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Freeway Reveals Unreleased Mary J. Blige Collaboration, 'Let the Music Play' -- Exclusive

Posted Nov 8th 2012 6:25PM by Natelege Whaley
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Gino DePinto, AOL

Today, Philly rapper Freeway stopped by The BoomBox for an In House visit and revealed a surprising piece of information during our discussion. The bearded MC collaborated with the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul on a track that never saw the light of day.

"I had a crazy song with Mary J. Blige but it never came out," Freeway tells The BoomBox. "But I listen to it all the time."

The effort, titled "Let the Music Play," was recorded around 2006, and produced by Chad "Wes" Hamilton, according to Philly Freezer. The song may sound familiar seeing as it shares the same title as a 1983 freestyle record belonging to singer Shannon.

Freeway, who's prepping the release of his fourth studio album, Diamond in the Ruff, later this month, says the hook borrowing from the classic dance record was his idea. "It went, 'Let the music play, it's Free and Mary J,'" he sang. "The beat was grooving and I thought that will be perfect for it."

The whereabouts of the record are currently unknown to Freeway. But if he's able to locate the recording, the 34-year-old lyricist woud like to remake it. "I gotta find the session," he explains. "Maybe they might have it at Def Jam [his former label home] or something. 'Cause if I find the session, I might just get it and put some new lyrics on it."

When asked why the song never came out, he blamed industry "politics." "I had so many records and there was so much going on in between albums so by the time I did Free at Last [his sophomore album released in 2007], it was all new music," Freeway discloses. "All the stuff I had recorded in my free time, I didn't use none of it. I jut recorded all new music from the beginning."

Diamond in the Ruff, featuring the Wale-assisted "True," Marsha Ambrosius-supported ""Right Back" and Musiq Soulchild collaboration "Dream Big", arrives Nov. 13.

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