Review Summary: Gangster Gibbs makes a true anthem for the street with hard hitting lyricism paired with excellently upbeat and energetic production.
Str8 Killa No Filla is true gangsta hip-hop. Not since Nas’s Illmatic has a man painted such a perfect image of the streets; not since Tupac Shakur has there been a rapper so gifted in making brutality and danger accessible and enjoyable. Gibbs has a talent for fast, hard hitting verses overtop of soulful, smooth jazz samples, and on Str8 Killa No Filla it’s all there in force.
The EP kicks off with the proclamation that the album is “For my niggas, strictly for all my niggas” and from there Gibbs creates a masterpiece of gangsta rap. Carried by the 80’s inspired instrumental, Gibbs proclaims his dominance in the game and his power on the streets. While energetic and a great listen, Gibbs really hits his stride on the hard hitting beats of the second track, “Face Down.” Only a minute and a half long, Gibbs transports the listener to the streets themselves, a place that aint for the soft. It’s a terrifying world, one for the strong. His flow completely shifts to a harder, more jagged and enunciated style, sticking large emphasis on the ends of verses. Gibbs continues this vibe through to the the song “Slammin'.” After that final hardcore thug imagery Gibbs moves onto a more personal image.
From there on out Gibbs returns to his fantastically produced soul music based tracks. His flow reverts back to his quick paced and rock steady rhyming. He goes back to spittin' about his own image, his own life, what he deals with. The album flies by all too fast and you can really lose yourself in the rhythm and flow of it all. Gibbs doesn't just depict street life, he captures it alive and inserts it into his music still squirming.
Special mention should be given to “The Ghetto” and “Rock Bottom,” two of the very few slow and melancholy Gibbs tracks, in which he laments the struggle, rather than his usual glorifying of the life. It’s truly something to hear.
It’s all finished with Gibbs freestyling in the background to a remix of The Whispers’ “Rock Steady.” He only comes on for a single verse and then lets the Whispers carry it away with their dedication to selling drugs (“Nigga, I don’t give a ***! Slangin’ rocks till the break of dawn”). Perhaps it is not a grand finale, but it’s definitely a fun and unique way to end a mixtape.
Gibbs has the flow, the production skills, and the writing to match any rapper in the game right now. The only thing weighing him down, and thus this EP, is that he only has so much subject material. However, even though the lyrical themes may become a tad stale overtime, his ability to keep it all interesting and engaging propels this EP to even greater heights in my mind.
