'Thuggin, Freddie Gibbs & the Little Shop of Horrible Clothes'
Dream date: 3 June 2014
I think I was in my home-town Sheringham. I went into a shop, which seemed to be one which used to be there in real-life, called 'Ivans' and latterly 'The Wardrobe Warehouse' which sold very cheap, market-stall and catalogue-seconds clothing. The shop has since closed down in real-life. I was browsing the shop - moving clothes along the railings to see what was there. I came to a stand of white shoes and boots. Every time I moved around the shop, the dimensions and decoration seemed to change. It seemed quite dark in the shop. RP, the brother of one of my school friends, was the manager of the shop. He asked me if I needed any help, but I said I did not. There were other persons in the shop - middle-aged ladies, also browsing the rails of clothing. I left the shop and walked down the road, noticing that it was evening and quite dark outside also. I entered another shop - this was one which does not really exist in Sheringham - it was very small and also sold clothes. It seemed like it could be a charity shop. I was looking at a retro-style navy tracksuit jacket. I then felt deja-vu - as if I had been in the exact same circumstances before (upon waking I wondered if I had actually dreamed this whole dream sequence before, but as I now have so many posts on this Dream Blog, I am unable to go back and check). I literally felt as if I was repeating an action all over again, seeing the same things etc.
The scene changed and I was sitting on a raised platform which seemed to be in the middle of some kind of glass room. The platform had a mattress or padded seating area, on which PS and AP (RP's sister) were lounging. AP was pregnant, or looked it. She was the 'host' and welcomed myself and other (unseen, unfamiliar) people who were part of 'my group' to join her and PS. PS was trying to release a new record. The entire area was pale blue, white and glass. Surrounding the raised platform on all sides were record (vinyl) sleeves. They were blue and depicted rapper Freddie Gibbs in a sexy pose (reminiscent of Tupac, shirt off, chest oiled, serious expression on his face). It was a re-release of his track 'Thuggin' from the recent Pinata album he made with Madlib (which I really like). The new remix was supposed to be more commercial than his actual track. I wondered what had made Freddie Gibbs change direction musically. AP and PS seemed to be promoting the new Freddie Gibbs single. AP told me that Gibbs had formed a new rap crew called 'At the Ville' (there was a Nottingham rap crew called 'Out Da Ville' - until I checked when awake, I actually mistook their name for being 'At the Ville' which explains why this malapropism appears in the dream). I asked AP if she knew there was already a hip hop act called 'At the Ville' (although I meant 'Out Da Ville') and she said she had never heard of them before. No-one else seemed to have heard of them either. I felt confused as I was sure I was right. PS was lying back on the mattress, smiling very weirdly. He did not say anything. AP seemed to be his spokesperson. I kept wondering about the new Freddie Gibbs single and 'At the Ville'. I could see, beyond the lined up record sleeves, a row of clear perspex handbags.
Upon waking I was able to make some associations which clarified certain aspects of this dream. AP's first name is very similar to the uncommon name of a girl PS knows, who lives in the same city as Out Da Ville. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib have a track called 'Shitsville' which is on the same album as 'Thuggin', which was playing in the background the other day when I was making dinner. While listening to the Freddie Gibbs album, I commented (in real-life) that he sounds like a better, modern version of Tupac, who had a 'Thug Life' tattoo on his stomach. Note that in the attached picture of Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, Gibbs is wearing a retro-style navy tracksuit jacket.