FREEWAY Schallplatten & CDs

Review: After more than a decade, Phili star Freeway reunites with Seattle super-producer Jake One for their second full-length collaboration. Known for his timeless, versatile beats that always somehow resonate with both underground and mainstream audiences, Jake One's production provides the perfect backdrop for Freeway's gritty lyrics here. Next to those two, the record features an impressive lineup of guest appearances including Black Thought, Jadakiss, Conway the Machine, Sauce Walka, Peedi Crack, Scholito and Symba. Together, they deliver a powerful, cohesive project that highlights the enduring chemistry between Freeway and Jake One with hard-hitting beats and sharp, memorable rhymes.

Review: Shiny boogie reissue action from Peoples Potential Unlimited, the undisputed kings of disco digging. This label has to be recognised for what it's done, for the amount of material that it's made available to contemporary boogie addicts, and for the style with which they've done it. Here we have some glorious material from 1980-1981 by Mark J's Freeway project. If there truly is such as thing as 'blue-eyed soul', then this is your 'green-eyed boogie', a marvellous, uptempo collection of funky tunes with a subtle electro edge running through the lower ends of the mixes. Also, it'll surely appeal to a variety of 'soul' lovers, from the ones who like that slight electro edge to their disco, to others who are into their vocal solos, piano keys and yes, even some organs. All in all, this is a timeless piece of music which had been lost in the depths of time and into the pockets of the second-hand market cats. Don't miss it.