AKON REVIEW

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Akon

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Freedom Reviews

Overall Rating
6

Freedom

2008 | Universal

20 Sources have reviewed this album

10/10

Uncut

Source

Hailing from the wrong coast, the Charleston, South Carolina-based Explorers Club have done the near-impossible, turning an obsession with everything Beach Boys into an utterly beguiling pop album. [June 2008, p.88

8/10

Boston Globe

Source

This tuneful, seemingly effortless set of sun-kissed pop reminds you why he's in so much demand.

7.5/10

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Source

Frankly, the album is beautiful--wholly, deeply, and truly. Which leaves the ultimate verdict up to those who have strong opinions, one way or the other, on The Beach Boys and the concept of originality.

7/10

No Ripcord

Source

If you like your pop music with harmonies and heart then the Explorers Club could well have recorded the soundtrack to your summer.

7/10

The New York Times

Source

Whatever the reason, Freedom forgoes almost any signifiers that might pigeonhole him.

7/10

Hartford Courant

Source

Akon's undeniable gift for hooks makes this an easy listen, and the ex-con posturing isn't missed.

7/10

All Music Guide

Source

If you don't like the Beach Boys, you won't like this.

7/10

Dot Music

Source

Despite a preponderance of uptempo songs that puts Freedom in similar territory to Ne-Yo, the record is still very recognisably Akon.

7/10

Billboard

Source

While 'Troublemaker' and 'Holla Holla' each sound a lot like prior Akon songs (the former like Kardinal Offishall's 'Dangerous,' the latter like '07's Akon/T-Pain pairing 'Bartender'), ultimately they're highlights for that very reason.

6.5/10

Pitchfork

Source

Freedom Wind includes three of the four songs on the Explorers Club's original EP, and it partly fulfills that record's promise.

6/10

Under The Radar

Source

The Exploreres Club may churn out some great tunes, but they're just re-treading hallowed ground. [Spring 2008, p.75]

6/10

Rolling Stone

Source

Beneath the digital production and R2D2 vocals, Akon is secretly an old-fashioned romantic, and his third album is his most heart-on-sleeve.

6/10

The Guardian

Source

Despite his hip-hop roots and the presence of guest rappers such as Lil Wayne, it's Akon's buoyant pop sensibility that prevails.

5.5/10

RapReviews.com

Source

Freedom will be a disappointment, and a predictable one at that.

5/10

Blender

Source

On album three, he tests out heartbreak, and his emotional wiring doesn’t cooperate.

5/10

The Phoenix

Source

Freedom is mostly lame club tunes with mega-auto-tuned vocals about wishing "I could just stop by and lay by your side."

4/10

Entertainment Weekly

Source

Akon's philosophy of liberty also includes the freedom to reuse nearly identical hooks for 13 songs straight. That approach may bring him plenty money, but it yields only a few legitimately fun tracks, buried beneath a pile of boring retreads.

4/10

NOW Magazine

Source

Somehow, fond recollections of the bad old days in the ghetto with fellow superstar Wyclef Jean just don’t have the same resonance and uplifting power as previous songs that came from a place of near-defeat and unfulfilled aspirations.

4/10

PopMatters

Source

The Explorers Club spend so much time showing us how good they are at sounding like the Beach Boys or the Byrds, that they totally forget to show us what they sound like themselves.

2/10

musicOMH.com

Source

Unfortunately, all this really means is an extra emphasis on weirdly pitched keyboard riffs and slightly dated sounding beats.

User Comments

JACOBFULLY

down up

(0)
Oct 21, 2009 at 09:25 PM

AKON make it something unbeliebable

Rated: reply
RWLYRICS

down up

(3)
Jul 22, 2009 at 12:36 PM

The correct track listing is:

1. Right Now (Na Na Na)
2. Beautiful
3. Keep You Much Longer
4. Troublemaker
5. We Don't Care
6. I'm So Paid
7. Holla Holla
8. Against The Grain
9. Be With You
10. Sunny Day
11. Birthmark
12. Over The Edge
13. Freedom
14. Clap Again

reply
jeffwilks

down up

(3)
Dec 04, 2008 at 03:32 AM

1. Go Go Dancer is called Bananza. Nor is it from the Freedom album
2. Where Would We Go doesn't belong on this album either.
3&4. "Over The Edge" and "Keep You Much Longer" are missing.

reply