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Diamond in the Ruff
Studio album by
Freeway
ReleasedNovember 27, 2012
Recorded2011–12
GenreHip hop
Length57:40
LabelTeam Early, Babygrande Records[1]
ProducerFreeway (exec.), Chuck Wilson (exec.), Jake One, Incredible Stro, Mike Jerz, Bink!, Just Blaze, Needlz, Sunny Dukes, DJ Khalil
Freeway chronology
The Stimulus Package
(2010) 		Diamond in the Ruff
(2012) 		Free Will
(2016)
Singles from Diamond in the Ruff
  1. "Jungle"
    Released: October 12, 2012
  2. "Numbers"
    Released: November 13, 2012

Diamond in the Ruff is the fourth studio album by American hip hop recording artist Freeway, released worldwide by Babygrande Records on November 27, 2012.[2]

Conception

[edit]

Background

[edit]

As the ex-Roc-A-Fella artist signed one-album deal with Babygrande Records in July 2012,[1][2] Diamond In the Ruff represents his first full-length project since 2010's critically acclaimed The Stimulus Package, a collaborative album with Seattleite producer Jake One.[3][4] The album includes features from Wale, Marsha Ambrosius, Vivian Green, Suzann Christine, Nikki Jean, Miss Daja Thomas, Alonda Rich, and fellow Philadelphian artists Neef Buck and Musiq Soulchild. The production is handled by the likes of Jake One, Needlz, as well as Bink! and Just Blaze, who have both worked on his debut album.[5][6] Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton, the sound engineer behind 10 of Jay-Z’s 11 albums, was slated to mix the entirety of the project.[7] In 2010, Freeway told SLAM Magazine "the whole album is soulful and real. It's [him], and it's different than what everyone else is doing".[8] In a video interview with KarmaLoop TV, he expressed that the album should have come after Philadelphia Freeway (2003).[9]

Title significance

[edit]

During an interview with Canada's The Come Up Show, Freeway provided some insight into the project's title.[10] "I feel [that this is symbolic in relation] to my career. I'm a diamond in the rough. I'm still shining [despite] all the things [I experienced]. Life is [a daily] struggle. Even just being famous and maintaining, staying on top of your game. It takes a lot. And through all that [I have lived, I always shine], so we chose Diamond In the Ruff."[11]

Promotion

[edit]

In anticipation of the album's release, a mixtape sponsored by KarmaLoop Music and Rocksmith clothing, entitled Freedom of Speech, was released on October 16, 2012.[12] Freeway offered another mixtape entirely mixed by Statik Selektah on November 23, 2012. Entitled The History Of Freeway, it contains thirty-four pieces that were selected from the rapper's discography.[13]

A tour was planned in support of the album; the first half began on October 12 in Atlanta and concluded on November 13 in New York.[14]

Promotional singles

[edit]

In 2010, two songs, produced by Jake One, were released under Rhymesayers Entertainment to promote the album, both of which have had videos made for them by Jimmy Giambrone. The first one was entitled "Beautiful Music". The single was made available on October 4, 2011 as digital download on iTunes.[15] It was leaked on September 28, 2010 as an exclusive at Nahright.com[16][17] and the music video premiered the same date at OnSMASH.com.[18] The second song was "Escalators". It contains a vocal sample of The Notorious B.I.G.'s "You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)" in the hook. The song and its accompanying music video premiered on October 19, 2010 at RapRadar.com[19] and became available on iTunes on October 11, 2011.[20]

Singles

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The lead single, "Jungle", produced by Incredible Stro, premiered on October 12, 2012 at Babygrande Records' SoundCloud page[21][22] and was made available on iTunes on October 15, 2012.[23] Its music video, directed by Jimmy Giambrone, premiered on November 19, 2012 at the label's YouTube channel.[24]

The second single is "Numbers", featuring longtime collaborator Neef Buck and produced by Sunny Dukes. It was premiered at the label's Soundcloud page on November 13, 2012.[25]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[26]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[27]
AllHipHop8/10[28]
HipHopDX[29]
Pitchfork5.3/10[30]
PopMatters[31]
RapReviews7.5/10[32]
XXL (XL)[33]

Diamond In the Ruff was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65, based on 6 reviews.[26] Jayson Greene of Pitchfork gave the album a 5.3 out of ten, saying "Freeway is still nowhere near close to sucking. But he's well on his way to not mattering."[30] Jason Lymangrover of Allmusic gave the album three out of five stars, saying "Switching to a smaller label is generally not a sign of good fortune in the rap world, but Freeway continues to be interesting enough with his gruff, dexterous style of storytelling to make a solid impact as an underground artist."[27] Eric Diep of XXL gave the album an XL, saying "For dedicated troupers of Philadelphia Freeway, there’s enough here to satisfy."[33]

Pete T. of RapReviews gave the album a 7.5 out of 10, saying "There's far more good here than bad, but there's definitely a sense of familiarity to "His execution and consistency deserve nothing but the highest praise, and while I'm still awaiting the record where Freeway fulfills his massive potential, "Diamond in the Ruff" is a worthy addition to a catalog that includes a few of my very favorite records of the last decade."[32] King Eljay of AllHipHop gave the album an eight out of ten, saying "Freeway’s been consistent, and he’s saved some of his best music of the year for Diamond In The Ruff. With great production from Jake One, Mike Jerz, and more, alongside the cameo appearances cited above, this is a dope play from start to finish."[28]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)[34][35]Length
1."Right Back" (featuring Marsha Ambrosius)
Jake One4:20
2."Greatness" (featuring Vivian Green)
  • Pridgen
  • Vivian Green
  • Stephen Tucker
Incredible Stro4:14
3."The Thirst"
  • Pridgen
  • Dutton
Jake One4:38
4."Wonder Tape" (featuring Suzann Christine)
  • Pridgen
  • Suzanne Christine
  • Adrian Charlie Guzman
Mike Jerz3:48
5."No Doubt"
  • Pridgen
  • Guzman
Mike Jerz2:30
6."Dream Big" (featuring Musiq Soulchild)
Bink!3:50
7."Early"
Just Blaze3:33
8."Ghetto Streets"
Needlz2:38
9."Numbers" (featuring Neef Buck)
Sunny Dukes4:04
10."True" (featuring Wale)
3:51
11."Sweet Temptations" (featuring Nikki Jean)
Mike Jerz3:23
12."All the Hoods" (featuring Miss Daja Thomas & Alonda Rich)
Bink!4:06
13."Hottest Akhi"
  • Pridgen
  • Cain
Needlz3:07
14."Jungle"
  • Pridgen
  • Tucker
Incredible Stro2:54
15."Money Is My Medicine"
  • Pridgen
  • Guzman
Mike Jerz3:12
16."Lil Mama"
  • Pridgen
  • Harrell III
Bink!3:32
Total length:57:40

Personnel

[edit]

Credits for Diamond In the Ruff adapted from Allmusic.[36]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2012) Peak
position
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[37] 41
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[38] 40

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Horowitz, Steven J. (2012-11-27). "Freeway Talks Babygrande Partnership & 'Diamond in the Ruff' Album". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
  2. ^ a b "Freeway Signs with Babygrande, Prepares New Album "Diamond in the Ruff"". Archived from the original on 2012-08-24. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  3. ^ Watson, Andrew (2012-08-14). "Freeway Inks Deal with Babygrande Records Which Will Release "Diamond in the Ruff" Album". The Versed. Archived from the original on 2012-12-17. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  4. ^ "Freeway Signs To Babygrande Records, Announces New Album". XXL. 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  5. ^ J-23 (2010-11-02). "Freeway Talks New Album, Just Blaze, Rick Ross Features". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on 2012-09-30. Retrieved 2012-10-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (2012-08-16). "Freeway Signs To Babygrande Records, Preps "Diamond In The Ruff" Album". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on 2012-08-21. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  7. ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (2012-09-07). "Young Guru To Mix Freeway's "Diamond In The Ruff"". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  8. ^ Cassilo, David (2010-11-01). "Freeway Q + A". SLAM. Archived from the original on 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  9. ^ Harling, Danielle (2010-08-23). "DX News Bits: Freeway, Newtroit Records, Kanye West". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on 2010-08-29. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  10. ^ Harling, Danielle (2011-12-13). "Freeway Speaks On Dealing With Ups & Downs In His Career, Meaning Behind "Diamond In The Ruff" Title". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  11. ^ Diamond In The Ruff: Freeway explique le nom d’un prochain album en attente
  12. ^ Freeway - Freedom of Speech
  13. ^ "Babygrande Presents: The History Of Freeway Mixed by Statik Selektah". Babygrande. 2012-11-26. Archived from the original on 2013-04-04. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
  14. ^ "Freeway Reveals Album Cover, Announces First Leg of "Diamond In The Ruff" Tour". Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  15. ^ "Freeway "Beautiful Music"". iTunes. 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
  16. ^ "Rhymesayers Entertainment :: Radio". Rhymesayers.com. 2010-09-28. Archived from the original on 2013-12-26. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  17. ^ Nah Right » Freeway – Beautiful Music (prod. Jake One)
  18. ^ "Freeway – Beautiful Music | OnSMASH". Archived from the original on 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
  19. ^ Rap Radar :: New Video: Freeway “Escalators”
  20. ^ "Freeway "Escalators"". iTunes. 2011-10-11. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
  21. ^ "Freeway Releases First Single From Diamond In The Ruff, "Jungle" | Babygrande". Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
  22. ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (2012-10-11). "Freeway Reveals "Diamond In The Ruff" Cover Art, Announces Tour Freeway Reveals "Diamond In The Ruff" Cover Art, Announces Tour". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  23. ^ "Freeway "Jungle"". iTunes. 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  24. ^ Santos, Nate (2012-11-19). "Video: Freeway - Jungle". The Source. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  25. ^ "Freeway Releases 2nd Single From "Diamond In The Ruff" Featuring Neef Buck". Babygrande. 2012-11-13. Archived from the original on 2013-04-04. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  26. ^ a b "Diamond in the Ruff Reviews". Metacritic. 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  27. ^ a b Lymangrover, Jason (2012-11-13). "Diamond in the Ruff - Freeway : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  28. ^ a b K1ng Eljay (@K1ngEljay) (2012-12-03). "Album Review: Freeway's "Diamond In The Ruff"". AllHipHop.com. Retrieved 2013-05-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ Man, The Company (December 3, 2012). "Freeway Diamond In The Ruff". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  30. ^ a b Greene, Jayson (December 2, 2012). "Freeway Diamond In the Ruff". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  31. ^ Amidon, David. "Freeway: Diamond in the Ruff". PopMatters. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  32. ^ a b "Freeway :: Diamond in the Ruff :: Babygrande Records". Rapreviews.com. 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  33. ^ a b Diep, Eric (December 2, 2012). "Freeway, Diamond In the Ruff Review". XXL. Harris Publications. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  34. ^ "Freeway Diamond In The Ruff". iTunes. October 23, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  35. ^ "Freeway - 'Diamond In The Ruff'". UndergroundHipHop.com. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  36. ^ "Diamond in the Ruff – Freeway". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Credits. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  37. ^ "Freeway Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  38. ^ "Freeway Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
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