The Boiler Room is known for organizing crowded and sweaty events all over the world, usually featuring electronic DJs placed in a crowded crowd. However, on Tuesday night at London’s Giant Steps club, guests were the hip hop duo Freddie Gibbs & Madlib. Gibbs released his second collaboration project with the legendary producer, Bandana, in June, and has been praised by many as the competitor’s initial album this year.
One could think that everything would go crazy when Gibbs started the set by downing Hennessy’s half-empty bottle. On the way, he paused to share that he was “drunk like a fool”. He also used most of the pauses between songs to start the song “f *** the police” and to encourage people to give Madlib the proper respect. Throughout the set, Madlib remained his elusive self, very focused on his expertise and never said a word. At one point, he jokingly grabbed the mic from Gibbs, only to return it without saying anything. Gibbs – wearing a red canal without a shirt underneath – was dripping with sweat as he drew his heart out. The duo also reviewed some cuts from their 2014 project, Pinata, such as “Tall” – the Gibbs spit out most of the acapella on Madlib’s stroke.
Last week, Freddie & Madlib released another song for the Adult Swim Singles series, titled “The Next Day”.