Piñata was preceded by three EPs including Thuggin ' (2011), Shame (2012) and Deeper (2013).
It was mixed and mastered by Dave Cooley for Elysian Masters, except for 'Shame' and 'Terrorist', mixed by Kelly Hibbert. The album was recorded by Josh 'The Goon' Fadem and Glenn 'G-Wiz' Browder between January 2011 and October 2013. Entirely produced by Madlib, the 17-track LP features contributions from Raekwon, Earl Sweatshirt, Danny Brown, Domo Genesis, Scarface, BJ the Chicago Kid, Ab-Soul, Casey Veggies, Meechy Darko and Mac Miller, among others. It was released on March 18, 2014, by Madlib Invazion. Piñata is the first collaborative studio album by American rapper Freddie Gibbs and record producer Madlib, also known as MadGibbs.
