Free Trade

Finally, I get some new, fresh hip/hop to grace my body, soul and mind with.. Splendid! I recently received “Plus 30,” the new album by Free Trade, and eagerly began to listen, and was almost immediately blown away for a variety of reasons.
Mainly, Free Trade’s songs, ones he not only raps on but also produces, give off a loud ‘Old School’ hip/hop vibe, which I can never get enough of, a fusion between Tribe Called Quest, Common, and a little De La Soul. After a deeper listen, I realize i get these vibes because of Free Trades combination of standard hip/hop, w/ the more unique sounds of jazzy motown with a sprinkle of some real soul.
This kind of sound is quite appealing to many listeners, for one, my roommate, who isn’t the hugest of rap fans, couldn’t help but beat him foot the the beats, which are unique in themselves. With a smooth sounding mix of live instruments, (which I think is the best way to do Hip/hop) consisting of guitars, drums, standup bass, horns, and the occasional old school electrco-mechanical Rhodes piano.
With a continuous nod of my head, I continue my journey through Plus 30. The saxophone in “iGO” feat Classik, kills it, “The Antidote” has such a smooth, laid back feel, I almost think I’m in a soul-packed Bill Withers song, until he lays down his flow.
Above all, the lyrical style and deliver of Free Trade blew me away. Its smoothness is so pure, the message is deliberate, and the flow is laid down with just enough authority to know he means business, but he’s not yelling at you. His track “The Right Kind”, screams Mike Posner to me, which can be perceived as good or bad, in this case defiantly a good thing, as Free Trade would blow Mr. Posner out the water if they were dueling pirates of the music water world.
One last story, and I’ll let you be on your merry way. The album title “Plus 30? refers to the 30 contributors, not including Free Trade, that made this CD possible, ranging from designers to musicians to engineers. They are located all over the United States, and with the persuasion of Free Trade, who was only looking for the artists whom still believed in ” honest and soulful music,” assembled them and this CD straight out of his Orlando bedroom.
“Working within the parameters of new age media, Free Trade was able to have bass lines laid down in St. Louis, jazz samples flipped in the UK, horns tracked in Manhattan, keyboards recorded in Boston, and the list goes on. “
This country wide bond between all 30 contributors is something special, and it transcended into this CD, most musicians involved had no prior knowledge of the others, nor did they get any listen to the project until it was a finished final project.
Give Free Trade and his Plus 30 a listen, any hip/hop head will surely be impressed, any jazz fan will groove, any music fan might just find a new favorite CD. - Rock NYC

While I was over checking out the album I just posted from M.A.E., I got to checking out Tru Statement Entertainments other releases and this one caught my ear. Jsut dropped on June 15… you know I LOVE me some jazzy hip hop. I could listen to this all day. Do yourself a favor and check this one out too… - Kevin Nottingham