Alfredo is a collaborative studio album by American rapper Freddie Gibbs and American hip hop producer The Alchemist. It was released on May 29, 2020, through Gibbs' own record label ESGN Records, as well as ALC Records and Empire Distribution.
The Alchemist and Gibbs first worked together as early as 2003–2004. However, nothing from that period was released.[1] Their first official collaboration was in April 2011 on the Currensy and Alchemist song "Scottie Pippen", which Gibbs was featured on.[1] In October 2018, the trio released a collaborative album titled Fetti.[2]
Title and artwork
The title is a portmanteau of The Alchemist and Gibbs' names.[3] The album cover, designed by Vlad Sepetov, shows a hand puppeteering a Fettuccine Alfredo dish. It draws similarities to the logo of renowned crime film franchise The Godfather.[4][5]
Release and promotion
On May 27, 2020, Gibbs and The Alchemist announced the release of new music via social media, before confirming the collaborative project shortly after.[6][7] The announcement came alongside the option for pre-ordering the album in digital and physical format, including a comic book by Mike del Mundo inspired by the album.[8]
The first single, "1985", was released a day before the album, alongside an accompanying music video directed by Nick Walker.[7][9]
Alfredo was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 88, based on nine reviews.[10]
Jack Bray of The Line of Best Fit praised the album, stating, "It's an incredibly tight record packed with stellar performances, production and presence throughout. The blood, sweat and tears of hip-hop run through the album, but Gibbs has once again redefined what that means".[15] Josh Svetz from HipHopDX enjoyed the album, saying, "Alfredo is a master class in rap — 35 minutes of cutthroat bars that feel like 15, leaving you hungry for another course. In a world where the basic function of waking up feels like a chore, Freddie Gibbs and Alchemist have served up a dish of quick comfort food packed with essential nutrients included".[14] Reviewing the album for Clash, Robin Murray stated: "Alfredo excels on every front, a record that fuses a thirst for fresh innovation with a depth of love for hip-hop and rap music that is almost unparalleled. Pretty much an instant classic, it's the sound of Freddie Gibbs finally bursting free, working with tour de force production to surge past expectations and claim his place at the absolute pinnacle."[12] Juan Edgardo Rodríguez of No Ripcord gave a positive review, stating, "Gibbs is a masterful curator who knows who to match his flows with, like on God is Perfect and Look at Me, splicing soul loops, movie clips, and inventive beats etched into his gruff vocals. The beats are an attraction in itself, but make no mistake: they wouldn't be as good if Gibbs weren't behind the mic spitting his poetic yet matter-of-fact observations".[17]
Clayton Tomlinson of Exclaim! said, "The current king of rap manages, yet again, to offer a searing insight into his life, past and present. The songs on Alfredo are fun even when the themes aren't".[13]Pitchfork critic Matthew Ismael Ruiz said, "Gibbs skates over these beats, effortlessly gliding in and out of the pocket. Even the moments of stark contrast feel natural".[18] Writing for AllMusic, Andy Kellman felt that "Whether Alchemist transmutes glacial boom-bap and trawling acid nightmares or spiritual soft rock and tear-jerking soul, Gibbs makes it all work to his benefit".[11] Rupert Howe of Q said, "The melodic flow of Alchemist's beats perfectly offsets his partner's raw, unfiltered delivery".[19]
In the United States, Alfredo debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200, earning 30,000 album-equivalent units in its first week,[32] making it both Gibbs' and The Alchemist's highest-charting album to date.[4]
