See The Old Me

Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist featuring Tyler the Creator “Something to Rap About”

The Alchemist’s arrangement for “Something to Rap About” reshapes David T. Walker’s smooth and elegant instrumental “On Love” into something that sounds even more sleek and luxurious, or as Tyler the Creator describes it as he enters the track, “this sounds like the boat I haven’t bought yet.” Both Tyler and Freddie Gibbs take the relaxed, dreamy, and opulent tone of the music as a starting point for exploring the idea of success, with Gibbs focusing mainly on the economic pitfalls of actually having money and just wanting to “live to 93 and see the old me” and Tyler writing about dealing with other people’s resentment of his achievements. The latter rapper’s raspy monotone contrasts nicely with Walker’s crisp chords, and it’s hard not to be charmed by the bit at the end where he boasts about getting the verse down in one take but apologizes for mispronouncing Mykonos.

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