| Diamond in the Ruff | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 27, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2011–12 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 57:40 | |||
| Label | Team Early, Babygrande Records [1] | |||
| Producer | Freeway (exec.), Chuck Wilson (exec.), Jake One, Incredible Stro, Mike Jerz, Bink!, Just Blaze, Needlz, Sunny Dukes, DJ Khalil | |||
| Freeway chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Diamond in the Ruff | ||||
| ||||
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. [2]
As the ex-Roc-A-Fella artist signed one-album deal with Babygrande Records in July 2012, [1] [2] 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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 65/100 [26] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [27] |
| AllHipHop | 8/10 [28] |
| HipHopDX | [29] |
| Pitchfork | 5.3/10 [30] |
| PopMatters |   [31] |
| RapReviews | 7.5/10 [32] |
| XXL | (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]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) [34] [35] | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Right Back" (featuring Marsha Ambrosius) | Leslie Pridgen, Marsha Ambrosius, Jacob Dutton | Jake One | 4:20 |
| 2. | "Greatness" (featuring Vivian Green) | Pridgen, Vivian Green, Stephen Tucker | Incredible Stro | 4:14 |
| 3. | "The Thirst" | Pridgen, Dutton | Jake One | 4:38 |
| 4. | "Wonder Tape" (featuring Suzann Christine) | Pridgen, Suzanne Christine, Adrian Charlie Guzman | Mike Jerz | 3:48 |
| 5. | "No Doubt" | Pridgen, Guzman | Mike Jerz | 2:30 |
| 6. | "Dream Big" (featuring Musiq Soulchild) | Pridgen, Taalib Johnson, Roosevelt Harrell III | Bink! | 3:50 |
| 7. | "Early" | Pridgen, Justin Smith | Just Blaze | 3:33 |
| 8. | "Ghetto Streets" | Pridgen, Khari Cain | Needlz | 2:38 |
| 9. | "Numbers" (featuring Neef Buck) | Pridgen, Hanif Muhammad | Sunny Dukes | 4:04 |
| 10. | "True" (featuring Wale) | Pridgen, Khalil Abdul-Rahman, Olubowale Akintimehin, Dutton | Jake One, DJ Khalil | 3:51 |
| 11. | "Sweet Temptations" (featuring Nikki Jean) | Pridgen, Nicholle Leary, Guzman | Mike Jerz | 3:23 |
| 12. | "All the Hoods" (featuring Miss Daja Thomas & Alonda Rich) | Pridgen, Daja Thomas, Alonda Rich, Harrell III | Bink! | 4:06 |
| 13. | "Hottest Akhi" | Pridgen, Cain | Needlz | 3:07 |
| 14. | "Jungle" | Pridgen, Tucker | Incredible Stro | 2:54 |
| 15. | "Money Is My Medicine" | Pridgen, Guzman | Mike Jerz | 3:12 |
| 16. | "Lil Mama" | Pridgen, Harrell III | Bink! | 3:32 |
| Total length: | 57:40 | |||
Credits for Diamond In the Ruff adapted from Allmusic. [36]
|
|
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) [37] | 41 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [38] | 40 |
Leslie Edward Pridgen, better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper from North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known as a member of the rap group State Property and its 2000s run at Roc-A-Fella Records alongside Jay-Z. In 2009, Freeway was briefly signed to Cash Money Records, but returned to work again with Jay-Z at the mogul's entertainment organization and record label, Roc Nation, with his 2018 album Think Free.
Dwight Equan Grant, better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper and actor from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first became known for his association with Jay Z and Roc-A-Fella Records, releasing his debut studio album The Truth through Roc-A-Fella in February 2000 to critical and commercial success.
Vincenzo Luvineri, better known as Vinnie Paz, is a Sicilian American rapper and the lyricist behind the Philadelphia underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. He is also the frontman of the hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs.
Christopher Francis Ries, known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper and songwriter. He is a member of Philadelphia rap duo Young Gunz, alongside his childhood friend, rapper Neef Buck. The duo saw their greatest success with their 2003 debut single "Can't Stop, Won't Stop". The two were signed to Roc-A-Fella Records through Beanie Sigel's State Property collective. Young Chris was signed in December 2010 as a solo artist to Universal Motown through producer/songwriter Rico Love’s label imprint Division1. He released two albums through Division1: LIFE: Ladies In For Free and The Revival, both in 2011. In 2014 he released the album Gunna Season through Jaccpot Entertainment. He has also had a large number of self-released mixtapes from 2007 to the present.
The discography of Prodigy, an American rapper and one half of the hip hop duo Mobb Deep, consists of 5 studio albums, 3 collaborative albums, 1 EP, 5 mixtapes and 17 singles.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2009.
Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr., better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Watts, California. Rock signed to the independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. In 2007, alongside TDE, Rock secured a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records and later Asylum Records, but mergers fell through and Rock ended up leaving the label shortly after. He then signed with Tech N9ne's Strange Music, in a joint-venture record deal. Apart from his solo career, Rock is also known for being a member of the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, alongside fellow West Coast rappers and TDE label-mates Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul. In 2019, Jay Rock received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance for "King's Dead".
The Stimulus Package is a collaborative studio album by Philadelphia rapper Freeway and Seattle producer Jake One. It was released on Minneapolis indie hip hop label Rhymesayers Entertainment on February 16, 2010. The album included two singles, "Know What I Mean" and "She Makes Me Feel Alright", both of which have had videos made for them. The package was designed by Brent Rollins of the ego trip collective. The album debuted at number 63 on the Billboard 200, selling over 9,000 units in its first week.
Teeyon Isiah Winfree, better known by his stage name Vado, is an American rapper from New York, currently signed to DJ Khaled's We the Best Music. Prior, he was a member of the duo U.N. with fellow New York rapper Cam'ron.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2011.
The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in 2012 in music in the United States.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2012.
Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color is the fifth studio album by American rapper Brother Ali. It was released via Rhymesayers Entertainment on September 18, 2012. Entirely produced by Jake One, it includes a guest appearance from Dr. Cornel West. It reached number 44 on the Billboard 200 chart. It sold 10,000 copies in its first week of release.
Jesus Piece is the fifth studio album by American West Coast hip hop recording artist The Game, released on December 11, 2012, by DGC Records and Interscope Records, his last release on the label. Within a three-year gap between Game's third album, LAX (2008), and his follow-up, The R.E.D. Album (2011), before the latter was finally released in August 2011. The R.E.D. Album was a fall from his previous three released album sales, but became Game's third number one album on the US Billboard 200 chart. Shortly after the release of the long delayed album, Game announced he had begun work on his fifth studio album. The album was originally meant to be titled Soundtrack to Chaos, then was changed to F.I.V.E. and finally Jesus Piece becoming Game's first concept album.
This is the discography of American rapper French Montana.
Freedom of Speech is an official mixtape by American hip hop recording artist Freeway in conjunction with Rocksmith and KarmaLoop. It was released on October 16, 2012 as prelude to his long-awaited album, Diamond In the Ruff.
Hotel California is the third studio album by American rapper Tyga. It was released on April 9, 2013, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records; distributed by Republic Records. The album features guest appearances from Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, The Game, Jadakiss, while the production on the album was handled by DJ Mustard, Detail, Cool & Dre, David D.A. Doman, Mars of 1500 or Nothin', The Olympicks, SAP and Ryan Hunt, among others.
Jonathan McCollum, better known by his stage name Rittz, is an American rapper. He was previously signed to Tech N9ne's Strange Music label and just started his own label Cli-n-tel Ent. His debut album The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant was released on April 30, 2013.
The discography of Action Bronson, an American rapper from Flushing, Queens, New York, consists of six studio albums, one collaborative album, three extended plays (EPs), four mixtapes and thirty-three singles.
The discography of Joell Ortiz, an American rapper, consists of five studio albums, five singles and eight mixtapes.
