During Madlib's talk with Red Bull Music Academy on May 7, 2016, he announced that he and Freddie Gibbs will be releasing a second collaborative studio album called Bandana.

[7] On May 28, 2019, the official album cover was revealed, featuring Madlib's animated alter-ego Quasimoto wearing a bandana around his neck and sitting on a zebra as they watch buildings in Hollywood being set on fire.

[10] Released in December 2019, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib performed a short set for the NPR Tiny Desk series, backed by New York soul band El Michels Affair.

The following year, they joined El Michels Affair at their Long Island City studio to record The Diamond Mine Sessions, three new versions of tracks for Amazon Music.

[12] Accompanied by a perfect score, Dean Van Nguyen of The Guardian described the album as "unvarnished and utterly dazzling hip-hop", highlighting Gibbs's performance and the production and direction of Madlib.

He still makes an art out of violent imagery (on the potent "Flat Tummy Tea" he threatens to stab "white Jesus" with a sword), but now has developed much more of a philosophical edge, too.

Hobbs concluded: "The chemistry between Madlib and Gibbs is perfect and there's a timelessness to these songs that will make you think of raw black cinematic worlds such as Super Fly or Truck Turner.

Club said, "The first record was a grower, gradually establishing itself as one of the great producer-emcee efforts of the young millennium, but Bandana seems designed to dazzle, to assert a joint legacy".