Freeway Album: “Free at Last [PA]”

Following some guests and contributions to the State Property projects, Freeway burst on the scene in early 2003 with his classic debut

, one of the best albums of the new millennium. Backed by the incredible production of Just Blaze and Kanye West, Freeway spoke passionately about his urban experience and Muslim spirit with wonderful conviction. His gruff delivery and trademark beard made him instantly recognizable both vocally and visually, and it appeared that Roc-A-Fella had another game-changing star in the making.

Unfortunately, it's been nearly five years since

, and his fans have been patiently awaiting his follow-up. The entire State Property crew, once dubbed "the future of the Roc" has been notably quiet lately, with Freeway, Beanie Sigel, Young Gunz, and Oschino & Sparks notably MIA. Even after all this time, this album somehow feels rushed, with very little promotion behind it and a release date sandwiched between blockbuster albums by labelmates Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel. Only one guest verse comes from a Roc-A-Fella member on the whole LP, a rarity in Roc releases. Despite these factors working against it, "Free at Last" is structurally very similar to his debut, with no skits, high quality production, and a similar rhyme style. However, neither Just Blaze nor Kanye show up, and Free addresses this. The project is overseen by 50 Cent, among others, and there are numerous producers. Even without the two production heavyweights of his debut, the production is excellent throughout and really fits his style. Musically, it's not as jaw dropping as his first album, but it lets the listener focus on what a true talent Freeway really is. He always keeps your full attention with his raw passion, and I love how his hood tales are always balanced with a moral undertone. Free has so much to talk about, and he's a joy to listen to. He brings great energy to any track, and his flow and delivery are among the best in hip hop. "Free at Last" is fourteen tracks deep of mostly great songs. Collaborations are frequent, but not so much as on

. I think that Freeway really is a special rapper, and it's easy to see after just a few listens on "Free at Last." It's not on the same level as his debut, but for any of his fans that have been waiting for his follow-up, this is it.

The album opens with its best song, the beautiful "This Can't Be Real." The production is wonderful, anchored by a breezy flute and vocals by Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry. Freeway recalls growing up, beginning rapping, and his entire life in a well-written chronicle. On "It's Over," he addresses his recent problems, such as inactivity and not working with Kanye and Just Blaze. The joyful "Still Got Love" has a great beat and nice performance from Free, followed by the single "Roc-A-Fella Billionaires" with Jay-Z. I thought this was a good, not great, track that was a good choice of a single, lot of mainstream appeal. The beat is a Swizz Beatz-type of frenetic club beat, and the lyrics are pretty basic gangsta flossing. One of my top tracks is "When They Remember," which uses a very dramatic vocal and horn sample to spit some righteous lyricism. "Take It to the Top" is a poppy 50 Cent collabo, it's not great but not bad either. "Spit That S..." recaptures the old Roc-A-Fella sound, street ready with simple, rough production. The thoughtful "Reppin' the Streets" is a little reminiscent of some cuts from his debut, and the title track is nice but doesn't quite stand out. The southern legend Scarface provides a high profile appearance on "Baby Don't Do It," and the hard "Nuttin' on Me" precedes the big-time collabo "Walk Wit Me," with Busta Rhymes and Jadakiss, a highlight for sure. Rick Ross gives a weak guest on the skippable "Lights Get Low," and the album closes with the deep "I Cry," which is presented as a sequel to "Hear the Song" from his debut.

"Free at Last" may come and go quietly due to its lack of promotion and release date, but it's an album that should get some spins for a while from his fans. It's not as memorable as his debut, but once again Freeway has established himself as a true talent and an MC to be reckoned with.

It's been 4 and a half years since Freeway dropped his near-classic debut album.. Since then, he's been a part of a few State Property albums and a group album he released called "Ice City - Welcome to the Hood". Now after a rather long break, Free returns with another good CD, not as good as "Philadelphia Freeway" but still worth the listen. With 14 songs on here, you have 1 classic, 4 are ok, and the other 9 are good songs. Guests are on 4 songs and do the hook on one more, and for the most part are all bigger names and they do very nice on the mic. Production is decent, unlike his first album mostly handled by Just Blaze with Kanye West doing a few songs, neither of those 2 do any here. Chad "Wes" Hamilton and Bink! each do 2 songs, and Don Cannon, Orthodox & Ransum, Jake One, Dame Grease, Jonathan Rotem, Dangerous Prod., Double O, Needlz, Cool & Dre and DJ Noodles all do 1 song. A nice album for his fans to have.

#1 - 9 (about his come up -- nice beat)

#2 - 8

#3 - 7.5

#4 - 6 (f/ Jay-Z)

#5 - 7

#6 - 7 (f/ 50 Cent)

#7 - 8.5

#8 - 9 (good beat)

#9 - 8

#10 - 8 (f/ Scarface -- who kills this track and leaves Free in the dust)

#11 - 8

#12 - 10 (CLASSIC -- f/ Busta Rhymes & Jadakiss -- great beat)

#13 - 8.5 (f/ Rick Ross -- nice beat)

#14 - 8.5 (a deeper song)

Leslie Pridgen -- b. 1979 -- Philadelphia, PA

check all my reviews

Definitely one of those cds you can bump from front to back (the 50 song is the only questionable track) but the cd as a whole is on point! Production and Frees style mesh very well. I recommend it for sure.

New Title 1 A Walk Through Life by Duane Ashley PooleFree at last is no where near on point as his first release Philadelphia, the production on here is not as good making it harder to listen all the way through. I believe an artist should grow and get better, however this is not the case in free at last it's just an average album.

Freeway's second album is as good, if not better than his debut. The CD is skip-free with one good track after another. Not only is Freeway's flow unique and full of energy, but the beats are full of soul. When he is rapping, you know it's the truth because he's rapping from the heart. It would be hard to pick a top 5 because they're all good tracks. This is a great addition to any hip-hop collection.