A TRIBE CALLED FRESH by Freshman Woes

 

In 2021, the South Carolina-based producer, Freshman Woes, arrives on the underground Hip Hop scene with his debut THANK YOU RAP GODS. Across eleven songs, it seamlessly fused sixteen of the genres finest (Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother, Homeboy Sandman, Planet Asia, Blu and countless others). For that, it was recognized by Bandcamp Daily in their “Album of the Day” feature and also received frequent airplay on Sirius XM via Eminem’s Shade 45. For a new artist, Freshman Woes had garnered some well-deserved critical recognition and was now left to figure out how he would follow that up.

Initially, the plan for Freshman Woes was simple, an EP with a single rapper. Then, it changed; he began leaning toward a collection of 7-inch flexi-disc singles. At that point, he envisioned a series titled A TRIBE CALLED FRESH, and he planned to pair different MC’s for every volume in the spirit of the legendary Native Tongues act, A Tribe Called Quest. A year went by, then another. As it always does, life kept happening. He watched his son depart for college, started a new career, got engaged, moved to Charleston and bought his first home. Ultimately, this all slowed down his creative endeavors, but he never forgot about his work and the project eventually became a little bit of all these things that he had initially intended.

Los Angeles Hip Hop icon, Myka 9 of Freestyle Fellowship, acts as a spiritual guide or the “Jarobi” of this new material if you will, as he is at the core of much of the music here. Even when he isn’t the primary vocalist, in most instances, his presence is still felt throughout. In the time between releases, Freshman Woes realized his next logical progression was to lock in with a single artist. When given the chance to work on music with a rapper of Myka 9’s caliber, he seized the opportunity and the two collaborated frequently for most of 2022. What is collected here are some of the highlights of this work. As Freshman Woes continued creating music with Myka, though, he kept finding the prospect of bringing in more and more voices enticing.

At its simplest explanation, his latest effort finds the rookie-producer attempting his best to create super-groups and meaningful collaborations. On Effortless, exquisite bars from Fashawn and LMNO are met with soothing chants from Myka 9, uniting three generations of superb west-coast heavyweights. On MADHOUSE, the up-and-coming AJ Suede is paired with Myka 9, and the duo deliver some potent political commentary. With these marvel-esque team-up songs in tow, along with a trio of blistering solo cuts, A TRIBE CALLED FRESH, is an exercise in both concise and expert curation. In the end, it’s another stellar addition to a discography that continues to impress upon each release.