弗雷迪·吉布斯

Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), known professionally as Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper. He signed with Interscope Records in 2006 and recorded his debut album for the label; however, its release was cancelled and he was dropped from the label due to executive shakeups. Gibbs later signed with Young Jeezy's CTE World in 2011 and released a number of mixtapes through the label, including the acclaimed Baby Face Killa (2012).

After leaving CTE in early 2013, Gibbs formed the record label ESGN to release his debut studio album of the same name in June of that year. His second and third albums, Shadow of a Doubt (2015) and You Only Live 2wice (2017), were both met with positive critical and lukewarm commercial reception—the latter contained no guest appearances. His commercial mixtape, Freddie (2018), was met with critical acclaim and led him to sign with Warner Records in 2020; his fourth album and major label debut, Soul Sold Separately (2022) peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200. His fifth studio album, You Only Die 1nce (2024), narrowly entered the chart. In addition, he has released five collaborative albums; two with Madlib: Piñata (2014) and Bandana (2019), and three with the Alchemist: Fetti (2018, also with Currensy), Alfredo (2020), and Alfredo 2 (2025). Alfredo was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.

His guest appearance on ¥$ (Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign)'s 2024 song, "Back to Me", peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his first entry on the chart, though he remains uncredited on the official version.

Early life

Fredrick Jamal Tipton was born June 14, 1982 in Gary, Indiana and grew up at 17th and Virginia St. on the city's east side. His father, Warren Tipton, was a R&B and soul singer and a member of the The Chi-Lites Tipton played football at Ball State University on an athletic scholarship but was eventually expelled from college. At the age of 19, he was enlisted into the U.S. Army as part of a pre-trial diversion program when he was on trial for theft and gun charges, but was dishonorably discharged only eight months later after being caught smoking marijuana.

Tipton then began working at a Gary mall, where he met local hip-hop producer Finger Roll, who, according to Gibbs, was "the only guy [in Gary] that had a studio." Gibbs then joined Finger Roll's No Tamin Entertainment crew and began pursuing a rap career.

Career

2004–2011: Career beginnings and CTE World

Gibbs's rap career began in 2004, self-releasing his first full-length project, a mixtape titled Full Metal Jackit, which he followed up with a sequel that same year. Around that time, he was signed to Interscope Records and began working on his debut album, but was dropped from the label in late 2006, when the man that signed him, Joe Weinberger, left the label. In 2009, Gibbs released the mixtapes The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs and Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik, followed by his first extended play Str8 Killa in August 2010.

He would continue self-releasing mixtapes until 2011, when he signed to Young Jeezy's record label CTE World. In February that year, Gibbs announced on his website that he had joined up with fellow rappers King Chip and The Cool Kids to form the supergroup Pulled Over by the Cops (P.O.C.). In October, he released the mixtape Cold Day in Hell, which featured guest appearances from Young Jeezy, Juicy J, and 2 Chainz, among others. The mixtape received significant coverage from publications such as Pitchfork and XXL, appearing on the latter's Freshman List Class of 2010. Gibbs and hip-hop producer Madlib released their first and second extended plays, titled Thuggin' and Shame, in September 2011 and June 2012, respectively. The EPs served as previews for their upcoming collaborative album, which was originally titled Cocaine Piñata, and later renamed to simply Piñata.

Shortly after the release of Cold Day in Hell, Gibbs announced that his next mixtape would be a Gangsta Grillz mixtape titled Baby Face Killa. It was released on September 25, 2012, and featured guest appearances from Pharrell Williams, Jadakiss, Jay Rock, Currensy, YG, and others. The second track from the album, "Still Livin'" was featured on the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V's virtual in-game radio station Radio Los Santos.

2012–2018: Solo albums and Piñata

On December 11, 2012, Gibbs announced that he was no longer a member of Young Jeezy's CTE label. He elaborated saying that there is no beef between the two rappers. On May 27, 2013, Freddie Gibbs announced he would be releasing his debut album ESGN (Evil Seeds Grow Naturally) on July 9, 2013, through his own record label of the same name. The album ended up being released on June 20, three weeks before the planned release date, due to a leak.