Send "Freeway " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 The Stimulus Package comes housed in a gigantic money clip-- the liner notes on the backs of gigantic dollar bills with the faces of Freeway and Jake One on them, the CD itself in a cardboard wallet along with a download card for the instrumental version. As a design conceit, it's brilliant-- the packaging alone might make the album worth its price as a straight-up conversation piece. But it also highlights some of the weirdness surrounding the record's release, since the LP probably wouldn't exist if Freeway were still walking around with gigantic money clips in his pocket.When Free made his debut about a decade ago, he was part of Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella stable, which means he debuted on the grandest stage imaginable. On tracks like "1-900-HUSTLER" and "Rock the Mic", his raspy, tense flow sounded perfectly at home next to Jay and Beanie Sigel. On his 2003 debut album, Philadelphia Freeway, Mariah Carey and Nelly made cameos. In 2004, it was mildly shocking to hear him alongside a backpack rapper like Mos Def on Kanye West's "Two Words". Then Roc-A-Fella imploded and the market for major-label rap dried up. And now Free's at Rhymesayers, labelmates with guys like BK-One and I Self Divine....full text |
| Spin |
| On his Rhymesayers debut, Philly's bearded battle rhymer gets consistently meaty beats from producer Jake One, whose soul-stirring tracks perfectly match Freeway's energetic musicality on breathless anthems such as "Know What I Mean." Problem is, proclamations that he's "about to bring that '98 hip-hop back" gradually unravel into bizarrely dated dismissals of other rappers ("I'm the MC with the hammer that is too legit to quit") and witless warnings to competitors who are supposedly "rattin' like Fievel." By the momentum-killing third act, the rapper sounds on the verge of exhaustion from delivering Stimulus' contrived lyrical weight....full text |
| Thestranger |
| I n this corner: Philly MC Freeway, Roc-A-Fella, beast of flow and cadence, maker of two minor hardcore classics in Philadelphia Freeway and Free at Last. In the other: local star Jake One, now of Dr. Dre's elite Aftermath beat stable, renowned master of the "slap." Together, they make some compelling-ass rap music—icy asphalt-hard, plush-as-butter Range Rover leather. With the sterling Stimulus Package, they've both delivered their most mature and dimensional work yet. Stranger Personals Lovelab tigerlily: Women seeking Men Lustlab How Do You Like It? Lovelab snakevenom: Women seeking Men No longer the young gun, Free the seasoned OG speaks from a well of game and experience that resonates with truth and insight all over The Stimulus Package. Take the quick "dos and don'ts of the block" primer "Know What I Mean," an absolute clinic in lean and mean hiphop—sparse, drums on mud-hole-stomp mode, with Jake's "Genius of Love" synth squiggles in queasy Technicolor. Without being too studio-slick or flashy, Freezer and Jake are nonetheless popping wheelies, showing off stepped-up game in all categories. There's the no-bullshit Biggie-caliber story rhyme of "Never Gonna Change" (in which Jake freaks those stuttering drums he first pulled out to cap-peeling effect on De La Soul's "Rock Co.Kane Flow" and Freeway freaks 'em right on back with that stick-shift flow of his, more controlled than ever) and the slap-your-mama "Microphone Killa." Jake's vaunted part-Dre/part-Dilla drum detail is at its very best these days, leaving a wide swath of oft-compared producers heaving in his dust. The tasteful features run from Beanie Sigel and Bun B to Lil Wayne's father figure Birdman, whose appearance on the murder bounce of "Watch My Moves" notches up the already high "this is coming out on Rhymesayers?!" WTF quotient. In fact, a team-up of this pedigree proving that you can do uncompromising, straight-up classic material like this on an indie and win—instead of trading favors to look good losing with some fad-producer singles—that, my friend, is the real payout. Freeway & Jake One: The Stimulus Package ...full text |
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