The title of Freeway‘s latest release, “The Stimulus Package,” a collaboration with producer Jake One, is a nod to the ailing economy. But it could also be an apt metaphor for the Philadelphia-based rapper’s career renaissance. After leaving Roc-a-Fella Records and joining Rhymesayers Entertainment, Freeway sounds eager to prove himself a potent street poet on a forward-thinking indie label. The MC delivers another scorching banger with “Throw Your Hands Up” and wraps his flow around a powerful sample on “Know What I Mean.” Jake One’s lush production forms a sense of continuity on “Stimulus Package,” with his soul-inflected beats nicely playing off Freeway’s gruff delivery. Although Raekwon, Bun B and Birdman all turn in solid guest spots, Freeway remains in control and drops his most memorable lines since his 2003 debut, “Philadelphia Freeway.”
