One of Philly’s finest talks Sixers and Iverson
by David Cassilo / @dcassilo
One of Philadelphia’s best-known rappers for the last decade has been Freeway. Always quick to represent his city, it’s no surprise that he is a huge supporter of the Sixers.
A fan since he was a kid, Freeway has been following the Sixers his entire life. He was there for the glory days of Allen Iverson and stuck with them through the struggles of last season.
With the season opening up last week, Freeway talks about his expectations for his hometown team, his take on Iverson’s choice to play in Turkey and what projects he is currently working on in his own career.
SLAM: I hear you’re an avid fan of SLAM. Do you go back all the way to the beginning?
Freeway: I don’t go that far back, but I remember anything with Iverson on it. Being from Philly, I always support AI.
SLAM: What do you think of Allen Iverson’s decision to go play over in Turkey?
Freeway: I think going there was an okay move. He needs to feed his family. I wish we took advantage of being back in Philly last year, but he had family issues, and I can’t complain about that.
SLAM: Do you think we ever see him in the NBA again?
Freeway: I think we will see him back. He just needs some time to get his thoughts together.
SLAM: Where do you think Iverson ranks in NBA history?
Freeway: I think he’s top-5 all-time. He was a little guy, but he was aggressive. He was always doing his thing.
SLAM: Your Sixers are looking to get back to where they were when Iverson was there. What do you think of their team this year?
Freeway: We got some nice pieces. We got ET [Evan Turner]. He was college play of the year. And Andre Igoudala is stepping up to. We got some pieces.
SLAM: What is it going to take for them to become a contender again?
Freeway: Together everyone needs to step up their efforts. It is going to take a collective improvement.
SLAM: The Sixers haven’t drawn as well recently. What do they to do to get that arena packed again?
Freeway: Iverson [laughs]. They need a big name to generate some excitement. You gotta be doing something. There used to be excitement. There was crazy Philly support. It felt good to be from Philly.
SLAM: What team should we be looking at to win it all this year?
Freeway: The Lakers are always the team to beat. You know with what happened in Miami, Kobe has something to prove.
SLAM: Are you a Kobe or LeBron guy?
Freeway: I go LeBron. He’s my man. I like Kobe as a player, but he doesn’t rep the home team. You gotta represent.
SLAM: Any other teams we need to look out for to challenge theirs?
Freeway: We can’t leave the Celtics out. They are going to give the Heat a run for their money.
SLAM: What do you think of Kevin Durant? Any chance he can lead his team to knock off Kobe?
Freeway: He’s the [expletive]. He did his thing at the Olympics. He’s the [expletive]. He’s coming for Kobe and LeBron. I give him the nickname “The Quiet Riot.”
SLAM: Who would you say you consider some of the best players of all-time?
Freeway: Jordan, Iverson, Shaq, Dr. J, LeBron, Carmelo, Russell.
SLAM: Now switching over to your career, I hear you have a clothing line coming out?
Freeway: It’s called Freestyle. Basically the slogan is like, “Let your style be free no matter what it is.” That will be out at the beginning of next year.
SLAM: And there’s an album on the way too, right?
Freeway: It’s called “Diamond in the Rough,” and it looks like it will be dropping on November 30th. It’s going to be crazy. I just dropped the song “Escalators,” and that’s been getting a lot of play. The whole album is soulful and real. It’s me, and it’s different than what everyone else is doing.
SLAM: Any good features on there we should be looking out for?
Freeway: I just sent something to Rick Ross. I’ve got Black Thought from The Roots. There is also production from Just Blaze.
SLAM: I know you’re a big Sixers fan and Rick Ross is a big Heat fan. Is there a lot of trash-talking about the NBA among rappers?
Freeway: Definitely. Everyone has gotta rep their own city. There is a lock of back and forth with that.
SLAM: I know there’s also a lot of debate over MTV’s “Hottest MCs in the Game” list. What do you think of them putting Eminem No. 1 and the rest of the list?
Freeway: They got No. 1 right for now. The list is what it is. We’re coming for that list next year, though.
SLAM: Does it motivate you to be on that list and be doing what they are doing?
Freeway: I think we motivate each other. Kanye is dropping a song a week. Well I was dropping a song a day during my “Month of Madness.” I’m sure that motivated him. For me, I’m motivated by whoever is a success.
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