Philadelphia emcee Freeway returning after 6 years for his 8th full-length LP. A longtime friend of Beanie Sigel, he subsequently became a member of State Property & signed to Roc-A-Fella Records/Def Jam Recordings after appearing on “1-900-Hustler” off The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. His own solo debut Philadelphia Freeway became a classic of its own mostly produced by Just Blaze, Bink & Kanye West eventually taking 4 years off to later return on the 2007 sophomore effort Free at Last departing the imploding Roc-A-Fella not too long afterwards. Philadelphia Freeway 2 was a mediocre sequel to his debut & the Rhymesayers Entertainment-backed The Stimulus Package produced by Jake One saw itself as a return to form. Babygrande Records helped put out to Diamond in the Ruff & Free Will to moderate reception until Roc Nation Records interestingly enough signing Freeway for Think Free following a kidney transplant. The Stimulus Package 2 on the contrary had me highly anticipating it living up to its predecessor & his first 2 major label efforts since I enjoy the initial Stimulus Package as much as the latter couple.
Conway the Machine joins Freeway for the jazzy opener “Time” coming clean that it’s been quite a while since we’ve last heard from Free whereas “Philly” featuring Peedi Crakk works in a soul sample so both of them can talk about their hometown. “My Own” featuring Sauce Walka continues the sampling of soul music calling themselves different individuals in a pitiful game leading into “Keep Winning” featuring Black Thought uniting the pair over a dusty instrumental catching Ws.
“Price of Fame” soulfully talks about what the cost of success for him was just before “Lord Forgive Me” sets out to stay on his grind & to let the 9 off if anyone crosses him or the squad. “Freezer” mixes strings with kicks & snares talking about getting his nickname for the fact that he’s been cold for 20 winters at this point in his career, but then the horn-infused “Ringin’” featuring Jadakiss talks about the street life being illusion & that they took a better way out.
Meanwhile on “Heartbreaker”, we have Freeway somberly describing himself as the king of breaking hearts while the summery sample throughout “Nothin’ They Can Do” fits perfectly for him to deliver some east coast Benz music. “Crystals & Keys” featuring Scholito soulfully portrays the life of chandeliers & grand pianos while “Bearded Legend” hooks up a gospel flip addressing those who wanna see him drown. “Surgery” featuring Symba nears the conclusion of The Stimulus Package 2 providing an anthem for the hurting hearts that is until the official closer represents the children of the Roc-A-Fella “Family Tree”.
His output in the last 14 years for me personally have generally come across as average & as I expected, The Stimulus Package 2 has to be the most I’ve enjoyed an album from Free since the predecessor joining that & both his Roc-A-Fella offerings as the most essential standouts in his discography. Jake One’s production here is more consistent than the last 3 that the Philly Freezer gave us & lyrically, the State Property member remains focused in reminding the culture of his legacy.
Score: 9/10