| Freeway | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Leslie Edward Pridgen |
| Birth date | August 6, 1978 |
| Origin | North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Label(s) | Roc Nation (2018–present) Roc-A-Fella Records (2000–2009) Cash Money Records (2009) Rhymesayers Entertainment (2009–2010) Babygrande Records (2012–2016) |
Leslie Edward Pridgen (born August 6, 1978), better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper. Best known for his tenure on Roc-A-Fella Records, he has released six studio albums: Philadelphia Freeway (2003), Free at Last (2007), Philadelphia Freeway 2 (2009), Diamond in the Ruff (2012), Free Will (2016), and Think Free (2018). A member of rap group State Property,[1] Freeway began his career by participating in freestyle rap battles in his high school, taking his stage name after drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross and later meeting fellow Philadelphia native Beanie Sigel. Freeway and Sigel would later be signed to Roc-A-Fella Records; the former made his debut on Jay-Z's "1-900-Hustler" and released Philadelphia Freeway amd Free at Last on the label.[2]
Freeway collaborated with Girl Talk on the EP Broken Ankles, released on April 8, 2014.[3][4] He was Girl Talk's first choice for a collaborator, as he had been a fan of the rapper ever since hearing his appearance on "1-900-Hustler" and felt that "his energy is unreal, and he's able to keep up with any production."[5] The two communicated through phone calls and e-mails and recorded several songs in Philadelphia.[6] Prior to the EP, Girl Talk had sampled Freeway's songs "Flipside" and "Roc the Mic" for his own songs "Every Day" and "What It's All About", respectively.
Girl Talk produced the songs "Addiction", "Always Love You", and "First Thing's First" on Freeway's album Free Will.
References[]
- ↑ Freeway of Love. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved on 2011-02-11.
- ↑ Kellman, Andy. Freeway. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2014-03-27.
- ↑ Gillis, Gregg (2013-10-06). My next release is a collaborative ep with FREEWAY #BROKENANKLES. Twitter. Retrieved on 2014-02-16.
- ↑ Minsker, Evan (2013-10-06). Girl Talk Teases Collaborative EP With Freeway. Pitchfork. Retrieved on 2014-02-16.
- ↑ Minsker, Evan; Phillips, Amy (2013-10-08). Watch: Girl Talk and Freeway Debut 'Tolerated' Live. Pitchfork. Retrieved on 2014-02-16.
- ↑ Montgomery, James (2013-10-09). Girl Talk Forms 'The Pennsylvania Dream Team' With Freeway. MTV News. Retrieved on 2014-02-16.