The Free Houdini

The Free Houdini
Mixtape by
Themselves
ReleasedMarch 25, 2009 (2009-03-25)
GenreAlternative hip hop
Length54:42
LabelAnticon
ProducerJel, Doseone
Themselves chronology
The No Music of AIFFs
(2003) 		The Free Houdini
(2009) 		Crowns Down
(2009)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Christgau's Consumer Guide(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[2]
Cokemachineglowfavorable[3]
Exclaim!favorable[4]
HipHopDX3.0/5[5]
Pitchfork6.6/10[6]
PopMatters[7]
RapReviews.com7.5/10[8]

The Free Houdini (styled as theFREEhoudini[9]) is a 2009 mixtape by American hip hop duo Themselves.

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

At 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

No.TitleLength
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

  1. ^ a b "theFREEhoudini by Themselves". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Themselves". Christgau's Consumer Guide. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  3. ^ Betz, Chet (July 8, 2009). "Themselves: theFREEhoudini Mixtape". Cokemachineglow. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  4. ^ Quinlan, Thomas (July 23, 2009). "Themselves - theFREEhoudini deluxe". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  5. ^ Noz, Andrew (March 25, 2009). "Themselves - theFREEhoudini Deluxe". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Greene, Jayson (May 29, 2009). "Themselves: theFREEhoudini". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Fairall, Jer (August 2, 2009). "Themselves: theFREEhoudini". PopMatters. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  8. ^ Sirota, Eric (January 26, 2010). "Themselves :: theFREEHoudini". RapReviews.com. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  9. ^ "theFREEhoudini deluxe". Anticon. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  10. ^ Breihan, Tom (February 20, 2009). "Themselves Return From Hiatus, Plan Free Mixtape". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  11. ^ Segal, Dave (March 16, 2009). "anticon.tent: Themselves Offer Free Album Download". The Stranger. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  12. ^ 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.