The Complex 7: Freeway

What with his trademark beard, it’s tempting to spend an entire conversation with Freeway pestering him for the lowdown on his grooming habits—been there, done that. Luckily, the prolific Philly rapper has a lot of other things to talk about. Having dropped 32 tracks last year as part of his “Month of Madness,” Free is back (like he left something) with a brand-new mixtape, The Beat Made Me Do It. The new tape is a prelude to Freeway’s upcoming album, The Stimulus Package, which is due on February 16, 2010.

No Sigel-style Jigga beef or fraudulent Roc signs here, people: Freeway’s strictly ’bout his business. We sat down with him to hear all about Jamaican shirts, Disney World, and his religious faith in another edition of The Complex 7. Read on for the interview and a download link for his smokin’ new tape. EARLY!

Interview by Valeriya Safronova

 #1: WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER ONE DEAL-BREAKER FOR A POTENTIAL GIRLFRIEND?

Freeway says: I just don’t like when a chick is too annoying. Too many questions, too annoying…I can’t deal with that. My perfect woman, she gotta be beautiful and understanding. She gotta be a rider, no matter what. No matter what I need her to do, she gotta be able to handle it.

 #2: WHAT’S THE MOST EMBARRASSING PIECE OF CLOTHING YOU’VE EVER WORN?

Freeway says: Back in the day when I was a young bol, I had a Jamaican shirt with a bunch of holes in it. I had met this girl that I knew back in the day, and she was bringing it up, like, “Remember you had that Jamaican shirt with the holes in it?” And I was pretty embarrassed. Can you imagine that?

 #3: IF YOU HAD A WEEK HOLIDAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Freeway says: If I had a week-long holiday I’d go to Orlando, and go to Disney World, and go to Universal Studios. And go to the mall out there.

 #4: WHAT HAS TO BE IN YOUR FRIDGE AT ALL TIMES?

Freeway says: Bottled water, juice, gotta have some fruit in refrigerator, some chicken steaks.

 #5: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SNEAKER OF ALL TIME?

Freeway says: I love Louis Vuitton sneakers, just like the ones I got on.

 #6: WHAT’S THE WORST WAY YOU’VE BROKEN UP WITH SOMEONE?

Freeway says: I just left them alone. Just left the whole situation alone, let them figure it out.

 #7: WHEN’S THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Freeway says: Last time I cried was at my cousin’s funeral. I actually had a song on the last album, Free at Last, called “I Cry.” And I talked about a lot of times where I had to cry in my life. Y’all should check that out.

BONUS QUESTIONS:

Complex: Do you feel that your religion ever comes in conflict with your fans and the entire industry?

Freeway: Well, people are definitely not like me. There’s a lot of different things that I do. Like you see everybody’s drinking? I can’t drink [sipping on ginger ale], I got five prayers to make a day. There’s definitely a big difference between me and a lot of people, but I’m just doing me and hopefully some of the goodness might reflect on the people.

Complex: During the promotion of The Stimulus Package, you talked about how you want to return to the “real hip-hop”. What exactly did you mean by that?

Freeway: The Stimulus Package is basically what I grew up off of. The hip-hop that I’m used to. Who’s to say what’s real hip-hop and what’s not real hip-hop? People that are making music now, they’re making it from the heart, and I’m making my music from my heart, and that’s my version of real hip-hop. And I definitely think people are gonna love it.

VIDEO: The Beat Made Me Do It trailer

Click here to download The Beat Made Me Do It.

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