Freeway Talks New Album, Battling Cassidy and New Project with Just Blaze

Consistency should really be another rap commandment in itself. Freeway, who has delivered solid projects like The Stimulus Package and Freedom of Speech, is prepping an album that represents more than just new music. Diamond in the Ruff is Free’s fourth solo LP, and he says it’s his most revealing piece of work on his life and career. With highlights like “Jungle,” “Numbers," and his newest collaboration with Just Blaze, “Early,” Diamond in the Ruff stands tall as yet another solid effort from Philly Freezer. The former Jay-Z signee used to call himself the Roc-A-Fella pitbull, and with this album, Freeway proves he's still got just as much bite years later. XXL spoke to Free about the making of Diamond in the Ruff, his upcoming project with Brother Ali, battle rapping, and who he’s been feeling in the Philly rap scene. —Eric Diep (@E_Diep)

XXL: Diamond in the Ruff was three years in the making. Are you happy with how it turned out?

Freeway: Yeah, I am happy about it. [There are] way more records that I wanted to make the album, but we couldn’t get the samples cleared and a bunch of different other things. Some of the records are dated too because I was sitting on them for so long. I might drop some of them on the Internet or something later on down. I’m definitely happy with the album. I don’t like everything I do, but I like the majority of stuff that I do. I definitely need somebody to come in and help me trim down the fat.

Why did you call the album Diamond in the Ruff?

My whole process behind Diamond in the Ruff is [defining] how my career is [similar] to a diamond. You know the process that the diamond has to go through. First you got to mine it and dig it out. Then you got to clean it off and polish it and shape it. And then finally you got a diamond that’s shining. I feel like that’s how my career has been. Not only my career, but my life. I’m from the streets. I come from not having nothing. I come from waiting for my dad to go to work and wearing his clothes to school and trying to get home back in time before he sees it. Taking care of my dad. Taking care of my mom. Buying my mom a house and trying to raise my kids and having my own. I feel as though Diamond in the Ruff is [the] perfect title in what I am going through in my life and in my career with the music.

Let’s talk about your first single, “Jungle.”

It’s produced by my man Incredible Stro. He’s a fairly new producer that I worked with. He has a great sound. He reminds me of what I would do with a Just Blaze or a Bink! or whatever but with his own twist to it. He’s African! You can tell because of them drums. You know, he got them hard-hitting drums or whatever. And it’s just me doing what I do. Basically, I dropped The Stimulus Package in 2010. I really loved that album. That album meant a lot to me, but a lot of my street fans couldn’t relate to where I went with that. With records like “Jungle,” I wanted to let my street fans know that I still do this. I just had to feed them, you know? I am a reality rapper, so I usually rap about how I feel or what is going on around me or things that I see so that’s how it come out. “Propane spitter/cocaine spitter, cocaine flipper/Get caught, no name no blame I will never Alpo niggas/Pay what I owe and never short-change niggas.” That’s real rap, you know?

READ ON TO FIND OUT ABOUT FREEWAY’S UPCOMING PROJECTS WITH JUST BLAZE, JAKE ONE AND BINK!

That’s what’s up. I’m glad you mentioned The Stimulus Package with Jake One—he’s on the album again.

When I first did Diamond in the Ruff, my list that I was going to turn in for the album had like eight Jake One records. I could play some shit for you with Jake One on it that could blow your fucking mind. On the “Jungle” record like I said, ‘Nigga, fall back, I'm on Stim Pack Part 8.’ That’s real rap. Me and Jake got so many records. It’s starting to look like Stimulus Package 2 is inevitable. When we did The Stimulus Package, I flew down there and probably recorded like 10 records. Then we got records left over from The Stimulus Package that are fucking bananas, too. He usually just send me a batch here and there. I go through them and pick whatever I like and I cook them joints up and sent it to him. And if he love it, we rock out with it. And if he don’t, I try again. I had plenty of Jake One records that he sold to T.I. and different people. Like, "You sold my beat!" [Laughs]

“Early” marks a long-awaited reunion between you and Just Blaze. Previously, you talked about doing a full-length LP with him. Is that still in the works?

We talked about it a couple of times, so hopefully we can get down to it and make it happen. Definitely something that I think will be great. We both said we should do it. It’s just going to take us to get together and make it happen. You know Just is busy, he’s doing a lot of stuff. I am busy too. I’m sure if I reach out to him, "Yo, send me a couple of records. I want to start getting started." He’ll be like, "Alright, cool." It [is] just hard for us to find the time to make it happen. We haven’t been in the studio. Even “Early,” he sent me the record. We cut a couple other records for the album that are crazy. This one joint that didn’t make it is fucking amazing. I’ll give you a little sneak peek. [Plays song from his phone] See? It’s going down.

You also wanted to do a full-length with Bink! too.

Yeah, man. That’s another. Me and Bink! got a lot of records that are crazy. Actually, the records that we used for this album was the start of us trying to work on a full-length album. Me and Bink! We are going to make it happen. I got a lot of work to do before I hang my hat up. We are gonna get it done.

You shared the stage with Jay at Made in America earlier this year. What’s your relationship with him these days?

Great. Jay’s the big homie. He always shows me love. If I reach out to him, I am right there. Relationship is great. Just seeing Jay in the space that he is in right now, he’s happy. He had his daughter. He has his own arena. And just for me to be part of it, period. For him to let me come to the concerts, come backstage. Even for him to reach out to me and let me perform in Made in America because it means so much to me.

READ ON FOR FREEWAY'S THOUGHTS ON YOUNG PHILLY RAPPERS, MEEK MILL, AND ROLE AS ROC-A-FELLA’S PITBULL

There are a lot of new Philly rappers that people need to watch out for. What do you think of the new guys coming in? Is the scene motivating or influencing you?

It means a lot to me because I remember a point and time when it felt impossible to get a deal from Philly. When I was a young boy and I wanted to rap, it felt like it was impossible to get signed out of Philly. You hear the songs. People shout out New York! L.A.! Virginia! Compton! They never say Philly. They don’t even fuck with us. I know how people probably feel in little towns in the Midwest that nobody ever mentions. That’s how I felt in Philly at one time. But now, it’s booming. The whole new wave. Meek Mill. He’s got his Dreamchasers. Next girl to look out for, her name is Lee Mazin. She just dropped a mixtape called Lovelee and I am on there. We got a record together that is crazy. She’s on the come up. My man Chill Moody, he’s really doing his thing coming up in the city. Young Savage. Even Tone Trump, he’s got the situation with [Young Jeezy's] CTE. He’s doing his thing. And a good thing about music now is everybody is not the gangster rapper. Everybody not shoot 'em up, bang-bang. You could be yourself. You could be original. You could really try to work hard at it. There’s a group called Ground Up that I did a couple records with out of Philly; they are doing their thing on the independent scene. And they actually sold out the TLA [Philadelphia venue Theater of the Living Arts] two times. I fuck with them. One thing about me is they be calling me “TLA Freezer.” Anytime anybody come to TLA to perform, I’m up there with them shutting it down.

With all the battle talk surrounding Meek Mill and Cassidy from the fans, many wanted to see Cassidy and Freeway go at it again. Would you ever return to the battle arena?

I don’t think so. That shit is risky. People still be talking about that shit 'till this day. I don’t really have nothing to gain from it. My passion is making good music and feeding the people my story. I got so much more to tell and so much more to say so that’s what I concentrate on. But I fuck with the battle circuit. I be going to the battles and everything. As far as me getting in there, I don’t think so. But that’s how I got on. When I said Roc-A-Fella pitbull, [that] was really me. Niggas come to the label trying to get signed and we would be in a room like this and niggas be rapping their heart out. And I be in there and Jay would be like giving me the head nod. I know plenty of people that wanted to murder me because I be killing they dreams. I was the guard dog at the joint. I really had to have my bars on deck because at any given time, a nigga could come to the office and get signed. And if they couldn’t get through me, then there’s no hope.

Some have also compared you and Meek Mill—you two have similar high-octane deliveries.

It’s all good. We are from the same city. [It’s] something in the water down there. The crazy thing [is] a lot of people be telling me the way how Meek got the city. They be like they haven’t heard it like that since when I first came out, when I first had it. [When] Philadelphia Freeway came out, every car was riding around playing Freeway. Every car. You couldn’t escape it. That’s how Meek got it right now. You can’t escape it. Not just Philly, everywhere. I am so proud of him because I’ve seen him come from the bottom to where he at now. I remember I was in his court case. I was in the courtroom with him when they were trying to give him all this time. And he only got 23 months. I was so happy for him because I knew it wasn’t over for him. I knew he had so much to give to the world and now he is doing it.

This is totally random, but I saw this on your Instagram and it threw me off. You want to hurry up and get married?

Oh, yeah. [Laughs] You know I am Muslim, right? In Islam, it’s half of your deen. You are not a complete man until you get married. I’ve done everything. “We been around the world twice, all we got is more ice and more nice,” like B.I.G. says. You know, [you] need that home base, man. I'm trying to get situated.