Everybody's favorite heavily bearded Philadelphia rapper Freeway has a new song out. Here he is, beneath Kent Twitchell's huge Julius Erving mural on the corner of Green Street and Ridge Avenue. The track was made by frequent collaborator Jake One, whose subtle, unadorned beats are always a nice backdrop for Freeway's jittery, animated voice. Does anybody rhyme out the side the mouth better? Does anybody have a better whisper?

The terrific Philadelphian rapper Freeway is set to release his next album, The Stimulus Package, through the independent Rhymesayers Entertainment in February. There are lots of reasons to be excited about this. Freeway's voice and rhymes and flow on the lead single, "You Know What I Mean," for example. And that great beat. In fact, the entire album is being produced by the guy who made it, Seattle native G-Unit veteran Jake One. This is extremely rare in rap these days. Most albums (those that ever actually come out, that is) are assembled by cobbling together tracks from various producers-which often makes for a less organic listening experience. In [...]

It might not be the absolute very best way I can think of to drive around Houston, Texas. (That might not be the absolute very safest link to click on if you're at work, by the way.) But if I do ever find myself cruising that famous suburban sprawl, I would be sure to cue up local rap legend Scarface as a soundtrack. The title track to his latest mixtape features B. James and Monk Kaza, and was co-produced by Seattle's Jake One, who has been doing such great work with Philadelphia's Freeway recently. Driving music always travels well.

Wow! Explicitly recorded as a commercial for his upcoming album, The Stimulus Package, Freeway's two-minute take on "The Trap Door," a two-year-old track from his producer Jake One, is better than most full-fledged new rap songs you'll hear all year.