Jake One, Freeway, and Vitamin D // 8 pm // $10 // Neumos
Philidelphia rapper Freeway doesn’t need Seattle producer Jake One to make a good album. The Philly Freezer is a perfectly successful MC. I mean, the dude was an integral part of Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records back in the early aughts with his debut Phildelphia Freeway. And Jake One certainly didn’t need to work with Freeway to prove his might as a producer. Seriously, his resume is superb, from his once partnership with G-Unit to his current affiliation with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath, a team of top-tier beatmeakers. Lucky for hip-hop fans, they decided to collaborate anyways and their album The Stimulus Package does not disappoint.
Freeway was not prepared for the attention that followed the success of his debut album. He rejected the spotlight and almost quit the rap game when he felt it was conflicting with his Muslim faith. Fortunately, he took just a few years off before joining the stellar roster of acts at the Minneapolis indie hip-hop label Rhymesayers. The imprint has proven to be a good home for the Philly Freezer sharing a label with artists that share his intense focus on perfecting a rhyme and aren’t solely concerned with mainstream success. And it afforded Free the chance to work with Jake One.
While Free was taking a break from the rap game, Jake One was honing his production skills by creating music for the likes of De La Soul, 50 Cent, Brother Ali and more. And in 2008, Jake One dropped his own full-length, White Van Music. The disc featured an engaging mix of hip-hop’s emerging artists as well as some mainstream acts. The LP was critically acclaimed and served to solidify the producer’s respected place in hip-hop.
The Stimulus Package has received much critical praise for Freeway’s spitfire raps over Jake One’s solid beats with liberal helpings of jazz and soul samples. NPR said the disc “finds two compelling artists in top form.” This duo is playing a few shows in support of their collaboration and Thursday’s show at Neumos is the first time the two will play the material in Seattle.
