Freddie Gibbs - 2 Days In Hell
photo by Henry Bruington

Most people know Freddie Gibbs as one of Hip Hop’s most promising emcees.  After years of hard work, and multiple setbacks, the days are finally getting brighter for the Gary, Indiana native.  The sun began to peek through the clouds in 2009, when Gibbs released a trio of mixtapes, The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs, midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik, and The Label’s Trying to Kill Me.  The mixtapes caught the attention of all major music outlets, and soon after, Freddie landed on the cover of XXL as a member of the 2010 Freshmen Class. He spent the summer of 2010 performing at high profile music festivals such as SXSW, Pitchfork Festival and The Mad Decent Block Party, and shortly after dropped his debut EP, Str8 Killa.  In 2011, Gibbs made another big move when he officially signed to Young Jeezy’s C.T.E. imprint, released his latest opus, Cold Day In Hell, and announced a new album with revered L.A. producer, Madlib.

It’s safe to say that Gibbs has come a very long ways since the days of sleeping on his manager’s couch and beefing daily with crews back in his hometown of Gary, Indiana.  The beef got so bad at one point that Gibbs was asked to forego any return trips, at least until things died down.

But Gibbs can’t stay away from the city that raised him, and we’re currently heading east on 90-94 making a trip to Gibbs’ hometown.   “We’re going to get some guns, we should be straight,” Gibbs tells us as we enter Gary, a once booming city that now resembles a ghost town out of a Clint Eastwood movie. Along for the ride are Gibbs’ manager and DJ, Archie, video director Derek Pike, as well as Woodie White and his partner Woods who form the video production crew WoodWorks.  The task at hand is to shoot some promo material for Gibbs’ latest mixtape, Cold Day In Hell, which was released via clothing brand LRG.

No one in the car besides Gibbs and Bonkers has ever been to Gary before.  While I grew up on the Southside of Chicago, and went to college in Indiana, my own experience with Gary consists of driving past it on my way to and from school, hoping to not run out of gas around its 53 blocks.  So, although Gibbs is known best known as an emcee, for the next two days he will play tour guide, directing us where to go and where not to go, where we can pull over to get footage and where we should not even slow down.

The streets of Gary are mostly empty on this late Saturday morning in early June.  It’s shortly after Gibbs’ 29th birthday, one that he spent out in Hawaii. I can’t help but think about the contrast between the island’s beaches and these neighborhoods plagued by run down homes, abandoned stores, and empty lots.  Indeed, the city resembles the playground of a hungry and cold-hearted giant, one who takes bites out of houses, leaving gaping holes in the sides of people’s home, with possessions and toilets exposed for everyone to see. “I can’t tell which places are closed for the day, or closed forever,” I say at one point during our trip.  “You should just assume forever,” Gibbs responds.

After making a few turns, Gibbs lets everyone know that we have hit the East Side of Gary and the neighborhood where he spent his youth.  “Right now it’s real desolate,” he mentions as we drive around.  “I used to play ball, run around, there was more to do then.  You see what all the corruption, crime, how it can really decay a place and take the shine off a city.  It’s home though,” he adds.  “I love it though. I’m home every month. I come back knowing what I got to do.”

Gibbs believes that with his success comes the responsibility to be a symbol for the people of Gary, Indiana, a walking testament that you can do more and see more, that you can make it out.  “I think that what I’m doing is special, not just because of the rap shit, fuck that.  It’s deeper than that.  I think I’m bringing the city notoriety with everything I’m doing, just me being a voice.  And me just showing motherfuckers that you can do more… This is my home so I got to come back to show that I haven’t lost respect for where I come from.  You got to respect where you come from, or where you come from won’t respect you.”