February will mark ten years since the release of Freeway's excellent debut album Philadelphia Freeway, and theĀ introduction of his aggressive Philly sound to the mainstream. While it's been a minute since we've heard from the former Roc-A-Fella MC, he's back to make a statement with the release of his fourth solo album.
BeforeĀ Diamond In The RuffĀ drops tomorrow, Free sat down with us and talked about the music that's impacted his life the most. Read on for a breakdown of his most-lovedĀ records, from Mobb Deep to Outkast andĀ A Tribe Called Quest.Ā These are Freeway's 25 favorite albums of all time.
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Run DMC, King Of Rock (1985)
Label: Profile, Arista Records
Freeway: āThatās legendary. Thatās the hip-hop manual right there.ā
Ice Cube, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990)
Label: Priority
Freeway: āThat was in heavy rotation, back in the day. I love āThe Nigga Ya Love To Hate.ā Thatās definitely heavy.ā
Black Sheep, A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing (1991)
Label: Mercury
Freeway: āDres brought something different to the table too and that album was really incredible to me. He had the single, 'The Choice Is Yours.' āYou can get with this, or you can get with that.ā That was crazy and then the album was crazy.
āI was a younger emcee and I wanted to get on, and he had Chi-Ali. So Iām like, āDamn, thereās hope for me. Iām a kid thatās trying to rap and hereās young bull Chi Ali doing his thing.ā It was just real good to me. Him and Mista Lawnge. I really loved that album, it was a great album.ā
Naughty By Nature, Naughty By Nature (1991)
Label: Tommy Boy
Freeway: āWhen I was younger, Treach was one of my favorite emcees. I just like emcees that bring something different to the table. When he came up, he brought something crazy different to the table. His flow was different, it was original, and I just wanted to be like him.
āWhen I heard him rap, thatās the point in my life where I was like, āThatās what I wanna be. I wanna be just like Treach.ā He came with the 'O.P.P.' and that was great, and then when I heard the album, I think the full song was called 'Yoke The Joker.' I was just in love with it. Itās definitely an album that meant a lot to me, from beginning to end.ā
Dr. Dre, The Chronic (1992)
Label: Death Row, Interscope, Priority
Freeway: āEverybody loved The Chronic. That was a well orchestrated album from beginning to end. I just loved it, the way it was put together, Snoop Dogg. It was just a breath of fresh air at the time. It was another thing that made me want to be a rapper.
āI remember I had two radios, and I had one radio with the tape deck right here. I would play that tape and record with this radio me rapping over that, acting like I was down with them. I remember those days clearly.ā
A Tribe Called Quest, Midnight Marauders (1993)
Label: Jive, BMG
Freeway: "Thatās that heat right there. Thatās that work. I had a lot of love for A Tribe Called Quest. The only thing that pissed me off about them back in the day, I remember when I was a young boy, Phife saying, āAll Philly got is cheesesteaks.ā Like we aināt have no rappers. I remember that clearly and I wasnāt feeling that at all.ā
Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle (1993)
Label: Death Row, Interscope, Atlantic
Freeway: āāGin & Juiceā and āMurder Was The Case.ā My nigga Kurupt was one of the best from Philly. I could touch him. I knew people that knew him. He was doing his thing with Snoop, so that was another thing that gave me hope.
āI was talking to Kurupt on the phone and this way before anybody even knew about Freeway. He told me, āIāve got so many raps, I donāt even gotta write no more rhymes.ā That shit was crazy.
āI donāt even think I was smoking weed at that time, but I really felt everything that they was doing with their movement.ā
Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
Label: Loud
Freeway: "'C.R.E.A.M.' A lot of love for Wu.ā
Method Man, Tical (1994)
Label: Def Jam
Freeway: "That joint was crazy, everything on there. 'Bring The Pain', a bunch of different stuff. It was just crazy records."
Nas, Illmatic (1994)
Label: Columbia
Freeway: āNas is one of my favorite MCs. Illmatic is another thing from beginning to end. āLifeās A Bitch,ā I love how he brought his man on, when AZ came on with that different crazy flow. When you first heard Nas youāre like, āDamn, this niggaās hot. He got another nigga thatās just as hot as him?ā
āI dissed Nas when Nas was going through it with Jay, but I was riding for the team. I really had a lot of love for Nas. When I used to rap back in the day, they used to call me āThe Philly Nas.ā
āIāve got a cool little story about Nas. It was at the āRoc Boysā video, he was leaving and I was going in. I stopped and was like, āYo man, I know I dissed you and all that shit before but I really love your music. Iām a huge fan.ā He was like, āYo, I love your music too.ā He gave me a handshake and we embraced. Then, he got in Jayās Maybach and then he got out, like āWoah, this is not my Maybach.ā
āJust moments like that make me really appreciate. I always had the drive and I always felt as though I could do it. But for me to be able hear Nas say he love my music too? He could have just been saying that shit, but if he really do, that would mean a lot to me.ā
Outkast, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (1994)
Label: LaFace
Freeway: āI remember seeing that āSouthernplayalisticadillacmuzikā video. I was out here with the box when that joint came on. I was watching that joint and remember just being lost in whatever they were saying."
Notorious B.I.G., Ready To Die (1994)
Label: Bad Boy
Freeway: āI remember I didnāt even know who the fuck B.I.G. was. When he said, āYou all was grimy in the early nineties/Far behind me, it ain't hard to find me,ā he wasnāt lying. Niggas was really on some grimy Onyx shit. But when B.I.G. came with that āget moneyā shit and all that, he really changed the game.
āThe magic that B.I.G. and Puff created was unbelievable man.ā
Mobb Deep, The Infamous (1995)
Label: Loud, RCA, BMG
Freeway: āThat album is just amazing to me. I was in the streets heavy then, so I related to a lot of the shit that they was saying.
āHow I told you about with Reasonable Doubt, I couldnāt really relate to Jay from a boss level. But Mobb Deep was coming from the same perspective I was.
āI could relate to them jumping off the train, going to the bitchās crib and all that. I could relate to them being in the Lex one day, that was real to me. Thatās how it was really going down for me, so I could relate to that album. It was a great album.ā
Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (1995)
Label: Loud, RCA, BMG
Freeway: āThatās another album that I love. From beginning to end, thatās another album thatās crazy. Thatās the type of album you can pop in to this day and still be like, āYo this shit is hot. Itās hard.ā Bars and everything are still up to par.ā
Big Noyd, Episodes Of A Hustla (1996)
2Pac, All Eyez On Me (1996)
Label: Death Row, Interscope
Freeway: āRetarded, from beginning to end. Thereās something special about Pac, his music felt alive. I love B.I.G., heās definitely one of the greatest to do it, but when it comes to 2Pac, his music just feels alive. Itās just a whole other level of intensity that he brings to the music.
āAll Eyez On Me, you could ride out to it with your niggas. You could ride with it to go shoot niggas up. You could just listen to it when youāre chilling. Iāve had sex listening to the album all the way through. Real rap, itās just alive.
"I was in love with this chick and we used to always have 'Thug Passion' on repeat."
Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt (1996)
Label: Roc-A-Fella, Priority
Freeway: āI remember when I first heard Reasonable Doubt, I was like, āItās cool.ā Reasonable DoubtĀ was from a bossā perspective. At that time in my life, I wasnāt a boss, I was a worker. I was selling packs and bundles and stuff like that. A lot of the stuff he was talking about, I could relate too but I couldnāt relate to it from that boss point of view.
āAs I got older and I was listening to that shit, I was like, āMan, this shitās crazy.ā I remember I was still on Nas heavy and my niggas they was like, āThis nigga Jay-Z is the shit.ā Iām like āJay-Z? Who the hell is Jay-Z?ā Then I went and listened to Reasonable Doubt and was like, āHold up. He really is on some shit.ā
āI definitely think Reasonable Doubt is an album that was ahead of itās time. To this day, itās still great.ā
2Pac, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996)
Label: Death Row, Interscope
Freeway: āThat joint was crazy, from beginning to end. One thing I loved about Pac was how he let his boys shine. He let the Outlawz get their thing off. Pac would just spit one verse and then let them ride. Thatās genuine love and I really appreciated that.ā
The Notorious B.I.G., Life After Death (1997)
Label: Bad Boy
Freeway: āPuff is a genius the way he introduced Mase and had Mase getting off on there. That shit was just unbelievable man, timeless music.ā
Jay-Z, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998)
Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Freeway: āThatās gotta be one of my favorite albums from Jay. My favorite song that he had on that joint was 'Itās Like That.' I love that record to this day, Iāve probably listened to that record about one million times.
"Besides that, it was just a breath of fresh air. It was huge for Philly, because he had Beans on 'Reservoir Dogs.' That track is bananas. One thing about Jay, no matter what hot niggas heās got on his track, he always stands out. He came at the end of that joint and murked it. I really miss how rap used to be like that, back in the day.ā
Beanie Sigel, The Truth (2000)
Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Freeway: āThat was real huge for Philly. That had a lot of good records on there, a lot of hard cuts.ā
Jay-Z, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000)
Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Freeway: "I loved The Dynasty because that was my debut to the world. I had just gotten out of jail a couple of months before that. I was on house arrest. Talking to Beans, he would call me, āIām here with Jay, we doing this. We in Miami.ā I had never even seen Miami before.
āIād traveled from street before to like Vegas but Iād never been to Miami. So he like, āWe here. When you get off house arrest, I got you. You gonna be right with me. Iām telling you, I got you.ā He did exactly what he said. When I got off house arrest, he had me in the studio recording. I think he was actually supposed to rap on '1-900-Hustler' but he was like, āLet Free do it.ā Jay was like, āAlright, Iāll give him a shot.ā
āI took the beat home, wrote to it, came back, laid my verse. They was loving it. Jay was like, āI got you, Iām gonna set you up right. This is your introduction to the world, weāve got to do something to make it special.ā Right before my verse started they played the little violin, elevator music.
āHeās like, āI got you. They put that shit on there, watch how people respond to it.ā He really knows what heās doing with this music shit. Iām like, āLetās do it,ā and he did it and it was crazy.
āI remember how it ironic it was, weāre at my album release party in Philadelphia at this place called The Blockley. Bleek and Beans had a show there, and I was there with them. I used to be around, fucking XXXXL Rocawear shit that Beans gave me. My man was like, āYo, spit your verse from 1-900-Hustler.ā Iām like, āMan, donāt nobody know that shit.ā Heās like, āIām telling you.ā
āBeans and them was ready to get off the stage. He gave me the mic and was like, āGo ahead.ā So I grabbed the mic and Iām like, āFirst things first, watch what you say out your mouth,ā and the whole crowd was like, āWhen you talkin on the phone to hus-tlers.ā I was like, āWow.ā Iāve never looked back since.
āI didnāt even know that they knew this shit. I knew Jay like it, but I didnāt even know they knew that. At the time, I used to be in the streets heavy. I remember arguing with my baby moms. She like, āSo why you on Jay-Zās album? You corny as shit, you canāt even rap. The only reason he put you on there is because he couldnāt find nobody else.ā
āThat shit really got to me then but the more I think about it, āJay-Z couldnāt find nobody else to put on his album?ā Come on.ā
Beanie Sigel, The Reason (2001)
Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Freeway: āMy favorite album from Beans is The Reason, because I was there for the recording process. It was just amazing to be a part of. He might have been writing something, and I would be like, āNo, you should say this and do it like that,ā and heād be like, āOkay.ā
āMy favorite record off there was 'Manās World.' Iāve always tried to get him to perform that shit. Heāll never perform that shit, but I love that shit. I think I even jacked it on 'International Hustler.'
āOn the third verse, Iām like, āIt's A Man's World nigga, sit down you girl niggas,ā because I had to get that off. He would never perform it, so I had to say that.ā
Freeway, Philadelphia Freeway (2003)
Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Freeway: āThey say it takes your whole life to come up with your debut album and I definitely agree with that. My first album was all my passion and everything Iāve been through in the streets.
āI remember me loving it, but still being nervous about it. The week that it was getting ready to come out, I remember clearly. I was going into a radio station in Virginia, and it was probably two weeks before my album came out. I was like, āOh shit. Is the world gonna like this? I feel good about it, but is the world really gonna accept me?ā
āI wasnāt trying to be like nobody else. I wasnāt trying to rap like Jay or Beans or Bleek. I really was doing me, so I was so nervous to see if the world would accept me as I am, with no gimmicks and nothing else.
āWhen it came out, I think I sold 155 or something the first week and everybody love it to this day. Some people say itās a classic, so Iām pleased with it.ā
Jay-Z, American Gangster (2007)
Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Freeway: "That joint was just Jay-Z at his finest. From beginning to end, he was going in. He had Nas on 'Success,' which was amazing to me. The song with Beans, 'Ignorant Shit.' I loved that record. I did a couple verses to that beat too because I loved that beat.
āWhen I used to hear that shit, I think it was Don Demarco or somebody that had that on their mixtape. It was a little distorted. You couldnāt hear it all the way, but you could hear it. I was like, āThis shit right here, is fucking bananas.ā Thereās so many good records on there. Thatās a great album.ā