Fredrick Jamel Tipton, born June 14, 1982, records as Freddie Gibbs. Raised on the east side of Gary, Indiana, he played college football at Ball State before being expelled, spent eight months in the U.S. Army under a pre-trial diversion program and was discharged, then met a local producer at a Gary mall and started rapping. Interscope signed and dropped him in 2006, and he rebuilt through mixtapes including Baby Face Killa on Jeezy's CTE World. His run of producer collaborations defined his second act: Piñata and Bandana with Madlib, and Alfredo with The Alchemist, which was nominated for Best Rap Album. He signed to Warner for Soul Sold Separately in 2022, followed with You Only Die 1nce and Alfredo 2, and has confirmed a joint album with Kaytranada as his next collaboration.