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Freddie Gibbs With J Rocc SXSW by Scott Heins
Freddie Gibbs With J Rocc SXSW by Scott Heins

Watch Freddie Gibbs & J Rocc Blaze The Stage At Boiler Room's SXSW Showcase

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

(Freddie Gibbs at SXSW 2015; Photo by Scott Heins)

Sadly, the musical mania of SXSW has passed. But that certainly doesn't mean we can't look back with fondness every time the internets graces us with a new clip from those 5 days beer, sweat and musical merriment. Boiler Room just let loose a new clip from their particularly raucous showcase, where Freddie Gibbs and J Rocc blazed the stage with a brief, but sweet 5-song set that had the whole room abiding by the gangsta gospel. While this writer wasn't in attendance, our ever intrepid contributor Scott Heins (who can be seen in the wings with our patented tee, trying to keep up Gibbs' dizzying delivery) was, and he had a few words on the performance that he wanted to share. Read a personal account of Freddie Gibbs' performance and bear witness in the video below.

"Gibbs came out and immediately owned the room. Backed by J Rocc, (who filled in admirably for a sadly absent Madlib), Freddie Kane put his rhyme skills front and center, frequently jumping into a cappella verses that kept the Boiler Room crowd rapt in a kind of fearful awe. Near the front, some Gibbs fans were clearly rapping every last twisted word, while others (myself included) did their best to at least join in on the hooks. Gibbs's talent has always been making a brand of thuggish rap that's so airtight, so ornate, that it elevates into social critique. And for those five short songs down in Texas, we were all buying what he was supplying."