nobodysmiling FORUMS//REVIEWS//NEWS//MUSIC//INTERVIEWS

Freeway - Live Free or Die Hard

Album Review by: Jason Fleurant
Monday, July 16, 2007


Freeway-Live Free or Die HardWe haven’t heard from Philly’s high pitched MC for a minute. Last thing he dropped was the DJ Whoo Kid’s “G-Unit Radio 19” mixtape in which he starred in. Which was supposed to be the segway to his long awaited often delayed sophomore album “Free At Last”. Rumors been circulating that the Muslim MC has switch crews and joined the infamous G-Unit which isn’t the case. In fact what it is, is that Jay-Z and 50 Cent are co-executive producing the second round. Yet all that doesn’t matter at the moment cause Free is back. Taking advantage of the new Die Hard movie being out, he’s linked up with DJ Cannon to present us with a new mixtape “Live Free Or Die Hard”. And to jack Steven A. Smith “quite frankly” Free doesn’t disappoint.

Many will agree over the years Freeway’s voice has been an acquired taste to the listener. Extremely distinctive, nonetheless some fans have found it to be annoying. So taking heed from 50 Cent, Free has been giving it a deeper sound as he spits his psalms from his guts. On the mix’s opener Free teases the listeners waiting for the beat to drop on UGK’s “International Players” instrumental. Saying “risking my soul, risking religion” alluding to the fact that doing anything that takes up time from praising Allah is a no, no before he launches in full blast “best flower in the business/ ya’ll can shine when I’m finish/ I’m just prayin’, hopin’/ God forgive us/”. Free is accompanied by witty Jae Ellis who nice flow mixed with clever wordplay make him a standout. One such example as he says “Hippies how we flash the Peace (piece)”.

Freeway’s burning up radio stations with his LP’s Jay-Z assisted single “Big Spender”. Dame Grease freaks the sample with a roaring bass as Free and Hov go punch for punch literally flexing the Roc-A-Fella swagger. You notice that Jay must still be annoyed with the whole Jim Jones thing as he still throws shot his ways saying “Ballin’/ ya’ll still crawlin’/ children/ call him/ when you walkin’/ I’ll be wheelin’”. Just let it go already! While having the big homie on the single helps Free takes the time to address his doubters and detractors when he flips Fabolous hit “Make Me Better”. With an aggressive flow of anger Free rips through the track expressing that while having Shawn and Curtis (yes I did just want to refer to him as Curtis)on his side is an “added bonus”. It’s himself that’s the reason for Free’s dopeness.

Song’s like Freezer So Cold, Rocafella Family (done over the Grammy Family beat), and Life Of A Philly Gangsta produced by Chad West give Free an opportunity do to what he loves, just spit Freely (no pun intended). Of course every jumpoff’s got to have that highlight track that you just keep pressing rewind on. And that comes in the appearance of “You Don’t Know”. The mellow sample is just crazy, and Free is easily at his most comfortable “I’m up in the best class/ ya’ll can’t last/ Rumble In The Jungle/ I’m Ali/ in Zaire/ Mike Jackson, the Man In The Mirror/ Ya’ll queers/ cause your man in the mirror , won’t blast/ Ya’ll busted out of gas”. However it’s the full on assault by ghostwriter extraordinaire Mad Skillz that’s the focal point. From his opening lines of “I’m a be B.I.G like Pac/ with a Notorious theme/ All Eyes On Me/ til it was All A Dream” to his very last. Skillz magnificent wordplay matched wit the unyielding flow is a blessing to the ears. Freeway delivers a hot appetizer , but we are all just waiting for the main meal. Hopefully we won’t have to keep waiting too long.






(32) Comments | Post a comment »


It's a hotttttttttttt mixtape the roc is back Bia'ches.
Posted by GjiggaJ
Free gotta be the best pure lyricist in the roc, " you dont kno " was crazy sh*t had me sayin how free only had 1 album out wit sh*t this ill...he underrated
Posted by D-rew
Freeway got some strong ppl behind him. And big spendin is crack. Its everywhere. The roc in this bit*h....free at last lets hope so jts Bia'ches
Posted by da k i baby
This mixtape is crazy! he's got some hard tracks on there. You gotta listen to this!!
Posted by C-money
Freeway is trash listen to real hip-hop like yung joc jeezy young dro t.i wayne
Posted by bankhead423
Bankhead shut up! pointless comments will be deleted
Posted by indieallday1.5mil
F*ck u bankhead, u ppl dnt kno w.t.f hiphop is. Did u listen to lil wayne's track wit tha kanye beat? well if u didnt then it was straight garbage!!!!! yung joke's wack, young jeezy makes a noise and ti aight even though he dont bring much to the table lyrycaly. As 4 yung dro? no F*ck*n comment. Go pop lock n drop or snap ur fingas 4 all i care coz this is a hip hop site, aint no space 4 crackheads....ahem i mean crunkheads.
Posted by some 1
Stop hatin on real hip-hop tha south has it all lyrics hits and money we r real an never sell out unlike yall new york a*s nig*az
Posted by bankhead423
Well i like freeway's sh*t but F*ck dem newe york n*ggaz who don't show love to da south ya'll ain't real music ya'll had ya'll time to floss let the south do it i agree that music ain't n its rawest but still don't belittle our side cuz ya'll copyin us to stay n da game...oh yes ya favorite rappers r tryna be from da south so don't blame it on us blame yo own for not bein real enuff to bring ya'll back we did us and blew
Posted by pnuck
Who tha F*ck is coppying u. Yal saying the south side is hot n sh*t, new york gives u 3 more years then u will give the F*ck*n crown back just like when the west side fell apart. U n*ggas down south r just here 4 a while then u will disolve. New yorrrrrk!!!! pop drop and lock it, sh*t yall n*ggas r kidding me yo
Posted by some 1
Jus stop sayin da same sh*t already ya'll are tryin be wit yus copy us stick to wat u do and we stick to wat we do tell jim to go back to harlem and tell fat joe to go back to da bronx ya'll n*ggaz floppin left and right now i'll agree not everything from down here is dope but u gotta b real about it potnah we talk wat we kno we don't lie, ya'll n*ggaz lie all hyped of scarface and king of new york now ya'll gangsta we tell da truth all i'm sayin is look more into our music before u criticize and choose sides and hate remember ya'll only 1 state we a region strengthen yo region get them from hatin on each otha and maybe wen we retire u can have rap back ha ha!!!
Posted by pnuck
I must say respect 2 freeway!!!!!when it cums to lyrical skill he dusnt impress me 2 much,bt wen it comes to wordplay and rapping bout real sh*t,hes right up there!!!!!!
Posted by Shady G
We love free in the uk. Can't wait to bang the album. Philadelphia freeway is a banging album mate. The uk raises their tea cups to freeway. Peace
Posted by london piss dog
Yo pnuck name 1 rapper down south who can challenge nas?no u dnt kno? aight who can challenge krs, talib kweli, mos def, havoc or even the wackest east sider jenny jones? straight u n*ggas takin ova with sales and sh*t but u will never have legends, all hip hop legends are from the east and the west. U guys call ya sh*t hip hop? i heard n*ggas in africa and even the u.k rapping better than u fools!! nd u in america, damn. Wat u mean u tell tha truth? aint no ghetto in F*ck*n atlanta! lil wayne call himself a blood aint no mutha F*ck*n bloods in texas or new orleas or whereva that kissing otha n*ggas on the lips n*gga lives. Ok do u and i will do me but dont ever say ur sh*t is real hip hop. So go watch ur lil music vids and walk it our or snap ur fingas whil tha east keeps it real.brooklyn!!!!!!
Posted by some 1
Some 1 young dro can destroy nas. Wayne would crush talib. Scarface would murder krs one. Yung joc will kill mos def. Jeezy is million times better than havoc.. And they r bloodz and cripz in tha south stop hatin cuz we makin miney in tha south bi*ch
Posted by bankhead423
Listen potnah i prolly don't agree wit joc and mos def but we do have greats and new york jus started bangin just it ain't bout dat its bout music quit livin n da past and don't worry bout sh*t like that jus be proud it still xist no matter if its here or there but please i mean please don't say tha south is the way it is and new york neva tried blinged out commercial bullsh*t and the schemes ya'll Bia'ch ass n*ggaz r takin usin us to blow free is dope beans is dope red is dope its jus that they r n ot gettin props but fab is F*ck*n p, joe bullsh*t, jenny is played out, so is 50 its all for da dollar don't jus get on tha south get on the music industry period!!!!
Posted by pnuck
Imma be real im from va beach and we right in the middle and i listen to everything, and joc, is just commercial he wants money and i respect that, lil wayne went hard until he could make money not tryin, t.i.'s sh*t was hot but t.i vs t.i.p is basically the same content on a diff beat, and dro kills remixes like top back and we fly high but solo he aint that ill. Clipse aint really south but they stay in va beach and would crush them other southern dudes lyrically. I grew up listenin to nas, old jay z, biggie, and old mobb deep. Nas 2 me is the best lyricist hip hop has seen, jay was nice cuz he had a smooth flo and was makin radio sh*t w.o sellin out like big's did , and anything mobb deep did b4 they went to g unit was straight fire so dont talk bout stuff yall dont kno bout cuz yall who say certain dudes suck just sayin it cuz of the dirrty dirrty east coast sh*t, educate ya selves b4 u make ya self look like a dumbass
Posted by D-rew
Hav2 agree wit d-rew ther,thats 4 sho
Posted by Shady G
Hahahaha young dro destroy nas?!?!!?!? can somebody say "ether"?!?!?!?!
Posted by infamous
All these rappers claim to be soldiers for the cause of islam,but they sing and dance and if that aint hypocrisy then what is?????????? (for those who don't know islam prohinhits singing and dancing)
Posted by hypocrisy
Why yall mutha f*ckas ban me
Posted by Twin Cities Massacre
Bankhead is a retard period.. Down syndrome runs in his family.
Posted by BLAZEInfinite
Anybody gonna answer my question i had no warnings i just got banned out of the middle of nowhere
Posted by Twin Cities Massacre
Ayo tru story the roc is back but more important that east coast shyt is back.between 50 and jay, free can't lose. Whut chu fake emcees gonna do now,no more dancing.lol
Posted by Spliff Nikkels
Philly risin...........freeway one of da best...........he changed his voice too......so yall wud stop hatin.........most underrated rapper....and this mixtape is fiya !!!
Posted by SmackAFella
Yaha riiiight.... I lived in the atl for a minute but southern rap is mostly for people with low iqs who want to lean widdit, rock widdit... Idiots... Go to college and learn how to speak and read...hahaha
Posted by BIGHB
Bankhead has da souths tip straight in his ass u name the same people over and over and over and over again F*ckthat the only one u said dat people have respect 4 is scarface other than dat u r the biggest waste of a good nut i've ever heard of ur name say's it all...F*ck d4l,dfb,yung jocstrap,lil wayne,young cheezy,lil (s)crappy,lil jon,hurricane piss,boosie,webbie,huey,plies,lil wyte and whoever else is wack and from the south dat tiphead supports,.......rep real south artist scarface,chamillionaire,david banner(aint the best at wat he does but he go my respect)ugk,outkast,z-ro, all the real n*ggas down south dat can really spit not does dats just there 2 F*ck a couple of models pop bottles and get 15 seconds of fame on 106 and park where terrence nd rosci ride tip.....speakin of 106 the most outragous state i ever heard was when she was ridin mims nuts and sayin he could spit and he pulled a divac...so F*ck bankhead u scared of P*ss* so u got a c-section....nas sh*t if u aint know!!!!!
Posted by DA ROC
This ny vs the south is so lame. If you hot then you hot. There a legends from ny but you can not dismiss the lyrical genious of outkast, bun b, mjg, trick daddy, and scarface. Are you trying to tell me andre 3000 couldn't get at nas. You crazy. True hip hop heads know rakim and ll are the greatest lyricists. Its sad cuz you ny cats fail to mention them. And if you gonna rep ny so hard how come you don't mention q-tip, big daddy kane, or kool g rap. Some of you cats are so trendy. So you can rep the south or rep ny. If you hot then you hot. But some of you fools trying to pour syrup on sh*t and call it pancakes. By the way, freeway's flow is so fo real. He snaps on the tracks.
Posted by bigD33
Free is one of the best philly kids on the scene icant wait to here the album
Posted by laronthedon
I got to say free out done his self on this one i'm a p.h.i.l.l.y boy i'll rep anyone from philly. Some one got a problem wit dem philly rappers thay crazy.
Posted by ANTNY
Freez a real ass n*gga though
Posted by k47
Aboutchu when i felt you, i needed you, da tymez we’d chill 2geva it was a ment to be ting 4 eva. Your black eyes, would stare into my hazel eyes, i’d fall asleep in ur armz, opening ma eyes to a heart changing tymez. You ruined it all, just so you could get a lil tall, it was all abou ya manz, n dose…loose slagz. You’ll pop the lot, up in the hood, i’d walk miles to see how you would. Drink…drive, get it all on the high, smoke some crack, give da Bia'chez a whack. When sh*t happenz, you manz tel different versionz. Linkin you at chalvey makiz, it was a lil bit taki, but we was all so happi. I went to chill in mexico, i came back, n found you wiv a hoe. It couldn’t be no. Months of late nights, i’d ask but you gave me a bunch of lies, dis is ma stori, of you n ur homi.
Posted by yazzy

POST A COMMENT :
Name:
Validation code:
Enter validation code:
[ pointless comments will be deleted ]

 



 
© 2008 NOBODYSMILING.COM | Advertising | Contact | Terms | Privacy Policy | Get the Alexa/NBS Toolbar |