Welcome to the 12th installment of Rescued From The Fire, the series in which we put a spotlight on a musical artifact so important to the author that he/she would rescue it from the terrible aftermath of a natural gas leak. This time around, it’s Gary, Indiana’s rap royalty, Freddie Gibbs. Freshly minted into Young Jeezy’s Corporate Thugz label following a string of ridiculously good mixtapes and singles, Freddie is set to release his highly anticipated full-length in 2012 along with an album strictly produced by 2002 Academy lecturer, Madlib.

Now for those of you paying attention, last week in edition 11 of RFTF, we ran an featire from Numero Group's Jonathan Kirby about some digital "outsider" rap he would save. We promised that this week we would return to the "physical" format. Unfortunately, that is not entirely true. We didn't "lie" per se, but after a series of internal mishaps here at the RFTF corporate headquarters (including a small kitchen-fire), we are running another feature focused on a digital artifact. After all, it's 2011 and this is Freddie Gibbs, right? So, let's grin and bear it once more together in the name of love and preservation.

Freddie Gibbs' Collection of Tupac Songs On His iPod
We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us. - Marshall McLuhan

“If my house was on fire, there’s only one thing I need, and one thing only. I’d save all my own music of course, but probably most important would be to save all my Tupac on my iPod. That’s all I need, I can’t live without that.

I mean, I flat out just grew up on Tupac music. Basically, he’s the best rapper ever – no joke. No other rapper really moved me like Tupac. I definitely can’t live without that shit. If the house was burning, I’d definitely have to run back in there and grab that shit.

My top five favorite Tupac songs? How about ‘Shed So Many Tears’ - that’s one. 'Against All Odds' from the Makaveli album – that’s another. 'Hit Em Up' and 'No More Pain' – there’s two. And finally, how about, 'Brenda’s Got a Baby'. There’s so many to choose from.

Yeah, I pack light. My iPod is all I need. Yep, I definitely have to get my Tupac. That shit’s all I need.”

- Freddie Gibbs, 2011