Akon - Freedom Review

Posted by Joshua George on 12.03.2008

Akon pops another CD on the charts and it's going to run up the clubs and down the radio.

Akon's done it again with his newest album entitled Freedom which was changed from Acquitted by Akon's label Universal Music. Unfortunately we missed out on a duet with Akon and Michael Jackson, but I'm sure that's floating around somewhere. Despite Akon's time in jail and his crazy misfortune with an under-aged girl in a club in Trinidad and Tobago he can't seem to miss with this new release from Konvict Muzik. That being said, let's get to it, shall we?



Track Listing

1. Right Now (Na Na Na)
2. Beautiful (featuring Colby O'Donis & Kardinal Offishall)
3. Keep You Much Longer
4. Troublemaker (featuring Sweet Rush)
5. We Don't Care
6. I'm So Paid (featuring Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne)
7. Holla Holla (featuring T-Pain)
8. Against The Grain (featuring Ray Lavender)
9. Be With You
10. Sunny Day (featuring Wyclef Jean)
11. Birthmark
12. Over The Edge
13. Freedom


Akon brings his third studio album since he began the chase in 2004. Akon has brought quite a bit to the table as far as the r&b/hip-hop/dance/pop world is concerned with singles that have clung to the charts for what seems like ages. Singles such as "Locked Up", "Lonely", "Belly Dancer (Bananza)", "Pot of Gold", and "Ghetto" have paved the way for Akon and Konvict Muzik to hit the charts and stick. On this, Akon's newest CD we get guest appearances from other people on the Konvict Muzik label such as Ray Lavender, Colby O'Donis, Kardinal Offishall, and perhaps most notably T-Pain who has two gold records with the label.

Let's get most of the meat of this review out of the way in one sentence,. This CD is great for the clubs and perhaps for driving down the road trying to find something to put in your cars, but the lyrics are your basic run-of-the-mill R&B song lyrics and leave you a little empty. The one thing I can say for Akon is that he has a pretty decent voice, he's got a great look, and he's got great promoters. The fact that he was integral in the production of this CD is a good thing too as the tracks always seem to come across better when the artist takes an active role in the production process. Of course Akon had help by the likes of Giorgio Tuinfort, RedOne who produced tracks for New Kids On The Block and Enrique Iglesias, and T-Pain among others.

There are only two real faults that I can find in this album. One is the lyrical content. Unfortunately Akon isn't exactly the sharpest when it comes to lyrics, though I do have to say that the lyrical content isn't BAD, it's just nothing spectacular. In songs like "Be With You", it's the typical, "I don't care what they say, I'm gonna be with you" song. Most of the songs like "Keep You Much Longer" and "Right Now (Na Na Na)" are also your basic R&B formula songs. The other fault that I can find is the amount of slow songs on the album. I will say that this doesn't particularly take away from the rating for the album, because there's something to be said for having a slower album to showcase your ability, but I could've used one or two more fast club-style songs on the CD as that's what we've come to expect from Akon.

The guest appearances on this album were perfect. Each artist added their own particular stamp on the songs and Akon was still able to showcase his own ability without being over-shadowed by his collaborators. Wyclef Jean's part in "Sunny Day" was amazing because it added some movement to an otherwise slow song. The beauty of the album is that the guest appearances are on less than half of the tracks. This gives people that just love listening to Akon a chance to do just that; LISTEN to JUST AKON. His voice has a very pure quality that helps you listen to the slower songs, though it has a certain sharpness that can be considered annoying to those that don't have the acquired taste for Akon.

It should say something that this album was just released today December 2, 2008 and it already has 3 singles getting airplay. "Right Now (Na Na Na)", "I'm So Paid" and "Troublemaker" have been released about a month apart starting in September of this year and are already taking your radio by storm. It's been a while since I've been in a club, so I can't really say much for what it's doing in the clubs, but I can certainly say that if you turn on the radio to any station carrying rap/hip-hop/r&b/dance/pop, you WILL hear one of Akon's songs within a half hour. This shows good moves for Akon musically unless you're one of those people that refuses to like anything on the radio just because it's on the radio and everyone else likes it. If you are one of those people, I strongly urge you to check out "Troublemaker" because it's really a great track.

I couldn't just leave this CD alone without ripping on something right? RIGHT! So let's talk skip tracks. I honestly could've done without "Holla Holla" which is the track that T-Pain has helped produce and is featured on. To be completely honest, I'm not sure why I don't like it. The guitar and synthesizer sounds on the track are actually pretty decent, I think I just get tired of hearing T-Pain and his vocoder. I know that the sound is T-Pain's "gimmick", but sometimes I'm just not in the mood for it. The biggest killer for this track is the hook. If we could come up with something better than literally just saying "Holla Holla" a bunch of times, it would help. Second is "Over the Edge". This track is just boring; same Akon sound, same Akon cell clinking sound, same Akon lyrics. It also sits at number twelve on the album so having such a boring song towards the end makes it more difficult to give this album a great rating.

The 411: Akon has delivered with this third studio album. Having three singles already all over the radio by the month before the album's release is a huge step in a good direction, and the use of guest appearances was just enough to give the album some spice. Watch for this CD in the clubs, and look for at least a couple other songs to make it to the radio before the CD goes away. Of course, we'll likely be waiting two years for Akon's next CD, as that's what the usual time between his projects is, but look for at least six songs from this album to make it "to the big leagues." We take the good with the bad, so having two skip tracks on an album out of thirteen isn't so bad, right? Again, the lyrics aren't BAD but they just leave you wondering where every R&B star pulls their lyrics from? Is there a database out there that everyone pulls from to make all the songs conform to one format? Anyway, this CD has many more good moments than bad and that's refreshing for this reviewer.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]