So we opened up a New York office.
Ramon being a native Austinite didn't make us hip enough, so I sold the car and what was left of my soul and hopped a plane for Williamsburg, New York - ground zero for people who wear infuriating outfits for a living.
Of course, before the trust-fund condos and "vintage" shops sprang up, 1 or 2 or 10 genre-defining hip-hop legends got started not all that far from here. Last night I went to my first rap show as an NY transplant, and it was actually worth the commute.
Freeway is the sort of artist ATG definitely fucks with. We've salivated over his particular brand of balls-and-my-word voracity in these pages before, so it was only right that we show up to his album-release festivities at the Highline Ballroom. Free's new joint, The Stimulus Package, is a collaboration with upwardly mobile White Van musician Jake One, and it is officially in stores now via venerable alt-rap imprint Rhymesayers. This is great news for three reasons: 1. Freeway's last album, Philadelphia Freeway 2, suffered badly from the underdog's complete lack of resources and backing. Rhymesayers' crop may not be for everyone, but they know how to manage talent, engage key media and nurture a fan base. 2. Jake One is a good match. The man won't win points for originality (soul samples are the closest thing to his trademark), but he brings a level of consistency and panache that balances Freeway's gruff delivery well. 3. We need more strong hip-hop from mid-level rappers. We have too much one-off mixtape making and, on the other end of the spectrum, big budget bloat.
Right off the bat, the vibe at the show was positive. Red mood lighting in a space about the size of a gymnasium; hip-hop heads of all races and genders trickling in in ball caps and flannel. Good people. I wasn't expecting much in the way of a pre-show, but DJ Snuggles out of Minneapolis kicked things off with a good mix. My favorite was Red Cafe's new banger featuring Fabo, "I'm Ill." Exhibits A and C from Jay Electronica also made an appearance, which obviously I loved, but, interestingly, the crowd wasn't feeling it. No one sang along or moved. Conversations could be heard. The much vaunted new rap savior out of New Orleans fell on the deaf ears of what I must assume was a notoriously southern-prejudiced New York crowd.
Joell Ortiz, thankfully, is from Brooklyn. I started to get a sense for just how well this show had been put together when Miss Info herself came on stage and introduced him as the first performer. The New Music Cartel was also in the building. Not that we pay attention to them or anything...
Joell got into a lot of Slaughterhouse joints, so basically it was a lot of energy spent for essentially the least interesting sort of meat-and-potatoes hip-hop. All due respect, of course... His new solo album, The Free Agent, is coming in April.
Brother Ali was next. I've never seen him live before, and didn't expect to see him there, but Rhymesayers, again, made the astute move of pairing one of their flagship artists with their two new, vital recruits. Ali injected the crowd with a lot of positivity and had a really strong bit in the middle where he brought out DJ Snuggles (apparently his personal DJ) for an enjoyable beatbox medley.
At this point, the stage was set. The crowd was packed. Things were so hype, it was actually hard for me to believe that Philly Freezer was the man we were so eagerly waiting for. It's been 10 years since he entered the national stage on Jay-Z's "1-900 Hustler," and this had to be the closest he'd come to bonafide rock stardom in a very long time. It was no small thing.
The crowd loved him. From the moment he sprang out in a fitted hat and grey plaid, there were dudes on my left and right rapping along to Freeway's every word. His catalog is deeper than you might imagine. Classics like "Two Words" and "Rock the Mic" fit in nicely with his new joints. He even brought fellow Roc-a-fella survivor Young Chris out for a minor State Property reunion. Jake One was on the ones and twos, and the two seemed to genuinely like each other. I haven't spent a lot of time with the new album, but what I heard makes me feel like it won't disappoint.
I would have liked to hear my favorite Freeway song, "When They Remember" off 2007's under-appreciated Free At Last, but alas, it was left out of the slightly short-seeming set. It ended with a bang, though, when Philly's finest launched into his best-loved single, 2002's "What We Do." As it played, I remembered Just Blaze saying in an interview once that it was his favorite production after Hov's own "PSA." It's credits like those that underscore why Freeway is such an authentic, noteworthy rap star. No self-aggrandizement; just a deceptively strong resume and an even stronger work ethic.
It's no small thing.
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