Freddie Gibbs Claims Drake, PartyNextDoor “Stole” His Rabbit Aesthetic
Freddie Gibbs is calling foul on Drake and PartyNextDoor’s new album, claiming they bit his rabbit imagery. On the eve of $ome $exy $ongs 4 U’s Friday release (Feb. 13), the Indiana native took to X/Twitter where he flung his accusations at the Canadian duo. “Damn they even stole the rabbits too. I’m flattered,” Gibbs typed, referring to the back of the joint LP’s cover that features three cartoon rabbits.
Many Hip-Hop fans have come to associate the rabbit as the unofficial official mascot for the 42-year-old emcee. Gibbs has released a slew of songs using the furry animal as a motif, including tracks like “Big Boss Rabbit,” “Space Rabbit,” “Rabbit Island,” and “Rabbit Vision.” Interestingly enough, “Rabbit Vision” serves as track nine on his latest album, $oul $old $eparately, whose title follows the exact dollar sign alliteration motif that Party and Drizzy used on their Valentine’s Day effort—an observation that wasn’t lost on Freddie or his fans.
“Using the $$$ and rabbit from @FreddieGibbs is nasty work,” a fan surmised in a post reshared by Freddie. “We all know @FreddieGibbs use the $$$ and rabbit first,” another fan typed, with a picture of PND and Aubrey’s new joint project.
Gibbs even went as far as reposting his announcement for $oul $old $eparately from 2022 and then quote xweeting it with, “$$$4u”–the abbreviation for Drizzy’s new comeback album.
Freddie Gibbs wasn’t the only artist to call out the OVO duo for allegedly stealing material for $ome $exy $ongs 4 U’s. Mississauga, Canada-based rapper John River took to social media with his own qualms. In a series of posts, River called out PND for stealing the iconic Monroe Towers album cover idea straight from the imagery of River’s “Hope City II” video.
The lengthy statement posted to John’s Instagram Story claims that the R&B singer studied his aesthetic extensively before telling the rapper that the use of the towers in the background was “innovative & iconic.” As the 30-year-old continued, he called out the duo’s predatory behavior and claimed that Party asserted he would “blackball” him if he didn’t write or work for him.
“When another OVO artist asked to sit down; he also began asking in depth about me, the Monroe towers, my thought process & all of my future music plans surrounding them. He then asked if I’d write for them to which I said no.” Rivers typed. “He never spoke to or saw me again personally.”
“Everybody says don’t sell your soul in this music industry & yet when you speak up against something clearly immoral & wrong, they rush to protect the same predators they warn you about. I love my city, they know where I’m headed & believe in my potential. Nothing else needs to be said.”
VIBE has contacted Freddie Gibbs and John Rivers about the matter. Gibb has yet to respond, while Rivers respectfully declined a statement.
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