Interview with Freeway

By David Friedman

How has everything been going since your album "Philadelphia Freeway" came out earlier this year?

Hectic. I’m running around crazy. But other than that, everything’s good. (I’ve been) everywhere – the whole U.S. I mean, I love it. Everywhere I go, people have been showing me love. Everybody’s feelin’ the album. I love it.

What’s it like being on Roc-A-Fella with Jay-Z? And was it difficult to wait until it was your turn to drop a solo album?

It wasn’t really difficult because I stayed busy. Before I had the opportunity to put my own album out, I was doing other things. I was doing features with other people and I was getting shows myself from things I did in the past and the new features I was doing. So I stayed busy, plus I stayed in the studio, plus Jay took me on any tour that he had. And Beanie took me everywhere he went. So I was pretty busy. It didn’t really seem like too long of a time in between periods.

When it came time to put together your debut album, what were you shooting for?

I just wanted people to feel me. I wanted people to hear my story. My goal was I wanted everybody to love the album. If they love the album, then I’d know that I would be able to put another one out. Now that I know what to do, it’s gonna be even better on the second time around.

You’ve got 16 songs on your album. Did you go through a lot of others that didn’t make the cut?

I’ve got like 21 songs that didn’t make the album. I just was looking for bangin’ beats. A lot of songs didn’t make it because the samples couldn’t get cleared and stuff like that. The material that didn’t make it is just as tight as the material that did make it.

Your album features Snoop Dogg on the song "We Get Around." How did you like working with him?

It was crazy. I went to Snoop’s crib to do a song with him. Then I asked him to get on a song and he was with it. We banged it out. It was crazy. (’ve listened to him ever since his first album. He took me to the church. We were in there. We were chilling. Then he was playing the video games or whatever.

How do you like rapping over beats by Roc-A-Fella’s in-house producer, Just Blaze?

We’ve got chemistry. He’ll be knowing what I’ll be looking for. He always brings it to the table. We work good together. I love working with Just Blaze. I don’t know what it is, but we just blend together. He’ll know what I want. He’ll bring a beat to the table and I’ll just attack it. I’ve got a different flow and I like tracks that challenge my flow. He brings a lot of tracks like that to the table.

How about the other producers on the album?

I’ve got Kanye West on there. It’s always good working with him. He’s another one of the in-house producers at Roc. I’ve got my man Bink! dog on there. Bink! brings crazy energy. He always brings what I want to the table too. So I love working with him. I’ve got my man Black Key … and I’ve got my man Ruggedness. These are producers I knew before I got on, so I had to show them love and get them on the album. They’re all from Philly too.

On another song, "Life," you speak to a childhood friend who is serving a life sentence in prison. Could you tell me a little bit about that song?

My man, I grew up with him. We were the same age. We did a lot of things together on the street. I was fortunate enough to get out and he got locked up. Since he’s been in jail, he just don’t fuck with nobody. He don’t talk to nobody – his mom, me, none of his people. So I’m like, ‘Whatever. I’m gonna reach out to him with this song.’ That’s for real. I can’t get in touch with him no other way, so I know he’s gonna hear that.

When you write your lyrics, who are you speaking to? Do you have a particular audience that you’re targeting?

Everybody. The world. I don’t target no certain people. I write what I feel. I don’t ever sit down and say, ‘Oh, I’m gonna write this for them and this for them.’ I do me. I write what I feel.

So far, your album has had three singles—"What We Do," "Alright" and "Flipside." What were those tracks about?

‘Even Though What We Do Is Wrong’ is self-explanatory. It talks about the struggles in the streets and the things that we do that we know we’re not supposed to be doing. But we do them anyway because we’ve gotta feed our kids. It’s featuring Jay-Z. ‘Alright’ is featuring my man Allen Anthony. He’s singing on the hook and it’s basically how I felt at the time. It’s called ‘Alright’ and it’s just letting people know how things go down. Like I was here and now I’m here. And everything’s all right. ‘Flipside,’ I guess you would probably call it a club song. It’s featuring my man Peedi Crakk and it’s just some hood shit – like on the top of ‘Rock the Mic.’ It’s crazy.

I read that you’re a devout Muslim. Does that affect what you talk about in your songs? How has that influenced your life otherwise?

You can’t compare the two. The two don’t go together at all. Being a Muslim, I’m not even supposed to be rapping. That’s just something I deal with myself.

How do you stay true to your religion and still pursue your career as a rapper?

God gave us a will. Mankind, we’ve got a will. We’ve got a choice to either do something or not do something. There’s a lot of things people do that are not right. I was selling drugs and I still was praying, doing what I was supposed to do. At least I’m doing something where I’m not killing nobody. I’m making an honest living and I don’t gotta worry about the cops on my back or nothin’ like that. Eventually, I want to get myself together and live like a Muslim is supposed to live. But right now I’m doing what I’ve gotta do. When I pray, I ask God for forgiveness.

What is it like in northern Philadelphia where you’re from?

It was the ghetto. There were Blacks and Puerto Ricans. There were blocks with abandoned houses and lots, smokers everywhere, people selling drugs, cops everywhere, little kids playing in the streets, all kinds of stuff. It’s the hood. Chinese stores on every corner, people selling liquor out of the back of their house—all kinds of stuff goes on in the hood.

You were selling drugs at one point?

I was selling crack, man. That’s over with. That’s in the past. I don’t even like talking about it. That was when I was 16. When I was a teenager, I just was on the streets doing whatever I had to do to get a couple dollars. If I saw that I could get some money on the streets, I was on the streets getting money.

What kind of music did you listen to when you were growing up?

I listened to everybody—2Pac, Snoop, Jay, Biggie. I used to listen to Black Moon, Black Sheep. Whoever came up with some heat. I was listening to. N.W.A., whatever was hot. If I could relate to what they were talking about and their flow was tight, I was rolling with it. If the beats were banging and I could relate, then I was rolling with it.

Did you listen to any local rappers from Philly?

Ram Squad, E.S.T. … There were a lot of local rappers.

The first song you appeared on that was released on a major label was "1-900-Hustler" on Jay-Z’s "The Dynasty, Roc La Familia" LP in 2000. What were you doing before that?

I was doing my own thing. I had my clique, Ice City. There were like seven of us. It was a lot of the years when I was in the streets. Probably since I was 17 we’ve been doing that. But it was nothing serious, nothing major. Peedi Crakk is from Ice City. He just got signed to Roc-A-Fella. And I’m still trying to make moves for the rest of the people from Ice City.

How did you meet Beanie Sigel?

I met Beanie Sigel at a club in Philly. We were on stage spittin’ and he told me we were hot. Then I didn’t see him no more until after he got signed. He said, ‘I need you on the scene.’ And I said, ‘Let’s go.’ I was just coming up there and then things started working.

How would you describe the different personalities of the rappers on Roc-A-Fella?

Everybody’s themselves. Don’t nobody trying to be funny. Everybody’s being themselves. Jay-Z is cool. He’s a regular dude. He’s just like you, like me. He’ll be chilling. I don’t really see him mad too much. He’s about his business. He’ll do what he’s gotta do. Beanie is the same way. He’ll do what he’s gotta do. He’s just probably a little bit more aggressive with it. He’s a real dude. Memphis Bleek is the same way. He’s just a little more laid back. But he’ll do what he’s gotta do.

When you appeared on "1-900-Hustler" everybody was playing the song in the hood. But right before the song came out, you got arrested for dealing drugs. Do you regret that that happened?

It was something that I had to go through. I don’t regret nothing I did. It’s part of me now. It’s part of what builds a character, things that people go through. So I don’t regret it. I’m not trying to go through it again. You won’t see me selling drugs no more, but I don’t regret nothing I did.

Are you staying out of trouble now simply because you’ve got enough money that you don’t need to break the law?

Because I’ve got the money. I wasn’t doing what I was doing out in the streets because it was the cool thing to do. It was because I needed money. I had to support myself. Now, I’ve got a million ways to support myself.

A lot of fans who buy your albums never lived in an inner-city environment. Are you afraid that they might think that it is a cool thing to sell drugs and get in trouble?

I only can speak for myself. I can’t speak for nobody else. And what I do is I try to give people both sides. I try to tell them, ‘This is where I was at here; this is where I’m at now. If I could make a change and you’re from the hood, you can make a change too. If you’re not from the hood, this is where I came from (and) this is where I’m at now. You don’t want to be where I came from.’

I like the song you and Jay-Z did on the "8-Mile" sondtrack. Did you and Jay-Z think twice about being on the "8-Mile" soundtrack since Nas also had a song on it?

I never thought nothing like that and I’m sure Jay didn’t think nothing like that. Maybe it’s because we’re not petty. That little beef thing, that’s not about nothing. That’s just music. People have got families to feed. Ain’t nobody worrying about no beef right now. That’s over with.

What did you think of the "8-Mile" movie?

I liked it a whole lot. Eminem’s real talented. He does what he does. I mean, he should be an inspiration for a lot of people.

Who are some of the better rappers coming out of Philly these days?

Us. We’re what’s poppin’ out of Philly now, dog. Young Chris, Peedi Crakk… Ms. Jade is poppin’. Eve… The Roots are definitely poppin’ on the hip-hop side. Musiq, you know he’s poppin’. Floetry – Philly’s got a lot of things poppin’ right now.

When fans pick up your new album, what do you hope they get out of it?

I just hope they can feel it, appreciate the music, appreciate what I went through and just look forward to the next one. Actually, I’m working on my second album. We’ve got the ‘State Property 2’ movie coming, so we’re about to start filming for that. And I’ve got my own movie coming, called ‘Even Though What We Do Is Wrong: The Movie.’ It’s coming this fall. We’re gonna start filming for that in the late spring. It’s like my life story a little bit. We’ve got the State Property clothing line. Look out for Chris this summer and Beanie Sigel and Peedi Crakk.