Grant JonesThe first “Stimulus Package” album from Philadelphia favourite Freeway and Seattle production wizard Jake One, remains one of the best rap albums of the last few years. That sentence may look stupid, considering it was released FOURTEEN years ago, but it still sounds completely contemporary. It wasn’t necessarily ahead of its time, but did feel immaculately conceived. It’s not a perfect album, of course, but possesses a certain amount of magic that makes it easily Freeway’s best record in his catalogue. Free has always benefitted from a strong ear for production – 2007’s “Free at Last” is lowkey one of the dopest set of instrumentals of the 2000s, it’s whether you can tolerate and ultimately appreciate Freeway’s immediately distinguishable voice. But in the words of Royce Da 5’9” – “I’m an acquired taste, so acquire some taste”.
Always a dominant personality on a track, Freeway’s rap abilities can get overlooked because of it. I couldn’t tell you my favourite Freeway line, but I could tell you numerous dope tracks he’s made, which is what seems to see him omitted from lists of great emcees. A bizarre statement, I’ll add, as making great music should be good enough to see him acknowledged. To quote his former Roc-a-Fella mentor, Jay-Z would make hot songs, but also populate them with hot lines. That’s what made him one of the hottest emcees. I think Freeway has generally had hot songs, but the lines don’t tend to stick long in the memory. With “The Stimulus Package 2”, he’s not spouting crazy punchlines, but his rhymes do feel more memorable. In fact, this effort is even better than the excellent original.
Now, I’m a big fan of Freeway’s voice. Not only is it entirely distinctive, but it’s always contained an underlying vulnerability to complement the brashness of his delivery, and this album is full of pain. There are some serious themes covered here, which may not surprise some, considering he’s lost two children (one to cancer, one to gun violence), his father to dementia AND he’s had a kidney transplant. The fact he still wants to get in the studio to rap is admirable, and having Jake One back on the boards means we’re treated to a more traditional album.
Songs like “Freezer” and “Nothin They Can Do” are your usual reflective pieces reminding us all why Freeway is now a respected veteran, but on “Crystals and Keys” the way he suddenly shares life-changing moments alongside business ventures, struck me how this album connects on multiple levels. He threatens to dive deeper into his losses, but rather than share the details, he channels it all into powerful hooks like the song “Surgery”, or “Price of Fame” where people reveal their true selves when you’re at your most vulnerable. I really like “My Own” too, which covers how Freeway is an only child, and has always had to do things himself, The beat and hook are great, and reminds me why I like his albums – he puts songs on them. It’s not just beats and bars.
Black Thought pops by for “Keep Winning”, and it’s undeniably fantastic, despite the unusual mismatch it becomes. I say this because Black Thought’s lines are littered with thoughtful wisdom and Freeway’s rhymes left me a little confused. Namely, he explains that slavery was horrible, but working with Jake One (who is Caucasian) is okay because he “doesn’t think like that“. It seemed a bit of a redundant thing to say, and if anything, makes me wonder if there’s been anything questionable I’ve missed regarding Jake. Don’t tell me he’s a Trump voter!
Black Thought doing Black Thought things:
“This for black mamas, this that black promise
Experiences I cannot have failed to acknowledge
Leave your building unattended, you’ll attract squatters
With snakes slithering on your lawn that act honest
When on the average, we mostly post-traumatic
You know at least a few of your folks be close to addicts
We look at happiness as if we ain’t supposed to have it
Out here living ultra savage, it’s like, a toxic marriage
I copped, a Jeep Wrangler that came with a disc-changer
Now push it lowkey through the city, I sense danger
Shit major, ay, little young’un aiming the big flamer
So many trigger warnings it came with a disclaimer
Philly not playing, stop playing, they on the block laying
Getting clocked ducking from shots, the crooked cops spraying
Lot of times it’s ain’t what you’re saying, it’s what you’re not saying
What you need to listen to, is what the Ak saying
Life is a blessing, how quick you forget the message
How it’s more of a lesson in losses than in successes
We see more as adults than we saw in our adolescence
To evolve and adjust is humanity, in its essence
Ayo this isn’t rocket science, It’s a Hip-Hop alliance
to the top suppliers, and society will not deny us
Philly kings, we know that what won’t give us wins won’t give us ways
That UPS truck don’t come and deliver dreams
When we was bucks we seen a lot of stuff we shouldn’t have seen
Shit I was still a teen, and trying to navigate pain
Loss and loneliness, real life and phoniness
None of my examples was ever age-appropriate
Weren’t nobody hollering “Hey, Look how woke we is!”
Copious cocaine dope and other opiates
Damn, it’s different circumstances, but what were the chances we would see the Earth advancing?
Sometimes it hurts to answer,
This is the perfect anthem”
Speaking of legendary features, we’re treated to a Jadakiss verse on “Ringin'”, another catchy, life-affirming track channelling the horns of Just Blaze. It’s genuinely been ringing in my head for weeks, and it’s a shame it’s not all over rap radio stations. “Crystals and Keys” has that chipmunk soul you don’t hear any more, and “Bearded Legend” is simply one of the best beats of 2024. Good. Lord. Raise the volume up and if this doesn’t re-align your chakras, I’m not sure Hip-Hop is for you.
2024 has already felt like a nostalgic return to the Roc-A-Fella era, with Grafh reuniting the Roc alumni for “Rocafella Chain” (which Freeway was on), and Marv Won aspiring to go to a “Roc Nation Brunch” (again with Freeway). Jake One closes out the album with another crazy instrumental, this time on “Family Tree”, which sees Freeway thankful to be from the Roc-a-Fella family tree, while working in some neat wordplay:
“Out the mud I was from the streets
Pulled up from a shrub, n****s can’t believe
Branched off, it was time to leave/leaf
Now I’m overlooking all this other green
The fall came, and I felt the breeze
Still stand tall, I’m a better Free
Gave birth to this industry
Children of the Roc-a-Fella family tree”
The one hangover from making albums the traditional way is that we get a song like “Heartbreaker.” It’s a glorified celebration of womanizing, but it’s the one song on the album where I find myself disliking Freeway. Maybe it’s jealousy, given that he’s breaking all these women’s hearts. It also feels like a missed opportunity, considering he literally had a broken kidney. Something clever could have been constructed around that situation (using an organ sample, perhaps).
This is picking holes in an exceptional set of beats from Jake One, who recently released the fourth instalment of his excellent “Tuxedo” albums alongside Mayer Hawthorne. He claimed in an interview with Sway that he returned to making traditional Hip-Hop beats (using samples) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I’m grateful he did because there aren’t many that can do it with such professionalism. The engineering is crisp, and everything has a blockbuster feel you’d associate with a $15 CD. This is a proper album, from two grown men, and it’s one of the year’s best releases.