For a relatively new artist it has been a long road for the uniquely bearded Philadelphia native. Freeway was one of the many casualties in the aftermath of the well publicised Roc-A-Fella Records split, with a four year gap between his overlooked debut Philadelphia Freeway in 2003 and his second solo album Free At Last; that short amount of time feels like an eternity in the increasingly fickle music business. Now part of the revamped Roc-A-Fella roster and with 50 Cent cosigning him, he truly is Free At Last.
Proceedings kick off poignantly with This Can’t Be Real, as Freeway looks over his career thus far in an almost dreamy state, which is appropriately matched by breezy production. He then goes on to show that he’s Still Got Love over a bouncy soul number, as he gives a sly nod to the lack of any production from Just Blaze and Kanye West on this release. Although Free’s distinct vocal delivery doesn’t quite mesh with the methodic pace of Reppin’ The Streets, he still gets his message across adequately.
Holding it down convicingly for the majority of Free At Least, appearances from well-selected guests also help the cause, as evidenced on Baby Don’t Do It, where he is joined by the legendary Scarface. The intensity increases when Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes ride shotgun on Walk Wit Me.
The combination of Freeway and Jay-Z sounds like a no-brainer, however on this occasion the student and the teacher come together on the truly abysmal Roc-A-Fella Billionaires, which proves that nothing is off limits as the track samples Big Spender from the musical Cabaret. Freeway fares no better when he teams up with his new comrade 50 Cent on Take It To The Top. JR Rottem’s syrupy synth and guitar laced concoction, blatantly aiming for mainstream radio spins, clearly fits the smooth cadence of Curtis ‘Interscope’ Jackson more than Freeway’s rugged flow.
Throughout, there is a definite over-reliance on old school Soul and R&B samples and Free’s nasal delivery can tend to get on the annoying side. However, with only a few minor mis-steps along the way, the State Property representative outdoes his debut and improves as a storyteller, making Free At Last a memorable release.
Available Through Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Records
