This is it. Lil Bibby announced at the start of 2015 that “Free Crack 3” would be the last pass out. Bibby reiterates this in the opening skit of his project where a junky asks a dealer if this is the end of “Free Crack.”
The NLMB 150 Roc Block rapper made it his mission not to disappoint in his latest tape. Shortly before the release of FC3, Bibby expressed confidence that his latest project would be a classic. “Classic” is often word thrown around loosely in the world of Hip Hop. But, I must say, Bibby may be on to something here. And it shows in Bibby’s strut. Bibby recently conducted an interview with DJ MoonDawg of 107.5 WCGI Chicago where he can be seen wearing dark shades with a cool demeanor. It could perhaps be due to Bibby not only taking it back to the basics, but also showing growth in his artistry.
“Everything’s different, man. I’m feeling different,” he said. “I’m in a whole different mode. I’m not the same guy. It’s just sounding different. I think my music is maturing. I think this some of the best music I been recording.”
And the reason I say Bibby took it back to the basic is because he did some recording for this project in his hometown of Chicago. Bibby told MoonDawg that he draws inspiration from the Chi.
“When I be in Atlanta too long, I can’t write too many songs,” Bibby said. “I gotta always come back to Chicago. It’s nothing like the Chicago feeling. I get bored, I don’t be knowing what to rap about when I’m in Atlanta for too long. Atlanta is not as fun as Chicago.”
That Chicago feeling got Bibby back on his gangsta in “Word Around Town.” Bibby reminds me of a young Scarface in this joint. Bibby spits some of the most sinister rhymes I’ve ever heard from him in this joint.
He raps, “My n****s they don’t have a conscience, heard you been talking that nonsense/Hit em up thirteen times now they been calling em Harden/I kept his head for a trophy, then left his arms by the garbage/I hang with killers and robbers, mess up your chain cause they starving.”
Bibby linked up with Atlanta’s Future on the Metro Boomin-produced joint “Aww Man.” Future actually handles the hook on this record. Bibby is feeling himself in this joint. Bibby’s jewelry and designer got the women choosing. Bibby raps, “When I pull up all the b*****s be like god damn/Got em turnt in the club, like that’s our jam/My neck and my wrist full of diamonds/My clothes come straight from designers/I told Future pull out the Wraith/Let’s flex and finesse for the cameras.”
You know you’re going to get a banger when Lil Bibby and Lil Herb collab together on a track. Bibby and Herb set the Internet on fire after linking up on what they called their “Kill Sh*t Pt. 2.” The record is officially titled “Ain’t Heard Bout You.” Bibby calling it the “Kill Sh*t Pt. 2” was good marketing for the record and I do believe it lived up to its name, though the original “Kill Sh*t” is still my personal top favorite Lil Bibby and Lil Herb collaboration.
The dope thing about Bibby and Herb when they hop on a track is we hear the competition when they both take turns rapping. There’s nothing wrong with this because, as they say, iron sharpens iron.
The hardest bars Bibby spit in this record were:
“Play with me, you gon sleep with the fishes/No them killers don’t shoot from a distance/And them n****s ain’t leaving no witness/Eat up tracks man this beat was delicious.”
Herb was equally impressive, rapping, “Before me and Bibby had verses and show money piling/We were just young n****s wilding/Even though I be rapping about murders and violence/When the police come, I’m silent.”
Bibby’s “EBT To BET” record is a rags to riches tale. Bibby comes from humble beginnings on 79th and Essex. He’s now touring the country as one of the hottest underground MCs. But even with the fame, Bibby still has to keep his head above water. Anyone who’s in tune with Bibby’s artistry would soon learn this has been consistent theme in his music.
Bibby speaks on his stressful life, rapping, “Man this rap sh*t got me set up, now I gotta keep my head up/I sit back and think, this weight on my shoulders/I might need a shrink, living drug free, man I might need a drink (I’m goin crazy and sh*t man).”
Bibby is more revealing in the second verse and opens up on suicidal thoughts. In the verse, he again speaks on the downside of fame.
Bibby raps, “Wish somebody would have warned me, I’d have quit this sh*t/Sometimes I wish I never did this/You know what man? Forget this sh*t/Cause sometimes I be thinking bout offin myself/It’s no one that I could trust, so I talk to myself/I understand this sh*t, that’s how it feel to be the man and sh*t/A lot of n****s want this life, I swear they couldn’t handle it.”
Lil Bibby links up with fellow Chi Town native, Common, and slows it down for listeners in “Speak To Em.” Bibby invites us into his life in this record. We’re introduced to dope dealin Bibby.
Bibby raps, “I remember trappin all winter/Know I kept it killer, January to December/I was in the trap all day getting faded/Boomin like Metro til it got raided/Learn the rules to the game ‘fore you play it/They gon ask you, better not say sh*t.”
Bibby also had some free crack for the ladies. Bibby tapped Chi Town crooners Jeremih and R. Kelly for his R&B joint “Misunderstood.” Da Internz hooked up the production on this joint.
Bibby stayed on his R&B groove in song “If He Find Out,” featuring Jacquees and Tink. In my opinion, this C-Sick-produced record was surprisingly a better R&B track than “Misunderstood” despite the legend Kellz lending his talents on the record. Bibby is the side n*gga in this record and proud of it. Bibby happens to be Tink’s secret lover in this track.
Bibby gives no f*cks in this record, rapping, “Tell that f**k n***a, ‘Get lost.’/Don’t you wanna f**k with a real boss?/Catch a flight, we could dip off/When I pulled up, he was pissed off/And I don’t mean to get too explicit/But short know I get the juices drippin.”
Later in this same verse, Bibby raps, “Who gives a f**k if he find out?/Boy, put that n***a in timeout/As a matter of facts go and tell that n****a you mine now/I don’t give a f**k.”
Bibby gives his day-one fans what they crave in his Young Chop-produced record “Made N*gga.” Bibby is back on his boss don Gambino sh*t in this drill record. The made term hold special meaning to any vet. This means Bibby put in his work.
Bibby hits this record, rapping, “Spend them stacks, get it back/Cuffin sh*t as Bernie Mack/I’m a rebel, flip a pack/With my n****s totin gats/50 shots in a Mac/N****s don’t know how to act.”
Bibby again links with producer C-Sick on “Came From Nothing.” Bibby hits this record with straight bars. The title for this joint had me thinking Bibby was going to open up more on his rough beginnings and tells us a story. In the opening bar, Bibby says he went from trapping out of bandos to tryna grab that new lambo, but that’s all he gives us. I was hoping to hear some motivational rap for all of us that grew up in the hood. Nonetheless, Bibby gives us that hardcore flow in this joint.
The hardest rhymes Bibby said were:
“All that sneak dissin gon get some n****s murked/N****s spreading rumors but that sh*t won’t work/Shooters don’t go there, put you in the Earth, have your squad rocking shirts.”
Don Rob & Oz hooked up a hot instrumental for Bibby in “Things Will Get Brighter.” Don Rob & Oz sampled the Five Stairsteps’ “O-oh Child.” The Five Stairsteps were a popular R&B group from Chicago.
Bibby speaks on paranoia in this record comparing himself to 50 Cent in song “Many Men.”
He raps, “I’m feeling like 50 when he dropped ‘Many Men’/Only got myself I don’t trust any man.”
Bibby gets honest with listeners in the Habib-produced “I Can’t Lie.” Though the odds were stacked against Bibby in his life, he happens to overcome them. I believe this to be Bibby’s most personal track on this entire tape.
He raps, “Young n*gga spent every day up in the streets/I ain’t for the beef, I was out here tryna eat/Used to walk around with eight grams in my briefs/Now I’m on planes, getting change overseas/All I had to do is use my brain and believe/Think it’s time to give the rap game what it need/Do this for the city, I’m the one they let speak/I’m the one that’s giving all the game for the free/Do this for the real n****s just like me.”
Bibby again opens up on his depression in “Killin Me.” Bibby has a lot weighing on his mind in this record as he raps, “Now shit’s getting heavy on my shoulders/I keep it to myself, I promise I never show it/I tell myself nobody cares, bucks, just keep it goin/It’s like I’m dying inside but you would never know it.”
The depression is so real for Bibby that he considers therapy.
He raps, “All these frenemies, man I can’t let nobody close to me/Kind hearted, man I swear I always looked out/But n****s they forgettin, still hae they hands stuck out/Say f**k em all, I’m gon do this sh*t for me now/How I feel, I need a shrink on speed dial.”
Bibby speaks to his fans in track 14. Bibby sums up his project in this open letter. Bibby tells listeners his mission with this project was to express himself using a wide range of emotions.
“I put time, feelings, into this project. And you can hear it in the music. Listening to FC3, you can hear when I’m happy. You can hear when I’m mad, you can hear when I’m depressed.” Bibby goes on to say he’s experienced much growth over the course of his young career.
This is what I respect about Bibby’s artistry. He’s not afraid to express his emotions. This is what I also like about Herb. A lot of rappers in the game aren’t comfortable with themselves to express themselves in this way in their music. This is why Bibby will have longevity in Hip Hop.
Bibby lied when he said this was the final Free Crack. He’s actually preparing the release of “FC3: The Epilogue.” But this project will not be free. It is now available for pre-order on iTunes.
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