Freeway is gearing up for the release of his new album, Diamond in the Ruff, which comes out next Tuesday, November 27th. Today, he’s releasing the video for the first single,“Jungle,” which was filmed entirely in his hometown of Philadelphia.
Arguably the most revered lyricist to ever come out of Philadelphia, Freeway uses his “life-or-death urgency”-tinged voice to show what life is like in the streets and alleys of America’s fifth biggest city. Serving as his first official full-length album since teaming up with Jake One for the critically acclaimed 2010 project, The Stimulus Package, Diamond In The Ruff has been years in the making and is Freeway’s most illustrious album yet. On the track “Early,” Freeway reunited with Just Blaze, marking it their first collaboration since Just helmed the bulk of his 2003 debut Philadelphia Freeway. Freeway recently linked up with Shade 45’s Sway in the Morning to debut the track after performing his verse from the track ‘What We Do.” He also appeared alongside Neef Buck to run through the album’s second single “Numbers.” The two longtime collaborators trade verses breaking down mathematical calculations over Sunny Dukes’ knocking baseline.
Diamond In The Ruff will hit stores worldwide November 27th on Babygrande Records. The album features guest appearances from Wale, Marsha Ambrosius, Vivian Green and more, with production by Just Blaze, Jake One, Bink!, and Needlz, among others.