tracks. I could tell the last song ended but I wasn't totally aware. I had to check. Then it goes into a super smooth instrumental and Freddie again finds his pocket. I was most excited to hear what this song sounded like because of both the awesome title and the Rick Ross feature. I love Ross's voice, especially on features, and he does not disappoint here. Every song he's on sounds like the color gold. It's hard to explain. There's a respectful, dramatic intro for his part, and it sounds dope. There's no chorus here. It's just a luscious money rap track. Again, if you don't like rap-rap, this probably isn't for you. There's nothing catchy, but it's still very interesting to listen to if you want to know what they're actually saying. I also like how the track just kind of cuts out at the end. It works after the dramatic instrumental outro.
I don't even know what to say about this one. I guess I'll put it out there that it's another rap-rap song. If you don't mess with this one...yea it's the same deal, I don't need to say it again. I do like it though. I wish there were more instrumental breaks and/or vocal melodies. I think it'd just make the song easier to listen to. I'm torn on adding this to the playlist or not. I like it, but I don't love it. There's just nothing special about it jumping out to me (no rabbit pun intended). Speaking of rabbits, do yall know what it's supposed to mean? I think I do, but I'm about to look it up to be sure...okay done. The Playboy rabbit was used by the gang Freddie is affiliated with, so he's basically just claiming that lifestyle and holding onto it. I'm taking the "space" part of it as the fact that he's bigger than Gary, Indiana now (which is where he's from). He's the biggest boss rabbit. The most entertaining part of this song is definitely the end because Jeff Ross leaves a voicemail. As you might expect, it's a straight-up roast of Freddie Gibbs. It is actually hilarious. As for the voicemail concept, I think Freddie has the money. He is the $$$ hotel. You can call and come for a good time, but you cannot find yourself there. You can use all your money and have artificial fun, but to buy a soul you'll need to go somewhere else. You can't find it around the drugs, parties, gambling, etc.
If "Too Much" isn't the biggest song from this album, it'll be this one. It's all about performance here. All three guys are absolutely incredible, especially Anderson .Paak. He takes the chorus with some low singing and really cool adlibs. It crawls along menacingly. Then .Paak takes the first verse and does it in a high pitch rap. It's a nice contrast, as is Freddie's part. He comes out extremely animated for him. He always has good flows, but this one seems to be a step above the rest. He doesn't even rap for very long, leaving room for the beat, the choruses, and the feature verses. Raekwon kills it here of course as well. It's just a solid verse. This song is amazing. The bass is groovy, the drums ride along, and the piano gives the track a dark tone. Definitely not a dark horse, but do NOT sleep on this one. It might be the best on the project.
I think this one will have to be my dark horse though. This beat is really smooth. There's a grooving bass and some dynamic electric guitar. The crash cymbals hit just right too. The instrumental matches the pathos of Freddie's content. It's an emotional sound, and he's saying some personal stuff. "A lot of shit it broke my heart, but it fixed my vision," is the repeated line (there is no chorus) and I love it. I know that I'm not the only one that can relate to that, but I relate to it heavy. There's still a lot of stuff in my life that I feel as though I never got closure about. Closure is an abstract concept, and it could be argued that there is no such thing. I just don't know what the better term would be. I feel like I understand people better now (including myself) after the multiple heartbreaks I've gone through. I don't only mean romantic heartbreaks either. I've lost family and friends for various reasons, and each one really did hurt my heart. I can feel it in my chest right now just thinking about it. If this song doesn't make you reflect at least a little bit, then you're not listening. You better listen too because he drops some really good bars. One that stuck out to me was, "'cause every bullet that I send out, it might come back with my name on it." There's a new voicemail at the end of this track too. It's also really funny. It goes from the answering machine saying there is no smoking permitted at the $$$ hotel to Joe Rogan telling Freddie that he's got mushrooms, DMT, underwear, and bullets. That's just so funny. It's like "okay, we can't smoke, so let's do mushrooms."
Yea, I don't love this one. It sounds cool if you're not paying attention to what they're saying. I won't say what "PYS" stands for, but I do not approve. I will therefore neglect discussion of the content. If you're able to get past that part, then you might really like this song. There's a smooth vocal sample that's part of the instrumental. It's got a different vocal sample that serves as the chorus too. DJ Paul drops a verse that is average I guess. He doesn't say anything profound at all, and he kind of reminds me of Juicy J. I think he would've been a better feature. I do think it's funny how he starts his verse with "DJ Paul bitch!" It's such a DJ Khaled thing to do (not the rapping part, the yelling your name part). Freddie is doing his thing on here, rapping with good flows. Nothing too special. I can see this track growing on me though. It's got a cool sound design and a certain bop to it. Its melodies are catchy too. It's really the content and the feature that are holding this one back from being really good. It isn't trash though. I might just have to sit with this one more to appreciate it. No phone call here.
11. "Dark Hearted"
Fantastic song. I love Freddie's performance on this. He's repeating certain lines to make them stick in your head better while bringing out some of his best melodic flows. The rhyme schemes and cadences are top-notch. I think he could've gotten a feature on here, but I'm glad he didn't. It's an accessible sound that he decides to take for himself, and he definitely does his thing. This can't be the dark horse either, but it's easily one of the best songs on the album. The vocal sample and smooth piano create a dark, cold atmosphere for the drums and Freddie to shine over. The drums include a rim shot instead of a snare hit (which is something that happens on a lot of these songs) and it sounds awesome. It fits his sound very well. The end sounds like a damn movie with the strings again bringing the song to a dramatic close. Go ahead and add this song right now.
Money! Money! Money, Mr. Krabs! (I put that as a first reaction note, but it doesn't really make much sense now...I just wanted to include it.) I don't have a lot to say about the instrumental. It's really good. There's a cool, slow piano loop. A lot of traveling between low and high notes. It's dynamic. This concept of the song is deeper than it seems on the surface I think. Yes, it could be taken as "we were/are drug dealers and we're making a lot of money from it," but there's definitely more to it than that. Gold rings can be seen as symbols of wealth, but also of marriage/engagements. Both Freddie and Pusha T discuss the women that have been affected by this lifestyle they live. Granted, they aren't exactly positive descriptions, but at least they give detailed reasonings. This reasoning is that they are married to the game, meaning their focus was on getting money and dealing drugs instead of the women that they were with. I'm pretty sure Pusha T is happily married, so he's definitely just speaking from past perspectives, but Freddie Gibbs definitely has some ongoing problems when it comes to women (as Jeff Ross touched on on "Space Rabbit"). This track has a voicemail too. It's from Jesus (Gerald "Slink" Johnson as the voice). He's talking about smoking weed in the mountains. He mentions breaking bread too. It's actually really funny. It has me wondering why Jesus is calling this hotel though. Clearly, he likes to have fun too, but I also assume Jesus already has his soul. Maybe Freddie is trying to say that even if you do know yourself, it's okay to lighten up and experience the $$$ sometimes. That's something I'd agree with. The name of the hotel is literally advertising the fact that it is NOT where you will get your soul. You will NOT find yourself there, but it's up to you to decide if you still want to go through the experience.
Personally, I think this one falls a little short. The beat isn't strong enough to cover the nearly four minutes it plays, but it is nice and slow with a lot of breathing room. It isn't bad or anything. It's supposed to allow Freddie to have the spotlight because the lyrics are so personal. He does quite a few name drops (including one of his baby mamas, read about that here because she responded), so he knows what he's doing here. You'll just have to listen to it if you want to learn about his personal life because there's a lot of topics touched on that I don't feel the need to explain. The Musiq Soulchild feature was much-needed, but I think Freddie could've utilized it better by having him do a few choruses to split up the rapping. It's fine singing (nothing spectacular), but the song structure overall doesn't work for me. The voicemail this time is Freddie's mother. The answering machine voice apologizes for the noise from the penthouse before she starts speaking. The reception is horrible. The sound is breaking up and she sounds so sad. She's telling Freddie she loves him and to call her back, but the call just cuts out. The disconnect is symbolic. If you spend too much time at the $$$ hotel, you lose that connection with the other, more soulful facets of life. That's where you find your soul: around love, not money or drugs or anything like that. I love the voicemail ending, but the song itself could've been stronger.
14. "CIA"
As an individual song, I like this a lot. As an album closer, not so much. I think he should've ended with "Grandma's Stove," but that's just me. I feel like it would've been more impactful and left the audience feeling more emotion. This song still could've been on the album, but somewhere else. CIA is another acronym title as explained by the lyric, "CIA, they gave us crack, Instagram, and AIDS." It's funny, especially when you hear the skit at the end where they seem to concieve of the idea. The chorus isn't catchy, but that line is. I do really like the beat though (mostly because of the saxophone part). It's gorgeous really. I don't have much else to say about this one. It's another rap-rap song. That's why I don't think it should've closed the album. There is another song after this one ("Decoded (feat. Scarface)"), but it's labeled as a bonus track. Therefore, I'm not going to officially review it. That's good for the album score though because it's probably my least favorite one. "CIA" is going on the playlist though.
Overall
This album is pretty good. I like how Freddie has made a more accessible-sounding album while still sticking to his strengths. He doesn't sacrifice content or passionate performances to appeal to more people. If anything, he seems to have focused more on songwriting than usual. There are colorful instrumentals and high-quality mixing. The attention to detail is something that cannot go unnoticed. He's always had personal content, so I'm not really learning a whole lot about him here that I didn't already know. However, I have to give him points for consistency and conceptuality. All the tracks sound like they're on the same project, but are unique for the most part. I realy enjoyed the $$$ hotel concept that he used the various voicemails to flesh out. It's something that peaked my interest, will have me thinking beyond this review, and will have me returning the project again in the near future. Besides that, the instrumentals are well-produced and Freddie does a lot of good rapping. That being said, it is definitely an album full of rapping, so if you don't like that, then you might not like this whole project. There should still be some tracks on here that are enjoyable though. He obviously wanted to hit some high numbers with songs like "Pain & Strife" and "Too Much." What keeps this from being a higher score? Well, Freddie raps fast (meaning he says a lot of words), and sometimes the flows can get repetitive after a few songs in a row. He doesn't always take a lot of breaks, and that messes with the pacing of the album in a few spots. It's also an album you kind of need to pay attention to. It's not great for background music or whatever. There's also a few tracks that I could take or leave. They don't all contribute to the quality of the album. There is definitely a lot to talk about though, so give me your thoughts in the comments. I especially want to know what you think about the voicemails if you have some theories.
7.8/10
If you've read my review, I assume you have already heard $oul $old $eparately, so I want to hear what you think. What'd I miss? Did I tear apart your favorite song? Or give too much credit to one that doesn't deserve it? Any questions or comments? I'd love to respond. Feel free to drop review requests too! I will strongly consider them.
Peace and love.
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