ESGN (Evil Seeds Grow Naturally) is the debut studio album by American rapper Freddie Gibbs. The album was released on June 19, 2013, by ESGN and Empire Distribution. The album features guest appearances from Daz Dillinger, Spice 1, Jay Rock, G-Wiz, Hit "Skrewface", Big Kill, Lil Sodi, Problem, Y.B., D-Edge, G.I. Fleezy and BJ the Chicago Kid.
Background
On March 23, 2013, the first song from the album titled "The Color Purple" was released. In an April 2013, interview with HipHopDX, Freddie Gibbs spoke about when the album would be released, saying: I'm 'bout to drop that ESGN album probably in June for the summer time, just to hold niggas over before we drop that Cocaine Piñata with Madlib. ESGN is gonna be me, G-Wiz, D-Edge, Hit Screwface, G.I. Fleezy and Big Kill. We putting that shit together right now. It's gonna be kind of on that Jay-Z Dynasty: [Roc La Familia] type shit. I got a lot of records that I like. We're gonna fuse that thing together and make that shit work to show what we're working with collectively. Basically, this album gave me a chance to breathe and breathe fire on mothafuckas I’ve been wanting to breathe fire on. So it’s really giving me a little outlet right now. Once I whack niggas on this mothafuckin' album then I'm gonna fall back on they ass and just chill for the summertime, get my dick sucked and drink drinks with umbrellas and shit in them, nigga. Just like Tony Soprano said, niggas is getting wacked. Niggas is getting clipped. This album is strictly for niggas that's getting they nuts clipped. On May 14, 2013, Freddie Gibbs announced that his debut album ESGN would be released in July. On May 27, 2013, he announced on his Twitter account that the album would be released on July 9, 2013. On June 11, 2013, the first single from the album "One Eighty Seven" featuring Problem was released. On June 13, 2013, the second song from the album "Freddie Soprano" was released. On June 17, 2013, the music video was released for "Eastside Moonwalker". The album was later released three weeks before its original July 9, release date on June 20, 2013. On July 1, 2013, the music video was released for "Lay It Down". On July 15, 2013, the music video was released for "Have U Seen Her" featuring Hit Screwface. On August 26, 2013, the music video was released for "The Real G Money". On January 8, 2014, the music video was released for "One Eighty Seven" featuring Problem.
Music, songs and lyrics
In June 2013, during an interview with XXL, Freddie Gibbs previewed the album. He spoke about "Eastside Moonwalker", saying: "That's one of the dopest tracks. Shout out to GMF. He produced that. It's showing people that I'm the staple of the game when it comes to Gary [Indiana]. Michael Jackson is dead, so I gotta pick up the torch and run with it for my city. Actually, I am the only person grabbing it. I am just doing what I got to do. I'm the eastside moonwalker. I stay high, baby." He also spoke about "Freddie Soprano", saying: "That's the definitive verse from the album. Basically, telling y'all what it is. How I feel about what's what." He spoke about "F.A.M.E." which features Daz Dillinger and Spice 1, saying: "[The acronym stands for] 'Fuck All My Enemies'. You know who I am talking about. If you an enemy—fuck you. I grew up listening to Daz and Spice-1. If it wasn't for guys like that, I wouldn't be rapping. Any project I do, I try to pay homage to guys that I respect. Last project I fucked with Jadakiss. He's one of the guys that when I came up, I came up listening to. He's still an athlete in this game. He's still one of the best in it. He don't get his credit. I always try to pay homage to the guys that were instrumental in my career with me coming up. That's why I linked up with Daz and Spice-1. [This is a diss] track to anybody who want it. If the shoe fits, wear it. I'm talking shit about all of you niggas. If the shoe fits, wear it. If you pick up the shoe and you put it on. You want to take to Twitter and you want to get on your track and say something about Freddie Gibbs, make sure you got your hardhat on." He spoke about "Lay It Down" which is produced by Willie B, saying: "Shout out to Willie B. He fuck with Jay Rock and them. He produced that shit. That's one of them hard-hitting joints. It's going straight to the point. Lay it down. That's a robbing song." He also spoke about "Have U Seen Her" which features Hit Skrewface, saying: "This is featuring my boy Screwface. SMKA, they produced that. That's one of them bangers. It's hard."