$oul $old $eparately, the eighth studio album from gangsta rapper Freddie Gibbs, is a stellar example of Gibbs’ lower-energy style.

The album, Gibbs’ first solo-credited album since 2018’s Freddie, proves that he isn’t only a rapper who flourishes with legendary producers. Gibbs’ braggadocious, topical, and sometimes poignant lyrics get to shine when the focus is taken away from the exceptional beats of producers like Madlib and The Alchemist.

Lead single “Too Much” contains an excellent and engaging chorus with a guest verse from Moneybagg Yo, whose deep voice matches Gibb’s deep vocal tone very well.

The song also features a trap beat — a relative oddity for Gibbs – yet his engaging lyricism allows the track to succeed, even with the somewhat strange combination.

“Couldn’t Be Done,” the opener, is another track with a rare Gibbs’ trap beat. It contains an excellent flip of a ’70s soul sample from Norman Feels, which gives a vintage feel to the song. Combined with his boastful lines, Gibbs’ creates a layered and interesting opener to the LP.

A standout part of the record is the A-list features.

Pusha T gives an excellent verse on “Gold Rings,” gloating about his current lifestyle and talking about his come up. His verse also contains a high quality rhyme scheme, which creates a sonically interesting flow.

On “Feel No Pain,” Anderson .Paak and Wu-Tang member Raekwon give superb features as guest MCs. Both of the featured rappers have exceptional chemistry with Gibbs, allowing for a wonderfully melancholy track, with a lo-fi chorus from .Paak.

One of the only critiques of the project is the lack of eccentricity and intrigue from producers Madlib and the Alchemist. While Gibbs easily holds his own lyrically on the album, his best albums – 2014’s Piñata, 2018’s Bandana, and 2021’s Alfredo – all have these guest producers on every track.

It’s not necessarily a problem that each producer only has one production credit on $oul $old $eparately, but their beats work so well with Gibbs’ lyricism that they bring his music to greater heights when they are present.

Overall, though, $oul $old $eparately is an exceptional instance of lyricism from one of the best lyrical rappers currently working in Freddie Gibbs.