| Freeway | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Leslie Pridgen |
| Born | August 6 1979 |
| Origin | North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Years active | 2000–Present |
| Label(s) | Roc-A-Fella Records, Def Jam Recordings, G-Unit Records |
| Associated acts |
State Property Beanie Sigel, Ice City, Jay-Z |
| Website | Freeway at Rocafella.com |
Leslie Pridgen (born August 6, 1979 in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but raised in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) better known as Freeway is an American rapper signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella imprint under Def Jam Recordings. He is notable for rhymes which are checkered throughout his verses, and for the long beard he keeps due to his Muslim faith. He got his name from the infamous drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross. He was a member of the rap groups Ice City & State Property.
Contents |
Biography
Early life
In 1997, Freeway, who began his career as an MC by battling at the lunch tables in his high school cafeteria, met fellow Philly native Beanie Sigel while rapping on stage at a hometown nightclub. "We ain’t never exchange numbers or anything, but he told me I was hot and I told him he was hot," said Freeway. The two struggling MCs also made a pact that whoever got signed first would help get the other a record deal. Staying true to his word, Beanie Sigel "came back and got Freeway" not long after being signed to Roc-A-Fella Records. Freeway became one of the label's most valuable artists after making his first appearance on The Dynasty: Roc La Familia and appearing on several other Roc-A-Fella releases before putting out his solo album, Philadelphia Freeway.
Debut album
The album was produced primarily by Roc-A-Fella-affiliated artists, Just Blaze, Bink!, and Kanye West and featured mostly Roc-A-Fella rappers as well, many of them from State Property, a Philadelphia-based bunch of Roc-A-Fella members that Freeway and Beanie Sigel had compiled into a group. The album's biggest hit was "What We Do" Featuring Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel Relations between Beanie Sigel and State Property soured after the incarceration of Sigel, and State Property essentially broke up. Whether Sigel and Freeway are still friends is unclear, though Sigel has said he didn't know if he would ever work with State Property again. However, Sigel was present at Jay-Z's I Declare War concert alongside Freeway. On the most recent Young Chris mixtape entitled "Killadelphia: More Bodies than Dayz", Freeway is on a track with Beanie, Peedi Crakk, and Young Chris, which seems to indicate at least some members of State Property are back on good terms.
Ice City
After his debut album, Freeway put together another Philadelphia-based crew named Ice City. The group is named after their neighborhood North Philly. Besides Freeway, Ice City is made up of Face Money, Bars, Indy 500, Peedi Crakk, and Hydro. Welcome to the Hood, their debut album, was released under Sure Shot Recordings, but received little attention.
Recent events
Freeway released his latest album Free at Last on November 20th, 2007.[1] Freeway teamed up with DJ Noodles and HipHopGame.com to release a new mixtape, titled "Heavyweight Flow" in preparation for his new album, Free at Last. Released on September 15th, 2007[2]
Other collaborations
- He had a verse on the Kanye West track "Two Words" with Mos Def from album The College Dropout. Also was featured on the track "We Gangsta" on Tito 6's album King of the Great Lakes.
- He also appeared in the video game Def Jam: Fight For NY.
- Appeared on Hector "El Father"'s compilation album Los Rompe Discotekas and collaborated with Polaco on the track "Soñando".
- He appeared along with Jay-Z on Eminem's 8 mile soundtrack on a song called "8 Miles and Runnin'".
- He also collaborated with Keshia Chante on the song "Fallen".
- Freeway has also made appearances on albums by Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, The Diplomats, Jermaine Dupri, among others.
- Freeway was also a featured guest on the "Cannon Remix" by DJ Drama, Lil Wayne, Willie the Kid and T.I. (which is going to be on the upcoming Gangsta Grillz: The Album)
- Freeway has also collaborated with Phoenix based rappers AZ Boys on a song called "Murder Scene" also featuring The Game.
- Collaborated with Paul Wall on two tracks: on "State to State" from The People's Champ, and also on "On The Grind" (along with Crys Wall, Paul's wife) from Get Money, Stay True.
- Collaborated Turf Talk on the track: 'Minnie Minnie' from The Westcoast Vaccine (The Cure)
- Appeared on a remix of "Ooh Wee" by producer Mark Ronson. The track also featured Ghostface Killah, Saigon, Nate Dogg & Trife Da God.
- Appeared on DJ Khaled's Listennn... the Album on the track called "Where You At?", which also featured The Clipse.
- He had a verse along with Beanie Sigel, Nelly, and Murphy Lee in Nelly's song Roc The Mic-Remix on the album Nellyville
Albums
- 2003: Philadelphia Freeway
- 2007: Free at Last
- 2008 Freedom
