| Artist: | Freeway |
| Title: | Free At Last |
| Producer(s): | Carvin "Ransum" Haggins, Cool & Dre, Dame Grease, Don Cannon, Ivan "Orthodox" Barias, J. R. Rotem, Ryan Press |
| Lead Single: | Roc-A-Fella Billionaires |
| Twitter: | Freeway on Twitter |
| Website: | Freeway's Website |
| Share: | |
| Buy: |
|
I’m officially announcing the “hip-hop is dead” movement is…well…dead. Buried. Never to be mentioned again. It was a ridiculous statement to start off with; a panicked reaction by older heads (that includes you Nas) who looked out over the hip-hop landscape, didn’t recognize what they saw, and said it was devoid of life. Sure hip-hop on a commercial level is seriously sick, overall album sales are still down, but as an art form it’s as alive as ever. 2007 has witnessed the birth of so many great albums (American Gangster, Finding Forever, Underground Kingz, just to name a few), we might just be entering another golden age.
For me the “hip-hop is dead” theory was finally laid to rest by Freeway and his new album Free At Last. It’s been four years since Philadelphia’s grimiest rapper last dropped a solo album, but in the meantime he’s been honing his skills - and his beard game – to powerful effect. Free at Last isn’t a classic album, but on nearly every minute of every song Free raps like he’d die without a mic in his hand. If that’s not alive, I don’t know what is.
If you’re looking for the raw energy of hip-hop’s roots look no further than It’s Over, a track that’s half soul swing, half old school turntable scratches. Freeway might be…hold on let me think about it…no, Freeway is the most intense MC in mainstream rap. He doesn’t just grab the mic- he strangles it. Listening to Free blast through the verses on It’s Over reveals a rapper with the lung capacity of a heavy metal singer combined with a style that’s pure street. Similarly, When They Remember is the kind of joint Freeway was born to do; no hook, no bridge, no chorus, just four straight minutes of rhymes so heated you start to worry his vocal cords are going to explode. Don’t let all this talk of vocal style overshadow Free’s lyricism; no one else would drop a line like “all my Islamic scholars holler.” Freeway gets mentioned as “the most underrated MC” so often he’s no longer underrated, but all that really matters is Free spits every rhyme like it’s his last. Hip-hop can’t be dead with a pulse that strong.
Am I making it sound like Free At Last is a flawless album? Let me backtrack a little. The same kind of do-or-die intensity that makes Freeway’s street anthems so dope kills the more radio-friendly tracks on the album. Take It To The Top is Free’s attempt at recreating the thug-romance of 50’s 21 Questions; even Mr. Cent gets in on the action by singing the hook. J.R. Rotem puts together a catchy beat and if Freeway sounded like a chubby Jamaican teenager it’d be a hit. Thankfully he doesn’t, and so Take It To The Top just doesn’t work. It’s the same story on Lights Get Low, a song featuring an electronically-banging Cool and Dre beat undercutting rewind-worthy verses from Free and Rick Ross (who both take their name from drug kingpin Rick “Freeway” Ross). Unfortunately, the song’s the musical equivalent of the New York Knicks; a collection of great players whose styles just don’t mesh. There’s no such chemistry concerns when label boss and close friend Jay-Z joins him on Roc-A-Fella Billionaires, though I could point out that there’s only one billionaire on the track. Free obviously knows how to murder a track, but his Billionaires’ flow might be the best on the album precisely because he relaxes and rides the insane-marching band style production. If Freeway’s going to find radio gold it’s going to be on joints like Billionaires, not songs like Take It To The Top that force him to tone down “baby gorilla” personality.
The “hip-hop is dead” crowd insisted that current rappers were more interested in diamond watches than the state of their souls. They were right in part (hello Gucci Mane), but they’re also ignoring tracks like Freeway’s I Cry, a song that literally lists every time Freeway’s ever shed a tear. Free’s unstoppably strong voice nearly cracks as he recounts the people in his life who have passed; it’s a deeply powerful moment that demands recognition. Free At Last isn’t perfect, but it’s moments like these that will have me returning to the album years from now. So in that way Freeway’s created music that can’t die, not as long as artists like him are giving us the energy to shout “I’m alive motherf**kers!”
DJBooth.net Rating:

4 Spins - Solid
|
Nathan S.'s Picks
I Cry Still Got Love |
Ready for Radio
Lights Get Low Baby Don't Do It |
Mixtape Ready
When They Remember Walk Wit Me |
|
|
|
| Posted on Nov 19, 2007 |
|
DJ Booth Crew |
You captued Freeway's distictive delivery perfectly. He is a beast on the mic and I hope this album gets the props it deserves.
|
| Posted on Nov 19, 2007 |
|
DJ Booth Crew Total Ratings: 8062 |
Free At last is much better than Free's debut and is one of the top 10 albums of 2007. The production is solid throughout and Free doesn't ever get bored or tired, but instead livens up the albums as it goes. Great review Nathan!
|
| Posted on Nov 19, 2007 |
|
DJ Booth Crew Total Ratings: 2899 |
Hey Nathan! You hit this one dead on the head! He is the most improved rapper for the 2006-2007 years. All he had to do was tone down his over-exaggerated voice and just spit plain and simple because his voice is already unique! I heard about 5 songs from the album and I honestly liked them all. I will give a score once i am done with the entire album. So far, so good though! Nice Review!
|
| Posted on Nov 19, 2007 |
|
DJ Booth Member Total Ratings: 115 |
Free at Last isn’t a classic album, but on nearly every minute of every song Free raps like he’d die without a mic in his hand. If that’s not alive, I don’t know what is.
|
| Posted on Nov 20, 2007 |
|
DJ Booth Member Total Ratings: 115 |
I have an idea so smart that my head would explode if i even began to know what i was thinking about!!!
|
| Posted on Nov 21, 2007 |
|
DJ Booth Member Total Ratings: 90 |
I like Free but I think its kinda hard to listen to him for a whole 45 minutes just cuz he goes so hard all the time. Sorry to nitpick Nathan, but Jay Z is not a billionaire. ("millions nigga I got couple hundred them")
|
| Posted on Nov 21, 2007 |
|
Resident DJ Total Ratings: 909 |
Album sales are only dropping because people download their music.
|
| Posted on Nov 22, 2007 |
|
DJ Booth Crew Total Ratings: 2899 |
I agree 100% with you MusicMan! I finally listened to the complete album and even though Freeway dumbed his exaggerated voice down a bit (for the better definitely, since his voice is already unique without the exaggeration) I still can't seem to listen to freeway for longer than 30 minutes at a time. This is a great attempt and he can start building a bigger fanbase for his career. I will be expecting more from his next album.
|
| Posted on Nov 23, 2007 |
|
DJ Booth Member Total Ratings: 84 |
Good album. I like Freeway's flow, and I'm glad that he kept control of his voice here. I was a little disapointed that Step Back feat. Lil Wayne wasn't on the album. Even with that, the track he did with Busta and Jadakiss more than made up for it.
Keep doing ya thang Free! |
| Posted on Nov 27, 2007 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
ok freeway came back wit a solid album i love it, its hott!
|
| Posted on Nov 28, 2007 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
ok freeway came back wit a solid album i love it, its hott!
|
| Posted on Nov 28, 2007 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Not a particularly commercial album,but the hip hop heads will appreciate it..puttting 50 on was a mistake,but gotta balance it out i guess,gotta make something for TRL and @*#$! but the rest of us are satisfied..
|
| Posted on Jan 17, 2008 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Freeway deserves much more credit then he really gets and people always pass on his albums. DJ Blaze goes retarded once again and says he can't listen to Freeway for more than 30 minutes at a time what bullshit. You full of it DJ Blaze and start reviewing when you decide to stop the bullshit and listen to lyrics.
|
| Posted on Feb 04, 2008 |
Sign up to receive a weekly recap of our top stories, downloads, and mixtapes.