"Scottie Beam," the lavish collaboration between Freddie Gibbs, Alchemist, and Rick Ross, has been long-awaited and certainly, it doesn't disappoint. Clocking in at number three on Alfredo, Gibbs checks off another major collaboration with a legendary rapper in the game as they go bar-for-bar on Alchemist's dreamscape of production. Gibbs delivers a rather lucid verse, in contrast to Alch's production, scattering references of Gil-Scott Heron to The Last Dance and Queen & Slim throughout. Rick Ross comes in on the second verse as if he just walked out of a hotbox, as he declares, "Uh, 305 in my yayo/ Subject to let a bitch snort a line off the dashboard of my '75." It's luxury coke raps at it's finest (think open white silk shirts on a yacht with cocaine served on a silver platter).
This was another a major collab for Freddie but Scottie Beam hit the 'Gram revealing that she can check something off of her bucket list, too. "Welp looks like i can cross off “songs named after me by a insanely respectable lyricist and producer” off my list. Still can’t believe it.
Thank you for the shout out @freddiegibbs. Now to listen to all of #Alfredo on all streaming platforms," she wrote.
More importantly, the song's release feels incredibly timely given the recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. The references to Queen & Slim as well as Gil Scott Heron tie into each other over the course of the track. Gibbs opens up his verse flipping the famous words of Gil Scott Heron, "the revolution is the genocide/ Yeah, your execution will be televised." There's a revolution going on that we can't ignore. Even if the verse was written before the tragic events in the past few weeks that have garnered international attention, it reflects the terrifying realities Black Americans face regularly.
Check out the rest of Alfredo here.
Quotable Lyrics
He pulled me over, I asked him, "Yo, what's the problem sir?"
I swerved to duck the potholes, man, I had no option, sir
Just let me go because my license, insurance proper, sir
I'd hate to be on the run for smokin' an officer
We were bustin' at police before Queen & Slim, that's on the Fin
Let off fifty shots at the squad car and get in the wind
Told the Gary Police in '05 that I got more guns than them
Get the feds if you want a war, and they sent them bitches in