Review Summary: Behold hip-hop's new dream team...
10 years ago, producer Madlib earned himself a place in hip-hop history with his collaboration with MF Doom on Madvilliany. The experimental and soulful production of Madlib paired with an abstract lyrical talent in MF Doom made for an instant classic in the genre. Fast forward to 2014 and Madlib is further cementing his legacy as one of the most iconic hip-hop producers of all-time on Pinata, his latest collaboration record with fiery Indiana MC Freddie Gibbs.
Madlib and Freddie Gibbs are certainly not a duo you would expect to make a record together. Freddie Gibbs is a hardened gangsta rapper, Madlib makes beats that are heavily rooted in jazz and soul. Though the pairing of a streetwise rapper in Gibbs and low-key producer in Madlib seems odd on paper, it ends up working beautifully.
Pinata wastes little time establishing its unique tone. "Scarface and "Deeper" sees Gibbs weaving his tales of gang-banging, drug-dealing and hustling behind Madlib's perfect production. The intensity of Gibbs's flow serves as the perfect contrast to Madlib's nuanced, mellow instrumentals. I can't think of another time where I would call a gangsta rap track laid-back or soothing, but those are the first words that come to mind when describing "Scarface", "Deeper", and a majority of the other tracks on Pinata.
Madlib does adapt a bit to Gibbs's style on "***sville" and "Harold's"; giving Gibbs some pounding, bass-heavy beats to spit his verses over. "***sville and "Harold's" are the peak moments of Pinata as they see Madlib really branching out and conquering previously uncharted musical territory for him. Madlib has always been an experimental producer, but his biggest influences have always been soul, jazz, funk and R&B. "***sville" and "Harold's" allows Madlib to briefly abandon the typical influences for his production and make some in-your-face, contemporary-inspired beats that are complete bangers. Madlib tackles the challenge of making abrasive beats for the first time head-on and with his work here, can add yet another facet to his ever-expanding range of production styles.
Gibbs and Madlib aren't the sole reasons Pinata is such a success, the duo also managed to lock down a lot of great guest artists that perfectly fit the gritty yet chill vibe of this record. Danny Brown comes through with his typical high energy level on "High" while Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan continues his sudden return to the limelight with a poignant verse on "Bomb". Even inconsistent artists like Domo Genesis and Ab-Soul step their game up and deliver really strong verses on "Robes" and "Lakers" respectively. Even on the great hip-hop records of recent years, there tends to be a couple of weak guest verses, but I can honestly say that every one of the 13 guest verses on this album are at the very least decent and don't get overshadowed by the explosive rapping style of Gibbs.
Pinata is a dense and consistent near-masterpiece from Freddie Gibbs and Madlib. Gibbs and Madlib are essentially hip-hop's answer to The Odd Couple with their vastly different styles that somehow come together perfectly on this record. I really hope this isn't the last collaboration between these two because Pinata seems like the start of a perfect musical marriage. Even with heavy-hitters like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Jay Electronica, and GZA tentatively set to release new material in 2014, it's going to be incredibly hard for anyone in hip-hop to top the quality of Pinata this year.
