Soul Sold Separately

Soul Sold Separately is a concept album themed around the $$$ ("Triple-S") Resort and Casino, a fictional Las Vegas hotel where, according to the album's narrative, Gibbs is working in seclusion to complete the record.{{Cite web|last=Mokoena |first=Tshepo |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/oct/04/rapping-powerhouse-freddie-gibbs-weird-kid-drug-dealer |title=Rap powerhouse Freddie Gibbs: 'I was always the weird kid – a lot of people don't like that' |work=The Guardian |date=2022-10-04 |access-date=2022-10-11}}{{Cite web|last=Ramirez |first=Matthew |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/10/01/1126282898/freddie-gibbs-soul-sold-separately-review |title=With '$oul $old $eparately,' Freddie Gibbs cashes in on his cachet |publisher=NPR |date=2022-10-01 |access-date=2022-10-11}} Gibbs has stated that the "gambling theme" of the album was chosen as a reference to the risks he needed to take to pursue his music career.

The album's title originates from "Education", a track from the 2019 project Bandana. Gibbs describes the title's meaning as follows: {{blockquote|In the last line of the rap, I said: 'Drugs for the free, soul sold separately.' What I meant by that line – 'Drugs for the free' – was that, yeah, I was selling drugs and making money, but what was I really making in the process? Like, in exchange for my soul?}}

{{Music ratings

| MC = 78/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/oul-old-eparately/freddie-gibbs|title=$oul $old $eparately by Freddie Gibbs|website=Metacritic|access-date=2022-10-11}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/oul-old-eparately-mw0003806114|title=$oul $old $eparately by Freddie Gibbs {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|first=Paul|last=Simpson|access-date=2022-10-11}}

| rev2 = HipHopDX

| rev2score = 4.1/5{{cite web|url=https://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.3922/title.freddie-gibbs-oul-old-eparately-album-review |title=Freddie Gibbs '$oul $old $eparately' is a Big Budget Victory Lap|website=HipHopDX|first=Dash|last=Lewis|date=2022-10-02|access-date=2022-10-11}}

| rev3 = Pitchfork

| rev3score = 7.7/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/freddie-gibbs-soul-sold-separately/ |title=Freddie Gibbs: $oul $old $eparately|website=Pitchfork|first=Matthew|last=Ritchie|date=2022-10-05|access-date=2022-10-11}}

| rev4 = Rolling Stone

| rev4score = 7.0/10{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/freddie-gibbs-oul-old-eparately-1234600935/|title=Freddie Gibbs Has Made It To the Penthouse. Now What? |magazine=Rolling Stone|first=Mosi|last=Reeves|date=2022-09-30|access-date=2022-10-11}}

| rev5 = Slant

| rev5score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/freddie-gibbs-soul-sold-separately-album-review/|title=Freddie Gibbs $oul $old $eparately Review: The Whiff of Excess|publisher=Slant|first=Paul|last=Attard|date=2022-10-02|access-date=2022-10-11}}

| rev6 = The Telegraph

| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/best-albums-week-keith-jarrett-bjork-slipknot-gabriels/|title=Keith Jarrett says farewell, Björk has a romantic reawakening – the week's best albums|website=Telegraph.co.uk |first=Thomas |last=Hobbs |date=2022-09-30|access-date=2022-10-11}}

}}

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Soul Sold Separately received an average score of 78 based on 8 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Critics generally described the album's prevailing moods as a juxtaposition of lavish aesthetics and dark, vulnerable lyrical content.{{cite news |last1=Feldstein |first1=Josh |title=Freddie Gibbs' latest album '$oul $old $eparately' delivers in every department |url=https://dailyorange.com/2022/10/frank-gibbs-latest-album-oul-old-eparately-delivered-in-every-department/ |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=The Daily Orange |date=3 October 2022}} Thomas Hobbs of Telegraph.co.uk characterizes the album's moods as a balance "between feeling like you're king of the world, unwinding in a presidential suites, and being... paranoid of jealous enemies". Paul Simpson of AllMusic notes that, despite "tales of luxurious excess", the album's lyrics predominantly "focus on the bleakest aspects of the struggle". The introspective aspects of the album have been generally praised, with Gibbs described as displaying "unflinching honesty" and "sincerity [that] can be bracing". Matthew Ritchie of Pitchfork observes that "when [Gibbs] homes in on his own words and self-critiques, he's razor sharp", although in a more critical review, Paul Attard of Slant comments that Gibbs mostly discusses his controversies "in ways that allow him to avoid explaining himself fully". Gibbs' technical skill on the album received widespread critical praise: in various reviews, he has been characterized as a "technically... flawless emcee", as utilizing "incredible rap pyrotechnics", and as "the eternal technician" with a "craftsman-like approach".

The production on Soul Sold Separately has been noted for its variety, featuring a diverse lineup of producers who bring sounds inspired by various East Coast, Midwestern, and Southern regional scenes. Within this diversity, however, several commonalities were noted. Dash Lewis of HipHopDX describes a "pretty cohesive" usage of features like "spacey synths and lush soul samples that snake around tightly coiled drums", and Paul Attard of Slant characterizes the production as "uniformly lavish". This luxurious feel has received mixed reviews; the HipHopDX review states that "at times [...] the glossiness makes the album buckle under its own pressure", while Matthew Ramirez of NPR states that the project "sometimes labors under the weight of a forced progression". The Slant review was particularly critical of the opulence, describing the album as having "a decidedly perfunctory whiff of excessive grandeur". A more positive appraisal of the production came from Paul Simpson of AllMusic, who described the album as "grander in scope than Gibbs' rightly praised single-producer efforts" while still being "nearly as consistent".

The skits which take place between some songs were less positively reviewed. HipHopDX described the skits as the "most jarring" part of the album, and Pitchfork characterized them as "nonsense" that the listener must "make an effort to sort through".

{{Track listing

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Couldn't Be Done

| note1 = featuring Kelly Price

| writer1 = {{hlist|Freddie Gibbs|Ben "Lambo" Lambert|Norma "Va" Denton|Kelly Price|Norman Soloman}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Swoope|Super Miles|Edgar JV Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Harmony Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length1 = 2:31

| title2 = Blackest in the Room

| writer2 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton|Daniel Maman|Michel Ripoche|Phillip Briche}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|The Alchemist|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length2 = 2:47

| title3 = Pain & Strife

| note3 = featuring Offset

| writer3 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton|Kiari Cephus|Anthony Henderson|Antoine Carraby|Bryon McCane|Charles Scruggs|Eric Wright|Mark Green|Stanley Howse|Steven Howse|Yomo Smith}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|Sevn Thomas|Fraka|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length3 = 1:57

| title4 = Zipper Bagz

| writer4 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton|Hareton Salvanini}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|Kaytranada|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length4 = 2:54

| title5 = Too Much

| note5 = featuring Moneybagg Yo

| writer5 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton|DeMario White Jr.|Eldra DeBarge}}

| extra5 = {{hlist|IV Beats|Denton|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length5 = 3:08

| title6 = Lobster Omelette

| note6 = featuring Rick Ross

| writer6 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton|William Roberts|Bobby Goldboro}}

| extra6 = {{hlist|Jake One|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length6 = 3:04

| title7 = Space Rabbit

| writer7 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton}}

| extra7 = {{hlist|Boi-1da|Jahaan Sweet|Rogét Chahayed|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length7 = 2:58

| title8 = Feel No Pain

| note8 = featuring Anderson .Paak and Raekwon

| writer8 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton|Brandon Paak Anderson|Corey Woods}}

| extra8 = {{hlist|J.LBS|Anderson .Paak|Tommy Brenneck|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length8 = 3:17

| title9 = Rabbit Vision

| writer9 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton}}

| extra9 = {{hlist|J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length9 = 3:13

| title10 = PYS

| note10 = featuring DJ Paul

| writer10 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton|Paul Beauregard|Jordan Houston}}

| extra10 = {{hlist|DJ Paul|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Houston{{ref|c|[c]}}|Kingpin Skinny Pimp{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length10 = 2:48

| title11 = Dark Hearted

| writer11 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton|James Blake}}

| extra11 = {{hlist|Blake|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}|Kyle Evans{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length11 = 3:25

| title12 = Gold Rings

| note12 = featuring Pusha T

| writer12 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton|Terrence Thornton}}

| extra12 = {{hlist|Thomas|Sean Momberger|Sweet|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length12 = 3:42

| title13 = Grandma's Stove

| note13 = featuring Musiq Soulchild

| writer13 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton|Taalib Johnson}}

| extra13 = {{hlist|Neenyo|Thomas|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length13 = 4:11

| title14 = CIA

| writer14 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton}}

| extra14 = {{hlist|Madlib|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length14 = 2:56

| title15 = Decoded

| note15 = featuring Scarface

| writer15 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Lambert|Denton|Bradley Jordan}}

| extra15 = {{hlist|DJ Dahi|Etienne{{ref|c|[c]}}|Samuels{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length15 = 3:14

| total_length = 46:05

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Bonus Edition{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/%24oul-%24old-%24eparately-bonus-edition/1651136737|title=$oul $old $eperately (Bonus Edition) by Freddie Gibbs on Apple Music|website=Apple Music|access-date=October 29, 2022}}

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title16 = Big Boss Rabbit

| writer16 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Nasir Jones|Sixto Rodriguez|William Mitchell}}

| extra16 = Swaggyono

| length16 = 2:58

| title17 = 4 Thangs

| note17 = featuring Big Sean and Hit-Boy

| writer17 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Big Sean}}

| extra17 = Hit-Boy

| length17 = 1:44

| title18 = Gang Signs

| note18 = featuring ScHoolboy Q

| writer18 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Quincy Hanley}}

| extra18 = {{hlist|Pilgrim|FaxxOnly|Kevin "No Credit" Spencer{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length18 = 2:46

| title19 = Ice Cream

| note19 = featuring Rick Ross

| writer19 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Roberts|Woods|Robert Diggs}}

| extra19 = {{hlist|Kenny Beats|G Koop{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length19 = 2:03

| title20 = Black Illuminati

| note20 = featuring Jadakiss

| writer20 = {{hlist|Gibbs|Jason Phillips|Andre Robinson|Arianna Reid|Rodney Montreal}}

| extra20 = {{hlist|Fortune|Reid|Bizness Boi}}

| length20 = 3:49

| total_length = 59:36

}}

Notes

• {{sup|{{note|c|[c]}}}} signifies a co-producer
• {{sup|{{note|a|[a]}}}} signifies an additional producer

Musicians

• Freddie Gibbs – vocals
• Harmony Samuels – instruments
• Edgar JV Etienne – instruments
• Rania Nasreen White – additional vocals (tracks 2, 7, 9, 12, 13, 15)
• Swaggyono – programming (16)
• Hit-Boy – programming (17)
• Andre Robinson – programming (20)
• Arianna Reid – programming (20)
• Rodney Montreal – programming (20)

Technical

• Kevin "No Credit" Spencer – mastering (1–16, 18–20), mixing (1–7, 9–16, 18–20)
• Mike Bozzi – mastering (17)
• Ari Morris – mixing (5)
• Jhair "JHA" Lazo – mixing, engineering (8)
• David Kim – mixing (17)
• Thurston "Thurst McGurst" McCrea – mixing (20), engineering (1–15, 18, 20)
• Matthew Herring – engineering (1–15)
• Daniel Escobar – engineering (3)
• Lauren D'Elia – engineering (4)
• Bobby Mota – engineering (11)
• Freddie Gibbs – executive production
• Ben "Lambo" Lambert – executive production
• Norva Denton – executive production

Visuals

• Matthew Draeger – art direction
• Ben "Lambo" Lambert – creative direction
• Nick Walker – photography

{{reflist}}

{{Freddie Gibbs}}

Category:2022 albums

Category:Freddie Gibbs albums

Category:Warner Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Jake One

Category:Hip-hop albums by American artists