The Free Houdini (styled as theFREEhoudini[9]) is a 2009 mixtape by American hip hop duo Themselves.
| The Free Houdini | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Mixtape by | ||||
| Released | March 25, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Alternative hip hop | |||
| Length | 54:42 | |||
| Label | Anticon | |||
| Producer | Jel, Doseone | |||
| Themselves chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 74/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  [2] |
| Cokemachineglow | favorable[3] |
| Exclaim! | favorable[4] |
| HipHopDX | 3.0/5[5] |
| Pitchfork | 6.6/10[6] |
| PopMatters |   [7] |
| RapReviews.com | 7.5/10[8] |
It is a return after a six-year hiatus that saw the members, Jel and Doseone, spend the majority of their time on their other band Subtle.[10] It was made available for 90 days as a one-track MP3 for download from the Anticon website,[11] later released in a deluxe CD package.[12]
Critical reception
editAt Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the mixtape received an average score of 74% based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[1]
Jer Fairall of PopMatters gave the mixtape 8 stars out of 10, saying, "Here, Doseone is once again utilizing his skills as a performer to propel the music forward, and the result is a record that is actually thrilling and fun to listen to, rather than simply 'interesting'."[7] Jayson Greene of Pitchfork gave the mixtape a 6.6 out of 10 and called it "another step in Anticon's breathless, never-ending push forward."[6]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pay That Piper" | 2:13 |
| 2. | "Oversleeping" | 1:53 |
| 3. | "Know That to Know This" (featuring Aesop Rock) | 3:21 |
| 4. | "Kick the Ball" (featuring Buck 65) | 2:57 |
| 5. | "1 for No Money" (featuring Sole) | 1:07 |
| 6. | "Rappers Is Interns (Freestyle)" | 1:12 |
| 7. | "Party Rap Sucks" (featuring Busdriver) | 1:24 |
| 8. | "Long Time Coming" (featuring Lionesque) | 3:51 |
| 9. | "Swarm of Bee II" | 2:44 |
| 10. | "Back 2 Burn" (featuring Pedestrian) | 1:48 |
| 11. | "The Mark" (featuring D-Styles) | 3:01 |
| 12. | "Keys to Ignition" (featuring Serengeti) | 3:13 |
| 13. | "Roman Is As Roman Does" | 1:56 |
| 14. | "The Medicine" (featuring Slug) | 3:03 |
| 15. | "Free & Void" | 2:00 |
| 16. | "Rapping 4 Money" (featuring Clouddead) | 3:56 |
| 17. | "Rappers Is Modelships (Freestyle)" (featuring DJ Baku) | 1:54 |
| 18. | "Puzzled" (featuring Passage and DJ Andrew) | 3:17 |
| 19. | "Cross-section of Wreckage" (featuring Alias and DJ Andrew) | 2:56 |
| 20. | "Each Ant in Their House" | 7:05 |
References
edit- ^ a b "theFREEhoudini by Themselves". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Themselves". Christgau's Consumer Guide. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- ^ Betz, Chet (July 8, 2009). "Themselves: theFREEhoudini Mixtape". Cokemachineglow. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- ^ Quinlan, Thomas (July 23, 2009). "Themselves - theFREEhoudini deluxe". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- ^ Noz, Andrew (March 25, 2009). "Themselves - theFREEhoudini Deluxe". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- ^ a b Greene, Jayson (May 29, 2009). "Themselves: theFREEhoudini". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- ^ a b Fairall, Jer (August 2, 2009). "Themselves: theFREEhoudini". PopMatters. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- ^ Sirota, Eric (January 26, 2010). "Themselves :: theFREEHoudini". RapReviews.com. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- ^ "theFREEhoudini deluxe". Anticon. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (February 20, 2009). "Themselves Return From Hiatus, Plan Free Mixtape". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
- ^ Segal, Dave (March 16, 2009). "anticon.tent: Themselves Offer Free Album Download". The Stranger. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
- ^ Frisicano, Andrew (April 1, 2009). "Themselves - 2009 tour dates, 2 NYC shows w/ Stabbing Eastward feat. Tunde TVoTR, a free mixtape". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
External links
edit- The Free Houdini at Discogs (list of releases)