The Free Houdini

Last updated
The Free Houdini
Themselves-freehoudini.jpg
Mixtape by
Themselves
ReleasedMarch 25, 2009 (2009-03-25)
Genre Alternative hip hop
Length54:42
Label Anticon
Producer Jel, Doseone
Themselves chronology
The No Music of AIFFs
(2003)		The Free Houdini
(2009)		 Crowns Down
(2009)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 74/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Christgau's Consumer Guide Five Pointed Star Solid.svg Five Pointed Star Solid.svg [2]
Cokemachineglowfavorable [3]
Exclaim! favorable [4]
HipHopDX 3.0/5 [5]
Pitchfork 6.6/10 [6]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
RapReviews.com7.5/10 [8]

The Free Houdini (styled as theFREEhoudini [9] ) is a 2009 mixtape by American hip hop duo Themselves.

Contents

It is a return after a six-year hiatus that saw the members, Jel and Doseone, spend the majority of their time on their other band Subtle. [10] It was made available for 90 days as a one-track MP3 for download from the Anticon website, [11] later released in a deluxe CD package. [12]

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the mixtape received an average score of 74% based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [1]

Jer Fairall of PopMatters gave the mixtape 8 stars out of 10, saying, "Here, Doseone is once again utilizing his skills as a performer to propel the music forward, and the result is a record that is actually thrilling and fun to listen to, rather than simply 'interesting'." [7] Jayson Greene of Pitchfork gave the mixtape a 6.6 out of 10 and called it "another step in Anticon's breathless, never-ending push forward." [6]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Pay That Piper"2:13
2."Oversleeping"1:53
3."Know That to Know This" (featuring Aesop Rock)3:21
4."Kick the Ball" (featuring Buck 65)2:57
5."1 for No Money" (featuring Sole)1:07
6."Rappers Is Interns (Freestyle)"1:12
7."Party Rap Sucks" (featuring Busdriver)1:24
8."Long Time Coming" (featuring Lionesque)3:51
9."Swarm of Bee II"2:44
10."Back 2 Burn" (featuring Pedestrian)1:48
11."The Mark" (featuring D-Styles)3:01
12."Keys to Ignition" (featuring Serengeti)3:13
13."Roman Is As Roman Does"1:56
14."The Medicine" (featuring Slug)3:03
15."Free & Void"2:00
16."Rapping 4 Money" (featuring Clouddead)3:56
17."Rappers Is Modelships (Freestyle)" (featuring DJ Baku)1:54
18."Puzzled" (featuring Passage and DJ Andrew)3:17
19."Cross-section of Wreckage" (featuring Alias and DJ Andrew)2:56
20."Each Ant in Their House"7:05

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References

  1. 1 2 "theFREEhoudini by Themselves". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Themselves". Christgau's Consumer Guide . Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  3. ↑ Betz, Chet (July 8, 2009). "Themselves: theFREEhoudini Mixtape". Cokemachineglow. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  4. ↑ Quinlan, Thomas (July 23, 2009). "Themselves - theFREEhoudini deluxe". Exclaim! . Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  5. ↑ Noz, Andrew (March 25, 2009). "Themselves - theFREEhoudini Deluxe". HipHopDX . Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Greene, Jayson (May 29, 2009). "Themselves: theFREEhoudini". Pitchfork . Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Fairall, Jer (August 2, 2009). "Themselves: theFREEhoudini". PopMatters . Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  8. ↑ Sirota, Eric (January 26, 2010). "Themselves :: theFREEHoudini". RapReviews.com. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  9. ↑ "theFREEhoudini deluxe". Anticon . Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  10. ↑ Breihan, Tom (February 20, 2009). "Themselves Return From Hiatus, Plan Free Mixtape". Pitchfork . Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  11. ↑ Segal, Dave (March 16, 2009). "anticon.tent: Themselves Offer Free Album Download". The Stranger . Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  12. ↑ Frisicano, Andrew (April 1, 2009). "Themselves - 2009 tour dates, 2 NYC shows w/ Stabbing Eastward feat. Tunde TVoTR, a free mixtape". BrooklynVegan . Retrieved November 19, 2014.
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