Charles Hamilton - “Free Download”

It used to be that you needed big name collaborators to authenticate your career, especially before dropping an album. Charles Hamilton produced this one and rapped on it all by himself. We’re seeing more of that type of DIY lately. Are we entering the era of the self-made rapper?

Hamilton romanticizes terms and concepts that web users can easily identify with like no rapper has ever done. He did so with “Windows Media Player” and now “Free Download” continues the tradition. I have a love-hate feeling towards that Kelis sample. On one hand, it’s distracting; On the other, it adds some bloodflow to the track and makes it that much more compelling. Hamilton absolutely kills it.