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Jake knows Freeway's strengths and plays to them with so much grace it's almost unfair to rappers who've got to piece records together with a hodgepodge of producers who craft their tracks with no one in particular in mind.
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The Stimulus Package is nothing less than the album Freeway was born to make, a release that finds both Free and Jake One at the apex of their respective talents, milking each other for everything they’re worth.
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Even though the “fast forward button” will be needed here and there, The Stimulus Package is still a solid release that is easily the top hip-hop release so far this year.
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The two display perfect chemistry with the Seattle beatsmith's bangers complimenting the Philly Freezer's gruff delivery.
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The Philly Freeway was bred for stardom but ultimately rapped with a voice too gruff to break through the glitz and glamour. RAF's label loss is Rhymesayers' gain.
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FilterFreeway shares top billing here with producer Jake One, a journeyman recently rescued from G-Unit's dungeon and the collaboration provides Jake with a production showcase and Freeway with some much-needed cohesion. [Winter 2010, p.99]
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Although Raekwon, Bun B and Birdman all turn in solid guest spots, Freeway remains in control and drops his most memorable lines since his 2003 debut, "Philadelphia Freeway."
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Another hip-hop comfort blanket, The Stimulus Package reminds us a dope loop and a capable MC justify their own existence.
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The Stimulus Package finds him working the angles as sharply as ever. On this album, he swings like a trapeze artist between the extremes of solemn commentary and hardboiled boasting.
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The excellent beats by G Unit vet Jake One are full of smacking snare hits and soul samples. But the real music is Freeway's tricky rhyme schemes and his gravelly full-bore attack.
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The Stimulus Package, despite its remarkable consistency, remains a modest achievement.
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Don't get it twisted: this isn't a classic. There are a few lame tracks, and Freeway still occasionally stumbles over some dumb rhymes. However, listening to his Ghostface-esque storytelling on Never Going To Change or his Tyson-like intensity on One Thing or even his fear on Money, it isn't had to believe that Free has a great album in him.
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Made with Jake One, a producer of classic-soul proclivity and G-Unit pedigree, it’s a sumptuous vessel with room for redundancy.
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The Stimulus Package would work better as an album if Free had a little more help directing his skills, or if he just decided to rap hard on every song instead of tying himself to concepts. But even the goofiest songs here are still fun listens, and a few tracks come close to capturing his old brilliance.
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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.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 10 out of 11
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Mixed: 0 out of 11
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Negative: 1 out of 11
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Jan 27, 2011