Philadelphia Freeway

Philadelphia Freeway
Philadelphia Freeway
Studio album by Freeway
Released	February 25, 2003
Recorded	2002
Studio	Baseline Studios (New York, NY); Quad Recording (New York, NY); Circle House Studios (Miami, FL); Sound on Sound (New York, NY); Larrabee Sound North (Los Angeles, CA);
Genre	East Coast hip hop
Length	1:10:27
Label	Criminal Background; Roc-A-Fella; Def Jam;
Producer	Bink!; Black Key; Just Blaze; Kanye West; Ruggedness;
Freeway chronology
Singles from Philadelphia Freeway
	"What We Do"; Released: September 3, 2002; "Alright"; Released: January 14, 2003; "Flipside"; Released: February 25, 2003;

Philadelphia Freeway is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Freeway. It was released on February 25, 2003 via Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions took place at Baseline Studios, Quad Recording Studios and Sound On Sound in New York, Circle House Studios in Miami and Larrabee North in Los Angeles. Production was handled by Just Blaze, Kanye West, Bink!, Black Key and Ruggedness, with co-producer E-Bass and additional producer Gee Roberson. It features guest appearances from Beanie Sigel, Jay-Z, Young Gunz, Allen Anthony, Faith Evans, Nate Dogg, Nelly, Omillio Sparks, Peedi Peedi, Rell, Snoop Dogg and Mariah Carey.

In the United States, the album debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200, selling 132,000 copies in its first week.^[1] It was supported by three singles: "What We Do", "Alright" and "Flipside". Its lead single, "What We Do", reached number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 47 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. The second single off of the album, "Alright", made it to number 64 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The album's third and final single, "Flipside", peaked at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 40 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and was featured on the Bad Boys II: The Soundtrack.

Its sequel, Philadelphia Freeway 2, was released on May 5, 2009 for Real Talk Entertainment.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100^[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllHipHop	^[3]
AllMusic	^[4]
RapReviews	7/10^[5]
Rolling Stone	^[6]
Spin	A-^[7]
Stylus	5/10^[8]
The Village Voice	^[9]

Philadelphia Freeway was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 74 based on seven reviews.^[2]

Chris Ryan of Spin called the album "the rare hip-hop debut that does justice to its buzz".^[7] Jon Caramanica of Rolling Stone stated that the album is "supported by the most accomplished set of beats in recent hip-hop memory".^[6] In his mixed review for Stylus, Brett Berliner concluded: "Freeway is great on guest appearances, but it seems that he can't string together an entire song by himself".^[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
1.	"Free"	Leslie Pridgen Justin Smith Joey Melotti Vicki Sue Robinson	Just Blaze	3:25
2.	"What We Do" (featuring Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel)	Pridgen Shawn Carter Dwight Grant Smith Skip Scarborough	Just Blaze	3:49
3.	"All My Life" (featuring Nate Dogg)	Pridgen Nathaniel Hale Roosevelt Harrell Curtis Mayfield Ben Krass	Bink!	5:31
4.	"Flipside" (featuring Peedi Crakk)	Pridgen Pedro Zayas Smith	Just Blaze	3:57
5.	"On My Own" (featuring Nelly)	Pridgen Cornell Haynes Smith	Just Blaze	4:09
6.	"We Get Around" (featuring Snoop Dogg)	Pridgen Calvin Broadus Smith	Just Blaze	3:56
7.	"Don't Cross the Line" (featuring Faith Evans)	Pridgen Smith Vinnie Barrett Bobby Eli	Just Blaze	4:03
8.	"Life" (featuring Beanie Sigel)	Pridgen Grant Melvin Carter Eddie Money	Ruggedness E-Bass^[a]	4:32
9.	"Full Effect" (featuring Young Gunz)	Pridgen Christopher Ries Hanif Muhammad Smith	Just Blaze	4:50
10.	"Turn Out the Lights (Freewest)"	Pridgen Kanye West	Kanye West	3:59
11.	"Victim of the Ghetto" (featuring Rell)	Pridgen Harrell Yvette Davis	Bink!	5:12
12.	"You Don't Know (In the Ghetto)" (featuring Omillio Sparks)	Pridgen Mickey Davis Minnie Ripperton Richard Rudolph Leon Ware	Black Key	4:13
13.	"Alright" (featuring Allen Anthony)	Pridgen Allen Anthony Smith Ronnie Foster	Just Blaze Gee Roberson^[b]	5:26
14.	"Hear the Song"	Pridgen West	Kanye West	3:36

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"You Got Me" (featuring Mariah Carey and Jay-Z)	Pridgen Mariah Carey Carter Smith	Just Blaze Mariah Carey	5:12
16.	"Line 'Em Up" (featuring Young Chris)	Pridgen Ries Smith	Just Blaze	4:46
Total length:				1:10:27

Leftover Tracks

"Roc the Mic (Remix)" (with Beanie Sigel, Nelly and Murphy Lee)
"Show Go On" (with Twista)

Notes

^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer

Sample credits

"Free" contains a sample of "Freeway Song", written by Joey Melotti and Vicki Sue Robinson, and performed by Vicki Sue Robinson.
"What We Do" contains a sample from "I Just Can't See Myself Without You", written by Skip Scarborough, and performed by Creative Source.
"All My Life" contains a sample of "I Want To Go Back", written by Curtis Mayfield and Ben Krass, and performed by The Impressions.
"Don't Cross the Line" contains a sample of "To Get Love You Must Give Love", written by Vinnie Barrett and Bobby Eli, and performed by Ultimate Music Experience.
"Life" contains an interpolation of "Life for the Taking", written by Eddie Money.
"Victim of the Ghetto" contains a sample of "We Belong Together", written by Yvette Davis, and performed by The Spinners.
"You Don't Know (In the Ghetto)" contains a sample of "Inside My Love", written by Minnie Ripperton, Richard Rudolph, and Leon Ware; and performed by Minnie Ripperton.
"Alright" contains an interpolation of "Mystic Brew", written by Ronnie Foster.

Personnel

Leslie "Freeway" Pridgen – vocals
Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter – vocals (tracks: 2, 15), executive producer
Dwight "Beanie Sigel" Grant – vocals (tracks: 2, 8)
Nathaniel "Nate Dogg" Hale – vocals (track 3)
Pedro "Peedi Crakk" Zayas – vocals (track 4)
Cornell "Nelly" Haynes – vocals (track 5)
Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus – vocals (track 6)
Faith Evans – vocals (track 7)
M.A.J. – additional vocals (track 8)
Christopher "Young Chris" Ries – vocals (tracks: 9, 16)
Hanif "Neef Buck" Muhammad – vocals (track 9)
Gerrell "Rell" Gaddis – vocals (track 11)
Kenneth "Omillio Sparks" Johnson – vocals (track 12)
Alaine Laughton – additional vocals (track 12)
Allen Anthony – vocals (track 13)
Torrey Torae – additional vocals (track 14)
Mariah Carey – vocals & producer (track 15)
Eric "E-Bass" Johnson – guitar & bass (track 8)
Justin "Just Blaze" Smith – producer (tracks: 1, 2, 4-7, 9, 13, 15, 16)
Roosevelt "Bink!" Harrell III – producer (tracks: 3, 11)
Melvin "Ruggedness" Carter – producer (track 8)
Kanye West – producer (tracks: 10, 14)
Mickey "Black Key" Davis – producer (track 12)
Gerald Roberson – additional producer (track 13)
Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton – recording (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 16), mixing (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16)
Carlisle Young – recording (tracks: 1, 3-5, 9, 12, 14)
Brian Stanley – recording & mixing (track 3)
Doug Wilson – recording (tracks: 3, 6, 11), mixing (tracks: 6, 11)
Shane "Bermuda" Woodley – recording (tracks: 6, 7, 9, 10, 12-14)
Rabeka Tunei – recording (tracks: 10, 14)
Pat Viala – mixing (track 8)
Manny Marroquin – mixing (tracks: 10, 14)
Ken Lewis – mixing (track 15)
Paul Gregory – engineering (track 15)
Dana Jon Chappelle – engineering (track 15)
Colin Miller – engineering assistant (track 15)
Dave Perini – engineering assistant (track 15)
Giulio Antognini – engineering assistant (track 15)
Manuel Farolfi – engineering assistant (track 15)
Tony Dawsey – mastering
Damon Dash – executive producer
Kareem "Biggs" Burke – executive producer
Tia Johnson – art direction, design, cover
Jonathan Mannion – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[10]	5
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[11]	3

Year-end charts

Chart (2003)	Position
US Billboard 200^[12]	192
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[13]	38

References

^ Dansby, Andrew (March 5, 2003). "Norah Tops 600,000". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Critic Reviews for Philadelphia Freeway - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ Blanco, Alvin "Aqua Boogie" (March 1, 2003). "Philadelphia Freeway". AllHipHop. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ Kellman, Andy. "Philadelphia Freeway - Freeway | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (February 27, 2003). "Freeway :: Philadelphia Freeway :: Roc-A-Fella Records". RapReviews. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ ^a ^b Caramanica, Jon (March 20, 2003). "The Rolling Stone review » New CDs". Rolling Stone. No. 918. p. 66. Retrieved March 12, 2003.
^ ^a ^b Ryan, Chris (April 2003). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 19, no. 4. SPIN Media LLC. pp. 104, 106. ISSN 0886-3032.
^ ^a ^b Berliner, Brett. "Freeway | Philadelphia Freeway | Rocafella / Def Jam Records | 2003". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved April 17, 2003 – via Wayback Machine.
^ Christgau, Robert (July 29, 2003). "Shadows in the Cave". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ "Freeway Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ "Freeway Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ "2003 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ "2003 Year-End Charts – Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

External links

Freeway – Philadelphia Freeway at Discogs (list of releases)

[1] Dansby, Andrew (March 5, 2003). "Norah Tops 600,000". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[MC-2] "Critic Reviews for Philadelphia Freeway - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[3] Blanco, Alvin "Aqua Boogie" (March 1, 2003). "Philadelphia Freeway". AllHipHop. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[4] Kellman, Andy. "Philadelphia Freeway - Freeway | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[5] Juon, Steve 'Flash' (February 27, 2003). "Freeway :: Philadelphia Freeway :: Roc-A-Fella Records". RapReviews. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[RS-6] Caramanica, Jon (March 20, 2003). "The Rolling Stone review » New CDs". Rolling Stone. No. 918. p. 66. Retrieved March 12, 2003.

[SPIN-7] Ryan, Chris (April 2003). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 19, no. 4. SPIN Media LLC. pp. 104, 106. ISSN 0886-3032.

[SM-8] Berliner, Brett. "Freeway | Philadelphia Freeway | Rocafella / Def Jam Records | 2003". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved April 17, 2003 – via Wayback Machine.

[9] Christgau, Robert (July 29, 2003). "Shadows in the Cave". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[ac_Billboard200_Freeway-10] "Freeway Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_Freeway-11] "Freeway Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[12] "2003 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[13] "2003 Year-End Charts – Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

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