Freddie Gibbs & Madlib

Bandana

The rapper-producer duo follow up Piñata with another cinematic series of street stories delivered with lyrical majesty.

As the culture is currently enamored with more rhythmic patterns than the meat on the bone, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib have undoubtedly proved they can compete without compromising their composition standards.

Bandana concentrates the grimy energy of Piñata into an even more potent punch, and the result is a knockout.

For all the giddy, unruly energy, each song on Bandana flows together to make a poetic, poignant body of work.

It is an exceptional modern hip-hop album unafraid of exploring the darker sides of the modern rap persona, all whilst creating a rich, textured sonic environment within which it can be best ingested.

Fans of this dynamic duo's fantastic prior collaborative album will surely be thrilled by this sequel, which exceeds expectations as an inarguable masterpiece.

Equal parts gritty and flamboyant, with Gibbs both reveling in the fruits of his labor and watching them rot his teeth, Bandana stands toe-to-toe with the likes of Hell Hath No Fury, Reasonable Doubt or any other gold standard of the format you could name.

An LP more rounded and more stirring than the excellent first one.

The first record was a grower, gradually establishing itself as one of the great producer-emcee efforts of the young millennium, but Bandana seems designed to dazzle, to assert a joint legacy.

Bandana may deal with some weighty topics throughout its 46-minute run time, but its impressive flow—both in Gibbs’ rapping and their well-thought-out tracklisting—leads to a compelling but relaxed listen.

I can't conceive of a rapper-producer duo who could curb each other's most extravagant impulses more than this one; accordingly, Bandana is not a second too long, not a sample too nostalgic and not a bar too rap-heavy.

Two things that are never in doubt throughout the record are Madlib’s absurd skill for combining amorphous instrumental textures with hard snapping drums and Gibbs’ ability to lord over any beat put before him.