Freddie Gibbs has been hard at work in the buildup to the release of his next project, ESGN. For fans of the Gary, IN, MC, this album marks a new chapter in his career since parting ways with Young Jeezy’s CTE. As he shared with us a few weeks ago: “It’s going to be my first solo shit. Me separating from CTE. I’m extremely happy about that.”

Gibbs is gearing up for the July 9 release with a slew of guest verses and early previews of ESGN. The first offering, “One Eighty Seven” featuring Problem, re-announced his project to the world and caught a lot of people's attention. "[That]'s straight for the clubs," he says. "For the hoes. Strictly for the hoes. It’s straight gangster rap. I ain’t sugarcoated shit." Other cuts—“Eastside Moonwalker” and “Freddie Soprano”—are also some of his best work to date. Now, with the rest of the album left to digest, Gibbs pinpoints for XXL his five favorite tracks to watch out for and lays out the claim that since the death of Michael Jackson—Gary, IN's other favorite son—he'll be picking up the torch for his city. Peep game, and check the tracklist and more here.—Eric Diep (@E_Diep)

“Eastside Moonwalker”
Produced by GMF

Freddie Gibbs: "That’s one of the dopest tracks. Shout out to GMF. He produced that. It’s showing people that I’m the staple of the game when it comes to Gary [Indiana]. Michael Jackson is dead, so I gotta pick up the torch and run with it for my city. Actually, I am the only person grabbing it. I am just doing what I got to do. I’m the eastside moonwalker. I stay high, baby."

“Freddie Soprano”
Produced by ID Labs

Freddie Gibbs:"That’s the definitive verse from the album. Bascially, telling y’all what it is. How I feel about what’s what."

gibbs_3
loading...

“F.A.M.E.” ft. Daz and Spice-1
Produced by Cardo

Freddie Gibbs: "[The acronym stands for] 'Fuck All My Enemies.' You know who I am talking about. If you an enemy—fuck you.

"I grew up listening to Daz and Spice-1. If it wasn’t for guys like that, I wouldn’t be rapping. Any project I do, I try to pay homage to guys that I respect. Last project I fucked with Jadakiss. He’s one of the guys that when I came up, I came up listening to. He’s still an athlete in this game. He’s still one of the best in it. He don’t get his credit.

"I always try to pay homage to the guys that were instrumental in my career with me coming up. That’s why I linked up with Daz and Spice-1.

"[This is a diss] track to anybody who want it. If the shoe fits, wear it. I’m talking shit about all of you niggas. If the shoe fits, wear it. If you pick up the shoe and you put it on. You want to take to Twitter and you want to get on your track and say something about Freddie Gibbs, make sure you got your hardhat on."

gibbs_1
loading...

“Lay It Down”
Produced by Willie B

Freddie Gibbs: "Shout out to Willie B. He fuck with Jay Rock and them. He produced that shit. That’s one of them hard-hitting joints. It’s going straight to the point. Lay it down. That’s a robbing song."

gibbs_2
loading...

“Have U Seen Her” ft. Hit Skrewface
Produced by SMKA

Freddie Gibbs: "This is featuring my boy Screwface. SMKA, they produced that. That’s one of them bangers. It’s hard."

More From XXL