Diamond in the Ruff

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Template:DMCA Script error: No such module "Unsubst-infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters". 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.[1]

Conception

Background

As the ex-Roc-A-Fella artist signed one-album deal with Babygrande Records in July 2012,[2][1] 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

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

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

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

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

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[26]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllmusicStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg[27]
AllHipHop8/10[28]
HipHopDXStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[29]
Pitchfork5.3/10[30]
PopMattersStarStarStarStarStarFile:Plain Disc 40% grey or 20% black.svgFile:Plain Disc 40% grey or 20% black.svgFile:Plain Disc 40% grey or 20% black.svgFile:Plain Disc 40% grey or 20% black.svgFile:Plain Disc 40% grey or 20% black.svg[31]
RapReviews7.5/10[32]
XXLStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg (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

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Personnel

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

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Charts

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Chart (2012) Peak
position

References

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  1. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Freeway Signs with Babygrande, Prepares New Album "Diamond in the Ruff"". Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference billboard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Watson, Andrew (August 14, 2012). "Freeway Inks Deal with Babygrande Records Which Will Release "Diamond in the Ruff" Album". The Versed. Archived from the original on December 17, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Freeway Signs To Babygrande Records, Announces New Album". XXL. August 16, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.J-23 (November 2, 2010). "Freeway Talks New Album, Just Blaze, Rick Ross Features". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Horowitz, Steven J. (August 16, 2012). "Freeway Signs To Babygrande Records, Preps "Diamond In The Ruff" Album". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on August 21, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Horowitz, Steven J. (September 7, 2012). "Young Guru To Mix Freeway's "Diamond In The Ruff"". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cassilo, David (November 1, 2010). "Freeway Q + A". SLAM. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Harling, Danielle (August 23, 2010). "DX News Bits: Freeway, Newtroit Records, Kanye West". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Harling, Danielle (December 13, 2011). "Freeway Speaks On Dealing With Ups & Downs In His Career, Meaning Behind "Diamond In The Ruff" Title". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  11. ^ Diamond In The Ruff: Freeway explique le nom d’un prochain album en attente
  12. ^ Freeway - Freedom of Speech
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Babygrande Presents: The History Of Freeway Mixed by Statik Selektah". Babygrande. November 26, 2012. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Freeway Reveals Album Cover, Announces First Leg of "Diamond In The Ruff" Tour". Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Freeway "Beautiful Music"". iTunes. October 4, 2011. Archived from the original on May 10, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Rhymesayers Entertainment :: Radio". Rhymesayers.com. September 28, 2010. Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  17. ^ Nah Right » Freeway – Beautiful Music (prod. Jake One)
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Freeway – Beautiful Music | OnSMASH". Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  19. ^ Rap Radar :: New Video: Freeway “Escalators”
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Freeway "Escalators"". iTunes. October 11, 2011. Archived from the original on May 10, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Freeway Releases First Single From Diamond In The Ruff, "Jungle" | Babygrande". Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Horowitz, Steven J. (October 11, 2012). "Freeway Reveals "Diamond In The Ruff" Cover Art, Announces Tour Freeway Reveals "Diamond In The Ruff" Cover Art, Announces Tour". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Freeway "Jungle"". iTunes. October 15, 2012. Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Santos, Nate (November 19, 2012). "Video: Freeway - Jungle". The Source. Retrieved November 26, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Freeway Releases 2nd Single From "Diamond In The Ruff" Featuring Neef Buck". Babygrande. November 13, 2012. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  26. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Diamond in the Ruff Reviews". Metacritic. November 30, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  27. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Lymangrover, Jason (November 13, 2012). "Diamond in the Ruff - Freeway : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  28. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.K1ng Eljay (@K1ngEljay) (December 3, 2012). "Album Review: Freeway's "Diamond In The Ruff"". AllHipHop.com. Retrieved May 5, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Man, The Company (December 3, 2012). "Freeway Diamond In The Ruff". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  30. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Greene, Jayson (December 2, 2012). "Freeway Diamond In the Ruff". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  31. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Amidon, David. "Freeway: Diamond in the Ruff". PopMatters. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
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  33. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Diep, Eric (December 2, 2012). "Freeway, Diamond In the Ruff Review". XXL. Harris Publications. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
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  36. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Diamond in the Ruff – Freeway". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Credits. Retrieved November 27, 2012.

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