Hailing from Gary, Indiana, a place whose murder and crime rates have ranked it several times at the top of the "Most Dangerous Cities" list, Freddie Gibbs is the true definition of a street survivor. Raised on Gary's east side, Gibbs lived the hard life firsthand in a run-down industrial community plagued with vice and ignored by the establishment. After playing at Ball State on a football scholarship, Gibbs was kicked out of college. Over the next few years he went through court-ordered boot camp, joined and got discharged from the military, and held down a series of 9 to 5 jobs without success. Feeling like the system had failed him, Gibbs turned to hustling; pimping and selling crack out of a local house. Inspired by rappers like UGK, The Geto Boys, and 2Pac, Gibbs started rhyming about his life and the issues facing urban youth in Gary and the countless other impoverished cities just like it. Gibbs is the first rapper signed to a major label from Gary.
The Steel City's most famous musical residents to date are the Jackson 5, whose name still adorns a marquee on a falling-apart theater in Gary's blighted downtown. His desire to rep the Midwest and his city led Gibbs to start recording mixtapes and pushing them online as well as the streets, where he quickly began garnering fans drawn to his original style, diverse flows, and deeply personal lyrics about his experience as a young black man growing up below the poverty line in a forgotten American city.
Freddie has worked with respected producers like Madlib, Red Spyda, Just Blaze, Buckwild, the Alchemist, Polow Da Don, and Collipark among many others. Gibbs cites Houston rap and Pac as his major influences, and it shows in his ability to alternate between chillingly tense street stories of violence and laid back comedic tales about women and weed. Ultimately Gibbs shows and proves with his rhymes, which demonstrate the promise of a legend in the making. His skills, wit, and street credibility establish Freddie Gibbs as a true artist. He's ready to represent for Gary, the Midwest, and anyone who relates to the struggle of inner city life. As Gibbs tells it: "My music is definitely on some gangsta shit. That's what I was raised on and what I witnessed. How can I speak on anything else?" "Become a fan now, or become one later."
How We Do ('93 Til Freestyle
Freddie Gibbs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She had a cute face, a thin waist, a bright smile
Titties mediocre, but ass was like BLOWW!
Might have been two thou' when I met that ho
But on the low I used to sweat that ho, I had to let that go
Cause baby had me with a hell of a crush
Love letters on her locker, I ain't give no fuck
What other niggas thought about me
Made me want to do some shit like carve her name in a tree
Like we was K-I-S-S-I-N-G
But little did I know she had a dude
With hella money, hella jewels, I was just another nigger in school
A straight fool, for thinking I was special or different
Lost my respect for the rest of the bitches
shank
Never thought they'd fill my heart with pain though
I would laugh when a broad made my niggers feel blue
But the jokes ain't funny when the joke's on you
Let me stroke something boo, let me get that pearl
Touch your soft spot, let me in your world
And you can be his girl, and that nigger can remain your man
Freddie G'll be your back-up plan
Cause why have one when a nigga can have two
Three or four hoes I like the ass brand new
Just fuck with me and ill stay true
Yea yea I love you too
It's how we do, do, do-do-do
It's how we do, do, do-do-do
It's how we do, do, do-do-do
I had a bad bitch from
Nap
Nicole used to keep a nigger dick on swole
She knew I had a girlfriend, but she love my pole
And when she saw me with my woman, then she lost control
And went crazy
, "Freddie I can't believe you played me
People told me that niggas from the G was shady
You forgot you didn't wear a rubber when you laid me
I'm pregnant and it's your baby"
Hell of a bind, these hoes put me through a hell of a time
Met a girl last year that I thought was mine
Came all the way to NY to see me rhyme
Flew her ass out to LA for Christmas time
And shit was fine, we on the same beat
She ain't got a problem with me being in the street
I know I ain't her one and only, but I'm hoping I ain't one of many
Baby pretty, but try to play me silly,
Wasn't think 'bout religion when she told me the dick bomb
But then she up and left me cause I practice Islam
I guess Mom told her that the boy ain't right
And she gon' pray to Jesus Christ to take me out of her life
And out of her sight, she keep it undercover
I really used to mean it when I told her that I love her
But now I know that love is a four letter word
Like fuck this shit
So love you can suck my dick
In this song, Freddie Gibbs reflects on his past romantic relationships and the lessons he has learned. He talks about his infatuation with a girl in high school who was already taken by a wealthy boyfriend. Despite his efforts to win her heart, he realizes he was just another guy in her life. Gibbs then talks about his experiences with other women, including a girl he cheated on his girlfriend with and is now pregnant. He also mentions a relationship with a girl who he thought understood his lifestyle and was supportive until she left him because of his religion.
Gibbs uses vivid language to describe the physical attributes of the women he has been with, focusing mainly on their bodies rather than their personalities or interests. He also acknowledges his own mistakes in these relationships, such as cheating on his girlfriend and not using protection with another woman. Through these experiences, Gibbs seems to have become disillusioned with love and sees it as a four-letter word that can be discarded easily.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon a time round '99, I took a chick to the prom with a big behind
In 1999, I took a girl with a big butt to the prom.
She had a cute face, a thin waist, a bright smile
She was attractive and had a pretty smile.
Titties mediocre, but ass was like BLOWW!
Her breasts were average, but her butt was amazing.
Might have been two thou' when I met that ho
I think I met her around 2000.
But on the low I used to sweat that ho, I had to let that go
I used to be really attracted to her, but I had to move on.
Cause baby had me with a hell of a crush
I had a big crush on her.
Love letters on her locker, I ain't give no fuck
I wrote notes to her and put them in her locker, but I didn't care what other people thought.
What other niggas thought about me
I didn't care what other guys at school thought about me.
Cause I was all about we, me and her 'til I D-I-E
I was really into her and wanted to be with her forever.
Made me want to do some shit like carve her name in a tree
I was so in love that I wanted to carve her name in a tree.
Like we was K-I-S-S-I-N-G
Like the nursery rhyme about two kids kissing.
But little did I know she had a dude
I didn't realize she had a boyfriend.
With hella money, hella jewels, I was just another nigger in school
He was really rich and I was just another guy at school.
A straight fool, for thinking I was special or different
I was foolish for thinking I was special to her.
Lost my respect for the rest of the bitches
I lost respect for all other girls after that.
Never thought they'd fill my heart with pain though
I didn't expect to be hurt by girls like that.
I would laugh when a broad made my niggers feel blue
I used to laugh when a girl hurt my friends' feelings.
But the jokes ain't funny when the joke's on you
When it happens to you, it's not funny anymore.
Let me stroke something boo, let me get that pearl
Let me touch you and make you feel good.
Touch your soft spot, let me in your world
Let me make you feel good and get to know you better.
And you can be his girl, and that nigger can remain your man
You can stay with your boyfriend, but I'll still be here for you.
Freddie G'll be your back-up plan
I'll be there for you if things don't work out with him.
Cause why have one when a nigga can have two
Why settle for one girl when I can have two?
Three or four hoes I like the ass brand new
I like having new girls, and I like girls with nice butts.
Just fuck with me and ill stay true
If you're with me, I'll be loyal.
Yea yea I love you too
I love you too.
It's how we do, do, do-do-do
This is just how we do things.
I had a bad bitch from Nap
I had a girl from Naperville.
Nicole used to keep a nigger dick on swole
Nicole liked to have sex with me a lot.
She knew I had a girlfriend, but she love my pole
She knew I had a girlfriend, but she still wanted to have sex with me.
And when she saw me with my woman, then she lost control
When she saw me with my girlfriend, she got upset.
And went crazy, "Freddie I can't believe you played me
She was angry and felt played when she found out about my girlfriend.
People told me that niggas from the G was shady
People warned her that guys from the G were untrustworthy.
You forgot you didn't wear a rubber when you laid me
We didn't use protection when we had sex.
I'm pregnant and it's your baby"
I'm pregnant and it's your child.
Hell of a bind, these hoes put me through a hell of a time
These girls have caused a lot of problems for me.
Met a girl last year that I thought was mine
I met a girl last year that I thought was my girlfriend.
Came all the way to NY to see me rhyme
She came to New York to see me perform.
Flew her ass out to LA for Christmas time
I flew her to LA for Christmas.
And shit was fine, we on the same beat
Things were going well, we were on the same page.
She ain't got a problem with me being in the street
She doesn't mind that I spend time in the streets.
I know I ain't her one and only, but I'm hoping I ain't one of many
I know I'm not her only boyfriend, but I hope I'm not one of many.
Baby pretty, but try to play me silly
She's attractive, but she tried to play me for a fool.
Wasn't think 'bout religion when she told me the dick bomb
She didn't care about religion when we had sex.
But then she up and left me cause I practice Islam
But then she left me because I practice Islam.
I guess Mom told her that the boy ain't right
I guess her mom didn't like me.
And she gon' pray to Jesus Christ to take me out of her life
She's going to pray to Jesus to get me out of her life.
And out of her sight, she keep it undercover
She doesn't want anyone to know she doesn't like me anymore.
I really used to mean it when I told her that I love her
I used to really love her and mean it when I said it.
But now I know that love is a four letter word
Now I know that love doesn't really mean anything.
Like fuck this shit
I don't care anymore.
So love you can suck my dick
I don't care about love, you can suck my dick.
Contributed by Gianna N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Leo Poeschel
Verse 1: Freddie Gibbs]
Once upon a time round '99
I took a chick to the prom with a big behind
She had a cute face, a thin waist, a bright smile
Titties mediocre, but ass was like, blaow
Might have been two thou' when I met that ho
But on the low I used to sweat that ho, I had to let that go
Cause baby had me with a hell of a crush
Love letters on her locker, I ain't give no fuck
What other niggas thought about me
Cause I was all about we, me and her 'til I D-I-E
Made me want to do some shit like carve her name in a tree
Like we was K-I-S-S-I-N-G
But little did I know she had a dude
With hella money, hella jewels, I was just another nigga in school
A straight fool, for thinking I was special or different
Lost my respect for the rest of the bitches
I played hoes and shank hoes for bankrolls
Never thought they'd fill my heart with pain though
I would laugh when a broad made my niggas feel blue
But the jokes ain't funny when the joke's on you
Let me stroke something boo, let me get that pearl
Touch your softest spot, let me in your world
And you can be his girl, and that nigga can remain your man
Freddie G'll be your back-up plan
[Hook] x2
It’s how we do
Cause why have one when a nigga can have two
Three or four hoes I like the ass brand new
Just fuck with me and ill stay true
“I love you"
Yea yea I love you too
It's how we do, do, do-do-do
It's how we do, do, do-do-do
It's how we do, do, do-do-do
[Verse 2: Freddie Gibbs]
I had a bad bitch from Nap named Nicole
Nicole used to keep a nigga dick on swole
She knew I had a girlfriend, but she love my pole
And when she saw me with my woman, then she lost control
And went crazy, "Freddie I can't believe you played me
People told me that niggas from the G was shady
You forgot you didn't wear a rubber when you laid me
I'm pregnant and it's your baby"
Hell of a bind, these hoes put me through a hell of a time
Met a girl last year that I thought was mine
Came all the way to NY to see me rhyme
Flew her ass out to LA for Christmas time
And shit was fine, we on the same beat
She ain't got a problem with me being in the street
I know I ain't her one and only, but I'm hoping I ain't one of many
Baby pretty, but try to play me silly, cause she really
Wasn't think 'bout religion when she told me the dick bomb
But then she up and left me cause I practice Islam
I guess Mom told her that the boy ain't right
And she gon' pray to Jesus Christ to take me out of her life
And out of her sight, she keep it undercover
I really used to mean it when I told her that I love her
But now I know that love is a four letter word
Like fuck and shit
So love you can suck my dick
Nonchalant1996
It’s crazy how Gibbs is essentially the same era as Kendrick, j Cole and all them yet he feels like such an OG
j101s
thats because hes older
1Skyler0
@Kurt K J cole yeah, kendrick nah
Kurt K
@1Skyler0 Kendrick nor Cole ever been that good to me. But Gibbs? Dudes all skill bro.
1Skyler0
@Kurt K You ever listen to to pimp a butterfly bro?
Righteous One
No stutter, no mistakes, one take, old school beat, roof of New York, boombox. Transported to 90s.
Nostalgia.
Freddie
hostyle0 yes he did mate this isnt lipsynced
Chains The Chef
@Freddie Yeah this isn't lipsynced you can tell
Matthew Anthony
@Chains The Chef lol it is 🤡
Draenor
@Matthew Anthony nah, you can see the mic on his shirt