This year marks the 10th anniversary of the legendary hip-hop album “Piñata” by Freddie Gibbs & Madlib. 

The album has held the test of time for the past 10 years, being one of the best hip-hop collaborations of the past decade.

Madlib and Gibbs announced a small tour dedicated to the album starting in May and a vinyl record repressing to celebrate the milestone.

Each song has hard-hitting lyrics and a beat perfectly crafted for each verse, which is not an aspect in hip-hop albums released recently. 

“Piñata” is the first full-length album created by Gibbs and Madlib, and I find it to be the best project they have made together. 

This album has 17 songs and is roughly one hour long. It has excellent features on almost every song, including artists such as Mac Miller, Danny Brown, Earl Sweatshirt, Raekwon and Domo Genesis.

Gibbs meticulously crafts so many incredible verses throughout the entire album. 

Somehow, he makes rapping about sex, drug use, violence and many other unsavory topics something beautiful and interesting. 

Gibbs’ flow and lyrical content are only half of what makes this album so incredible. 

The legendary hip-hop producer Madlib has worked with rappers such as MF DOOM, Mos Def, De La Soul and Ghostface Killah, just to name a few. Madlib is known for his iconic samples, buttery beats and overall unique sound. 

This album is so incredible that I struggle to pick my favorite tracks. 

This being said some of the top tracks on this album are “High,” “Harold’s,” “Thuggin’” and “Shitsville.”

This album is home to some of my favorite verses, like one in “Shitsville,” where Gibbs raps, “Both tires gold wired on my Chevrolet bucket / And now transmission leaking and my rear-suspension squeaking / Drop a rock off to my geeker, fix my shit, man, I’m out here creeping.”

Gibbs’ lyrical content sometimes has me laughing and other times thinking. 

This verse, in particular, is a prime example of his story-telling skills, cracking jokes and rhyming all simultaneously.  

Once again, this album is 10 years old and received high critical acclaim upon its release. 

For example, the music journalist online publication Pitchfork, known for giving famously low album rating scores, gave “Piñata” an 8/10.

I find this insulting. The album is easily a 9/10, if not a 10/10. 

This album is so timeless and complex that every time I listen to it, I hear a new beat or a clever lyric I missed on a previous listen.

“Piñata” is an exemplary album for hip-hop heads and someone who has never listened to a rap or hip-hop album before; it has something for everyone.

If you’re tired of your current music rotation, I cannot express how much I would recommend this album. 

“Piñata” has fast-paced, hard-hitting songs such as “Shitsville,” “Real,” “Piñata” and “Deeper.” As well as smoother, slower, R&B-sounding tracks like “Shame,” “Knicks,” “Robes,” “Harold” and, of course, “High.” 

“Piñata” is an album you want to listen to front-to-back, the way it was intended.

Go back and revisit this masterpiece, or check it out for the first time. I promise you will not be disappointed.