Having been a force in the underground for well over a decade, Freddie Gibbs continues to build on one of Hip-Hop’s most respected discographies in the modern era. He’s been cranking out new albums and mixtapes nearly every year, consistently building up his fan base with each project, and some might argue that his best work has come when he’s locked in with one producer for an entire album. He’s done it a few times with Madlib, releasing critically acclaimed projects like Pinata (2014) and Bandana (2019), but his biggest successes have come when he’s collaborated with The Alchemist. Their 2020 album Alfredo was nominated for a Grammy, (and probably should have won that year if the Grammys didn’t have a need to make up for snubbing Nas for multiple decades), and it’s one of the few albums in Freddie’s discography to get a direct sequel.

Meanwhile, a case could be made for The Alchemist being Producer of the Year in 2025. He’s had his hand in several acclaimed projects, including new albums by Erykah Badu and Mobb Deep, an upcoming project with Yasiin Bey (f/k/a Mos Def) that on paper can’t be anything short of flames, and of course the Alfredo 2 album with Freddie Gibbs. The man stays busy, not only making beats but also going out on the road as a DJ; he’s already done a North American tour this year with Erykah Badu to promote their album Abi & Alan, and has another European tour lined up with DJ Premier in the winter. With all the artists The Alchemist has produced for, it’s surprising yet dope to see that he has time to join Freddie Gibbs on The Alfredo Tour, which marks the first time the duo are performing live together, celebrating both of their collaborations after having not been able to tour the first album during the COVID years.

Just past the halfway point of the tour, the Toronto stop would be a sold-out show at HISTORY, and would be the biggest concert Freddie Gibbs has headlined in the city yet. For me personally, this would also be my first time seeing Freddie Gibbs perform live, having failed to make the timing work for any of the past shows he’s done in Toronto over the years. Well over half an hour after doors had opened, there was still a line around the block to get into the building, but we still made it inside just in time to catch the start of the show.

Starting off the show right on schedule would be a Canadian emcee named Insyt, who’s also on his own local tour with a show at The Garrison set for November 23rd. It would be my first time experiencing the music for all of the openers at this show, and Insyt had a style of rap that reminded me of Earl Sweatshirt with the way he flowed over cinematic sounding loops with minimal drums. He’d warm up the stage with a solid 15-minute set, and would be followed by an instrumentalist group all the way from Sweden, Sven Wunder. With Josefin Runsteen on drums and Joel Danell calmly sitting behind a set of synths and keys, they’d play tracks off Sven Wunder’s new album Daybreak. Having this kind of band open at a Hip-Hop show may feel strange at first, but the more we listened to the tunes, the more it felt like listening to the kind of music Alchemist might dig through to find samples to loop.

The final opener to come on before the headliners would be an emcee from North Carolina, Mavi, and he’d be backed by DJ/producer Ovrkast. While I was mostly unfamiliar with the music going into this show, much of the crowd were already fans, shouting out the lyrics with Mavi and giving him good energy as they shouted his name, waved their arms and lit up their phones when he asked them to. He’d perform a song produced by The Alchemist early in the setlist called “Miracle Baby,” and went on to nail every word to every verse he spit for the next several songs, all with minimal backing tracks. Even if you didn’t know the songs, you had the respect the raw skill he showcased on stage.

Mavi’s set was fun, as he’d often talk to the crowd to get them into the right vibe for the next song. He’d also make sure Ovrkast got some shine, shouting out how he’s produced records for hometown legend Drake (on For All The Dogs: Scary Hours Edition). For a split second one might’ve thought Drake himself would come out to perform some of those Ovrkast-produced tracks, HISTORY being his club after all, but that moment never came. Instead, the Drake shoutout was merely a flex before Ovrkast got on the mic, performing the song “MAVKAST!” with Mavi and getting a ton of energy out of the crowd as they ran across the stage. Mavi would rock a few more tracks, bringing some emotional vibes with the song “Self Love” before closing out with another Ovrkast collab, “TBH!,” and getting the first mosh pit of the night to open up.

After a short intermission, it was time for our headliners, as Alchemist came out first and got set up behind the turntables. He’d start by playing track one off of the first Alfredo album, “1985,” and Freddie would make his entrance coming out of the Asian restaurant backdrop that had been setup on stage all night, wearing a karate gi with a blackbelt and clearly ready to get into some lyrical martial arts. This concert just happened to be going on at the same time as the Toronto Blue Jays’ Game 6 against the Seattle Mariners in the 2025 ALCS, and knowing the magnitude of the game and the hype the whole city was in, Freddie wasted no time checking in to ask what the score was (5-0 Jays at the time). He’d then take off the blackbelt and get into the lyrical ass whooping on “God is Perfect,” nailing the fast flow and getting the crowd to join in on the hook. Shouting out the genius of Alchemist’s production, they’d then smooth it out with “Scottie Beam,” Freddie again nailing his verses word for word with no backing vocal tracks.

Having kicked off the show with tracks 1-3 off the first Alfredo album, they’d next do the same with Alfredo 2, performing “1995,” “Mar-a-Lago,” and the hype “Lemon Pepper Steppers,” Freddie consistently nailing the flows with impeccable breath control. Hearing Freddie Gibbs rap in person compared to listening to the record brings another level of appreciation for the breath control it takes to flow the way he does, as he skates flawlessly over these beats. He’d take a moment to show appreciation to the fans, noticing the line around the corner of the building earlier and showing thankfulness for the support before continuing the show. The setlist would bounce between the two albums and Freddie would often preview the song by rapping acapella before getting into the full performance, hitting the fans with “Baby $hit,” “Gold Feet,” and “Babies & Fools.”

Now starting to get into a bit of an R&B vibe, Alchemist would tease the sample from “Look At Me” before getting into the more fast-paced “Feeling,” getting the crowd to bounce to the beat. Freddie & Al had been doing strictly Alfredo and Alfredo 2 joints for the whole show so far, but they’d break that cycle by pulling out one of their older collabs off the album FETTI, Alchemist calling Freddie the King of R&B as he got him singing to “Now & Later Gators.” Seeming to need to drink to get into that singing vibe, Freddie would head backstage into the restaurant and give Alchemist the spotlight to spin some records. While we saw at the 2024 edition of the Bastid’s BBQ music festival that Al can go in for hours playing songs he’s produced, he would keep his DJ set short this time, only playing a handful of tracks like Larry June & 2 Chainz’ “Life Is Beautiful,” and the classic “We Gon’ Make It” by Jadakiss & Styles P.

Alchemist’s DJ set would seamlessly transition to the return of Freddie Gibbs, as he’d play the $oul $old $eparately cut “Blackest In The Room,” and Freddie would rap the first verse while still backstage. Freddie cut his vocal so smoothly that it felt like Alchemist was simply playing the song; you didn’t realize until the adlibs that Freddie was spitting it live. Freddie would again make an epic entrance, this time appearing on the roof of the restaurant as he performed “Skinny Suge II,” getting the crowd extra hyped from the higher platform. He’d make his way back down to the main stage as he got the crowd vibing to “Lavish Habits,” and would take a moment to get another Blue Jays score check (the win was nearly secured at 6-2 during the 8th inning!).

Freddie & Al would continue on with several more cuts off of Alfredo 2, performing “I Still Love H.E.R.” but with a twist, as Alchemist flipped the beat on the second verse to the same sample he used on Mobb Deep’s “The Realest” (and more recently Erykah Badu’s “Next To You”), with Freddie effortlessly adapting his flow to the beat. They’d get the crowd chanting along to the “yeah, hoe!” adlib on “Shangri La,” and Freddie would give Alchemist his praise, calling him the Producer of the Year before performing “Gas Station Sushi.” Freddie & Al had a running joke throughout the night with Freddie asking Alchemist to rap a bunch of times, but this time Alchemist would actually pick up the mic and take the front of the stage, performing his verse from “Ferraris In The Rain” off his Genuine Articulate album, proving to be no slouch on the mic. Freddie would follow up with a freestyle of his own, and would get the crowd hyped before going into another smooth performance of the Alfredo cut “Something To Rap About.”

Absolutely all the music we’d heard during Freddie & Al’s set so far was produced by Alchemist himself, even the remixes. Not wanting to stop the show at the usual 11pm curfew for this venue, Freddie Gibbs decided to go in with a segment of songs from his extensive catalogue beyond his collaborations with Alchemist, testing the crowd to see which fans knew his music from before the Grammy nomination. Freddie would run his test by rapping the verses acapella and getting the crowd to join in before performing the full song over the beat, starting with a couple classic Madlib productions, 2019’s “Crime Pays” and 2012’s “Thuggin’.” The crowd instantly recognized the verses and erupted with cheers once Freddie started performing the full songs. He’d also use this segment to perform a couple tracks off his more recent solo albums, giving the same treatment to “Gang Signs” off of 2022’s $oul $old $eparately (bonus edition), and “It’s Your Anniversary” off of 2024’s You Only Die 1nce.

Now extending the time way past 11pm, Freddie would look to end the show on a high note, performing what Freddie called his favourite song off of Alfredo 2, the Anderson. Paak-assisted “Ensalada.” Many fans would make their way to the exits after this song, this being a Sunday night before work, but those who stayed on the floor and chanted for an encore would be rewarded with two more songs, as Freddie & Al would return to the stage to perform the last two songs off the Alfredo 2 album: “Jean Claude” and “A Thousand Mountains.” This time the show was really over, and the remaining fans cleared out.

Overall, Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist put on a beautifully curated show that effectively celebrated both of their critically acclaimed albums. Other than that quick 4-song segment towards the end, the entire setlist was locked in on Freddie’s raps over Alchemist beats, which is dope to see an entire concert dedicated to that, but I’m sure some like myself may have wanted to see more throwbacks if this was your first Freddie Gibbs concert. Fans may have to catch him on another tour if they want to hear joints like “Extradite,” “High,” or “Half Manne Half Cocaine” (or maybe I just want to see a Freddie & Madlib tour next). Nitpicking aside, Freddie puts on an entertaining show with the way he interacts with the crowd between songs, and the way he nails his raps in person really puts into perspective the skill level it takes to flow the way he does, and even shines more light on his bars. Him and Alchemist have dope chemistry on stage, and this tour is definitely a moment Hip-Hop heads need to witness.

The Alfredo Tour is continuing on to the mid-west and west coast states, tour dates and tickets can be found here!

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