If we could say after the previous two records that Akon brings in some new tendencies into R&B music then they shie especially brightly on Freedom.

The true value of Akon’s creations is not in the singles At the end of the record a nice bonus is prepared, a contagious and melodious track Clap Again with a hand clapping beat and very joyful lyrics. Besides the title track deserves special attention for it is a real story of the singer’s childhood and youth. Among the album highlights there are a beautiful and optimistic reggae flavored Be With You, another no-more-criminal-life track Sunny Day performed with Wyclef on which Akon expresses his happiness of having nothing more to worry about. A bit bold tracks Troublemaker featuring Sweet Rush and We Don't Care will also be irreplaceable on a dance floor whereas on I'm So Paid featuring Lil' Wayne and Young Jeezy the singer distracts a bit from the female sex and remembers the events of the past years. A club hit Beautiful featuring Colby O'Donis and Kardinal Offishall is remarkable for a contagious beat and composition Keep You Much Longer proves to be a very simple and honest love confession. This is especially true about the first single Right Now (Na Na Na) for its simple pop tune, an unobtrusive synthesizer’s arrangement and lyrics close to everyone who has ever quarreled with the partner will surely linger in the mind. Obviously Akon’s main goal on Freedom was to make the songs as memorable as possible therefore he sings persistently the most expressive phrases several times so the absolute majority of the songs can be easily remembered and almost learnt by heart after one or two listening. Fortunately for the genre fans Akon has left some space for reflecting over his past and on the whole Freedom proves to be a worthy continuation of his career. The greater part of Freedom consists of sad and happy stories of love, breaking up, fighting and making up, reminiscences and dreams. And if the classic gangster compositions and songs about relationships were present in an approximately equal proportion on his first two albums Trouble and Konvicted then on the third record Freedom released at the very beginning of this winter the singer has finally demonstrated his romantic nature to the full extent. Nevertheless one cannot doubt the sincerity of his love songs. Of course listening to his songs one can learn a lot of more interesting things the only question being how true his texts are. One of the most original performers on the modern R&B scene Akon is not too eager to speak of his criminal past stating that he has never used drugs and is now leading a normal life. Akon has demonstrated his romantic nature to the full extent

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