View source for Let's Get Free

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Let's Get Free
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Dead Prez|dead prez]]
| cover      = DeadPrezLet'sGetFree.jpg
| alt        = The cover art of the album depicts an open call for armed revolution by African revolutionists
| released   = {{Start date|2000|2|8}}
| recorded   = 1998–2000
| studio     =
| genre      = [[Political hip hop]]
| length     = {{Duration|69:30}}
| label      = [[Loud Records|Loud]]
| producer   = 
* [[Dead Prez|dead prez]]
* Hedrush
* [[Lord Jamar]]
* [[Kanye West]]
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| next_title = [[RBG: Revolutionary But Gangsta]]
| next_year  = 2004
| misc = {{Singles
 |name = Let's Get Free
 |type = studio
 |single1 = Police State
 |single1date = October 27, 1998
 |single2 = [[Hip-Hop (Dead Prez song)|Hip-Hop]]
 |single2date = March 30, 1999
 |single3 = It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop
 |single3date = December 7, 1999
 |single4 = I'm a African
 |single4date = 2000
 |single5 = Mind Sex
 |single5date = August 15, 2000
}}
}}

'''''Let's Get Free''''' is the debut studio album by [[hip-hop]] duo [[Dead Prez|dead prez]]. It was released on February 8, 2000, on [[Loud Records]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jahmal|first1=Karlton|title=Top 10 Afrocentric Hip-Hop Albums|url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/84266-top-10-afrocentric-hip-hop-albums-news|website=[[HotNewHipHop]]|date=November 23, 2022|access-date=March 14, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Allah|first1=Sha Be|title=dead prez Dropped Their Debut Album 'Let's Get Free' 23 Years Ago|url=https://thesource.com/2023/02/08/today-in-hip-hop-history-dead-prez-dropped-their-debut-album-lets-get-free-23-years-ago/|website=[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]|date=February 8, 2023|access-date=March 14, 2025}}</ref> The album is mainly produced by dead prez, along with additional production from [[Lord Jamar]] of [[Brand Nubian]], Hedrush, and [[Kanye West]]. The album is supported by its five singles: "Police State", "[[Hip-Hop (Dead Prez song)|Hip-Hop]]", "It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop", "I'm a African", and "Mind Sex". The album peaked at number 73 on the U.S. [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] and number 22 on the U.S. [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums]] chart.

The album dives deep into topics such as the [[Education in the United States|public education system]], racism, [[Freedom of speech in the United States|freedom of speech]] and [[Police brutality in the United States|police brutality]]. ''Let's Get Free'' was followed up with their second studio album, ''[[RBG: Revolutionary But Gangsta]]'' in 2004, but after the duo started releasing independent work and strayed away from the mainstream.{{sfn|Burney|2025|at=para. 11}}

==Background==
During [[Stic.man]] attendance at [[Florida A&M University|Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University]] in the mid-90s, he met [[M-1 (rapper)|M-1]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Grove|first=Rashad|url=https://www.bet.com/article/tuei8r/stic-man-documenting-hip-hop-50-wellness-is-the-future-of-the-culture|title=Stic.man of dead prez on Legacy, Wellness in Hip Hop, and Partnering with eBay & Kirpa Auction House for Hip Hop 50|work=[[BET]]|date=August 23, 2023|accessdate=April 26, 2025}}</ref>{{sfn|Burney|2025|at=para. 2}} Once relocating to [[Brooklyn]] after FAMU, due to their mutual love for music and similar political ideology ([[leftist]]), they both formed a rap duo in 1996.{{sfn|Burney|2025|at=para. 2}}{{sfn|Belle|2014|p=296}}

In the same year that dead prez was formed, they signed a record deal with label [[Loud Records]].<ref name="album background">{{cite web|last=Caputo|first=Matt|url=https://hiphopdx.com/interviews/id.1575/title.dead-prez-lets-get-free-10th-anniversary-feature|title=dead prez: Let's Get Free 10th Anniversary Feature|work=[[HipHopDX]]|date=July 29, 2010|accessdate=April 26, 2025}}</ref>

In a 2010 interview with [[HipHopDX]], M-1 goes in depth about the beginning of the process of recording ''Let's Get Free''. {{blockquote|According to me, it started when I met [stic.man]. The reason I always put it in that context is because we were soon to be revolutionaries. On the mission to make sense of what was happening inside the world, I met stic and I'd just moved to Florida to start a new chapter in my life. My family was being destroyed by crack cocaine just like [he] was and so many families were around us. We started to put together our analysis of the world which then came to include the analysis of a revolutionary party called the [[Uhuru Movement]] and from there, I was able to put on a new set of glasses that would inform me of how I would need to move in the future in order to change these circumstances and so on and so fourth. So all of this growth is what you hear on Let's Get Free. The actually recording of the album didn't happen until six years after we met.<ref name="album background"/>}}

==Concept==
The album goes deep into topics and issues that affect the hip hop community through the duo's political view,{{sfn|Burney|2025|at=para. 3}} such as the [[Education in the United States|public education system]], racism, [[Freedom of speech in the United States|freedom of speech]] and [[Police brutality in the United States|police brutality]].<ref name="album background"/> ''Let's Get Free'' exposes stories such as [[Fred Hampton Jr]] having the possibility of being framed and both members relationship with Christianity.{{sfn|Burney|2025|at=para. 8}}

==Recording and production==
{{multiple image
| width = 150
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| footer = [[Lord Jamar]] and [[Kanye West]] contributed to the production of the album
| image1 = Lord Jamar on the QuietRoom in 2020.jpg
| image2 = Kanye West -1- 10-06 (cropped).jpg
}}

''Let's Get Free'' is mainly produced by dead prez, along with the help of producers Hedrush, [[Lord Jamar]], and [[Kanye West]].<ref name="album background"/>

=== Singles ===
The opening track of ''Let's Get Free'', "Wolves", is centered around an metaphor by Uhuru Movement’s Chairman [[Omali Yeshitela]] related to white people distributing crack in the black community to hunters in the [[Arctic]] fooling wolves into cutting themselves and, subsequently, bleeding themselves to death. This metaphor explains how life under capitalism and white supremacy has engulfed the Black community in self-destructive cycles, and asks us to turn our attention to our true adversary, "the oppressor."<ref name="album breakdown">{{cite web|last=Aku|first=Timmhotep|url=https://afropunk.com/2019/11/dead-prez-was-right-about-everything/|title=dead prez was right about everything|work=Afropunk|date=November 1, 2019|accessdate=April 27, 2025}}</ref>

The second track, "I'm a African", embraces a clear truth that should be apparent, but through American conditioning, it is often lost in the mind of Black folks whose family lines have resided in America for generations. M-1's verse starts with, "No, I wasn't born in Ghana, but Africa is my momma," and the rest of the song is a tribute to enslaved Africans of the past and freedom fighters such as South African anti-apartheid activist [[Steve Biko]].{{sfn|Burney|2025|at=para. 4}}

Following "I'm a African", "They Schools" discusses the ways in which schools "reify the status quo, perpetuating social, state, and governmental control" and "ultimately providing lackluster education to inner city youth." The song is appropriately named to signal that [[State school#United States|public schools]] "belong to the government and not the people." This track encourages Black people to take control of their communities and schools as a step towards achieving true freedom.{{sfn|Belle|2014|p=298}}

The fourth and most well-known track, "[[Hip-Hop (Dead Prez song)|Hip-Hop]]", served as the opening music for ''[[Chappelle's Show]]'' (the instrumental version was used).{{sfn|Burney|2025|at=para. 3}} The next track, "Police State", peeks into the situation of mass incarceration of Black men partly due to social and economic disadvantages.{{sfn|Burney|2025|at=para. 5}}

"Be Healthy", a mellow Spanish-guitar-driven song which is centered around the morals of [[veganism]] and the consequences of industrialized diets.<ref name="album breakdown"/>

One of the duo's most recognizable songs, "It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop", provides a critical view of the commodification of hip hop artists and music. The song exposes the government for its treatment of [[Working class in the United States|working-class people]] while at the same time, critiquing the way that the hip hop music industry "respect money over talent" and that "real music scares people."{{sfn|Belle|2014|pp=297, 298}}

==Artwork==
The cover art of the album depicts an open call for armed revolution by aligning "contemporary, capitalist, repressive America with [[Colonial Africa|colonial-era Africa]] in the form of an armed village preparing to strike," as stated by [[The Guardian]]. Consequently, the cover was censored in many outlets across the United States.<ref>{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Ashley|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/11/kendrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly-album-cover|title=Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly album cover: an incendiary classic|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=March 11, 2015|at=sec. Dead Prez – Let's Get Free (2000)|accessdate=22 April 2025}}</ref>

==Critical reception==
{{Music ratings
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/lets-get-free-mw0000603923|title=Let's Get Free – Dead Prez|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|accessdate=November 6, 2016|last=Conaway|first=Matt}}</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''
|rev2score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4541224.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118101806/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4541224.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 18, 2018|title=dead prez, 'Let's Get Free' (Loud Records)|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=June 11, 2000|accessdate=November 6, 2016|last=Kyles|first=Kyra|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
|rev3score = B<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2000/03/17/lets-get-free|title=Let's Get Free|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=March 17, 2000|accessdate=November 6, 2016|last=Takahashi|first=Corey}}</ref>
|rev4 = ''[[NME]]''
|rev4score = 7/10<ref name="NME review">{{cite journal|url=https://www.nme.com:80/reviews/reviews/20000304100154.html|title=Dead Prez – Let's Get Free|journal=[[NME]]|date=March 4, 2000|accessdate=November 6, 2016|last=Capper|first=Andy|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000412034951/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/20000304100154.html|archivedate=April 12, 2000|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|rev5 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
|rev5score = 8.2/10<ref name="Pitchfork review">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/dead-prez-lets-get-free/|title=dead prez: Let's Get Free Album Review|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|last=Kameir|first=Rawiya|date=November 3, 2019|accessdate=November 3, 2019}}</ref>
|rev6 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
|rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/deadprez/albums/album/207357/review/6068052/lets_get_free|title=Dead Prez: Let's Get Free|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=May 11, 2000|accessdate=November 6, 2016|last=Ex|first=Kris|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119093358/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/deadprez/albums/album/207357/review/6068052/lets_get_free|archivedate=November 19, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|rev7 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
|rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Dead Prez|last=Caramanica|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Caramanica|title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|edition=4th|year=2004|page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/221 221]|isbn=0-7432-0169-8}}</ref>
|rev8 = ''[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]''
|rev8score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Davis|first=André LeRoy|title=Dead Prez: Let's Get Free|magazine=[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]|issue=126|date=March 2000|page=246}}</ref>
}}
Although the production was derided by some critics as a "dull musical backdrop" (such as Dave Heaton from [[PopMatters]]),<ref>{{cite web|title=Dead Prez: Let's Get Free – PopMatters Music Review|url=https://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/d/deadprez-lets.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040618110530/http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/d/deadprez-lets.html|archivedate=2004-06-18}}</ref> ''[[Pound (magazine)|Pound]]'' wrote that ''Let's Get Free'' was called a "return to politically conscious rap."<ref>{{cite web|date=|title=Pound Magazine Review: dead prez – Let's Get Free|url=http://www.poundmag.com/magazine/reviews/elpees/deadprez/deadprez.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041208173832/http://www.poundmag.com/magazine/reviews/elpees/deadprez/deadprez.html|archivedate=2004-12-08}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' gave the album four stars and lauded its equation of "classrooms with jail cells, the projects with killing fields and everything from water to television with conduits for brainwashing by the system".<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Ex, K.|title=RollingStone.com: Let's Get Free : dead prez : Review|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=62149|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050218023941/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/207357|archivedate=2005-02-18}}</ref> Rawiya Kameir from ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' wrote that "''Let’s Get Free'' wasn't built around the aesthetics of consciousness—like some of their incense-lighting, kufi-wearing peers in the late-'90s "conscious-rap" boom [...] but around the politics of liberation."<ref name="Pitchfork review"/>

Cassie Balfour for ''[[The Michigan Daily]]'' was impressed by the album, quoting "the group's militancy, unapologetic anger and complete rejection of the commercialism — not just of hip hop (which is just a symptom of something deeper) but of American culture in general." Balfour would go on to state that "Dead Prez still isn’t to a lot of people’s tastes, and many would accuse the group of advocating violence. But I would argue that’s a superficial take on Let’s Get Free."<ref>{{cite news|last=Balfour|first=Cassie|url=https://www.michigandaily.com/uncategorized/dead-prez-music-vault/|title=From the vault: 'Let's Get Free' inspires a revolution|work=[[The Michigan Daily]]|date=November 16, 2011|accessdate=April 27, 2025}}</ref> Some reviewers were notably critical of the album, such as Andy Capper for ''[[NME]]'' stating that the album "sometimes [get] a little too po-faced for its own good." and tracks "like 'Mind Sex' and 'Be Healthy', while worthy in sentiment, lack the musical invention or lyrical dexterity to match the message."<ref name="NME review"/>

==Legacy==
During an interview with the ''Juan EP Is Dead'' podcast, Stic.man revealed that [[Nipsey Hussle]] told him that he "wanted to redo Let’s Get Free and wanted [dead prez's] permission" one year before he was murdered.<ref>{{cite web|last=Eustice|first=Kyle|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.60645/title.nipsey-hussle-wanted-to-redo-dead-prezs-classic-lets-get-free-album-before-his-murder|title=Nipsey Hussle Wanted To Redo dead prez's Classic 'Let's Get Free' Album Before His Murder|work=HipHopDX|date=February 17, 2021|accessdate=April 27, 2025}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| extra_column    = Producer(s)
| total_length    =

| all_writing     =

| title1          = Wolves
| note1           = Chairman [[Omali Yeshitela]]
| writer1         = 
| lyrics1         = 
| music1          = 
| extra1          = [[Dead Prez|dead prez]]
| length1         = 2:16

| title2          = I'm a African
| note2           = additional vocals by Indo and Abu
| writer2         = 
| lyrics2         = 
| music2          = 
| extra2          = Hedrush & dead prez
| length2         = 3:19

| title3          = {{-'}}They' Schools
| note3           = chorus vocals by Keanna Henson
| writer3         = 
| lyrics3         = 
| music3          = 
| extra3          = Hedrush & dead prez
| length3         = 5:06

| title4          = [[Hip-Hop (Dead Prez song)|Hip-Hop]]
| note4           = 
| writer4         = 
| lyrics4         = 
| music4          = 
| extra4          = Hedrush & dead prez
| length4         = 3:33

| title5          = Police State
| note5           = opening vocals by Chairman Omali Yeshitela
| writer5         = 
| lyrics5         = 
| music5          = 
| extra5          = Hedrush & dead prez
| length5         = 3:40

| title6          = Behind Enemy Lines
| note6           = phone calls by Ness, Toya and Divine
| writer6         = 
| lyrics6         = 
| music6          = 
| extra6          = Hedrush & dead prez
| length6         = 3:03

| title7          = Assassination
| note7           = 
| writer7         = 
| lyrics7         = 
| music7          = 
| extra7          = [[Lord Jamar]] & dead prez
| length7         = 2:01

| title8          = Mind Sex
| note8           = additional vocals by Umi, Becca Byram, poem by [[Abiodun Oyewole]]
| writer8         = 
| lyrics8         = 
| music8          = 
| extra8          = dead prez
| length8         = 4:51

| title9          = We Want Freedom
| note9           = additional vocals from "[[The Spook Who Sat by the Door (film)|The Spook Who Sat by the Door]]"
| writer9         = 
| lyrics9         = 
| music9          = 
| extra9          = Hedrush & dead prez
| length9         = 4:33

| title10         = Be Healthy
| note10          = additional vocals by [[Prodigy (rapper)|Prodigy]]
| writer10        = 
| lyrics10        = 
| music10         = 
| extra10         = Hedrush & dead prez
| length10        = 2:34

| title11         = Discipline
| note11          = phone call by Dedan and Nimrod
| writer11        = 
| lyrics11        = 
| music11         = 
| extra11         = dead prez
| length11        = 1:37

| title12         = Psychology
| note12          = additional vocals by True Image, poem read by Umi
| writer12        = 
| lyrics12        = 
| music12         = 
| extra12         = Lord Jamar & dead prez
| length12        = 5:56

| title13         = Happiness
| note13          = 
| writer13        = 
| lyrics13        = 
| music13         = 
| extra13         = Lord Jamar & dead prez
| length13        = 3:48

| title14         = Animal in Man
| note14          = 
| writer14        = 
| lyrics14        = 
| music14         = 
| extra14         = dead prez
| length14        = 4:31

| title15         = You'll Find a Way
| note15          = 
| writer15        = 
| lyrics15        = 
| music15         = 
| extra15         = dead prez
| length15        = 3:13

| title16         = It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop
| note16          = featuring Tahir and People's Army
| writer16        = 
| lyrics16        = 
| music16         = 
| extra16         = [[Kanye West]] & dead prez
| length16        = 3:55

| title17         = Propaganda
| note17          = additional vocals by Becca Byram, ending vocals by [[Huey P. Newton|Huey Newton]]
| writer17        = 
| lyrics17        = 
| music17         = 
| extra17         = Lord Jamar & dead prez
| length17        = 5:14

| title18         = The Pistol
| note18          = featuring Maintain of Illegal Tendencies
| writer18        = 
| lyrics18        = 
| music18         = 
| extra18         = Lord Jamar & dead prez
| length18        = 4:27
}}

==Personnel==
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
*[[stic.man]] – lead vocals, production, executive producer, art direction
*[[M-1 (rapper)|M-1]] – lead vocals, production, executive producer, art direction
*Hedrush – production, drum programming
*[[Lord Jamar]] – production
*[[Kanye West]] – production
*Tahir (of Hedrush) – vocals
*Maintain (of Illegal Tendencies) – vocals
*Indo (of People's Army) – additional vocals
*Abu (of People's Army) – additional vocals
*Keanna Henson – additional vocals
*Ness (of A-Alikes) – additional vocals
*Toya (of People's Army) – additional vocals
*Divine (of People's Army) – additional vocals
*Umi – additional vocals
*Becca Byram – additional vocals, keyboards
*Abiodun Oyewole (of [[The Last Poets]]) – additional vocals
*[[Prodigy (rapper)|Prodigy]] (of [[Mobb Deep]]) – additional vocals
*Dedan (of Illegal Tendencies) – additional vocals
*Nimrod (of Illegal Tendencies) – additional vocals
*True Image – additional vocals
*[[Mark Batson]] – keyboards
*Christos Tsantilios – recording, mixing
*Blair Wells – recording
*Nastee – recording
*Doug Wilson – mixing
*Bernard Grubman – guitar
*Pressure of Fambase – keyboards
*[[Melvin Gibbs]] – bass
*Laura J. Seaton-Finn – strings
*Joshua – horns
*Mista Sinista (of [[The X-Ecutioners]]) – scratching
*Sean Cane – drums, executive producer
*Matt Life – executive producer
*Schott Free – executive producer
*Stuart "Kamau" Lyle – cover concept
*Kerry DeBruce – art direction, design
*Lorraine West – illustration
*Anthony Cutajar – album photography
*Saba – road photography
*Corbis – archival images
}}

==Charts==

===Album===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2000)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|73|artist=Dead Prez|rowheader=true|accessdate=November 3, 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|22|artist=Dead Prez|rowheader=true|accessdate=November 3, 2019}}
|}

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year
! scope="col" colspan="1"| Chart positions
|-
! scope="col"| ''[[Hot Rap Tracks|US<br />Rap]]''
|-
! scope="row"| "[[Hip-Hop (Dead Prez song)|Hip-Hop]]"
| 1999
| 49
|-
! scope="row"| "It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop"
| 2000
| 43
|}

==See also==
* [[2000 in hip-hop]]
* [[Dead Prez discography]]
* [[The Ecstatic]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Work cited==
{{refbegin}}
;Secondary sources
* {{cite web|last=Burney|first=Lawrence|url=https://www.okayplayer.com/dead-prez-lets-get-free|title=Rediscovered: Dead Prez, 'Let's Get Free'|work=[[Okayplayer]]|date=February 10, 2025|accessdate=April 26, 2025|ref={{harvid|Burney|2025}}}}
* {{cite journal|last=Belle|first=Crystal|title=From Jay-Z to Dead Prez: Examining Representations of Black Masculinity in Mainstream Versus Underground Hip-Hop Music|date=2014|journal=[[Journal of Black Studies]]|volume=45|issue=4|pages=287–300 |jstor=24572849|doi=10.1177/0021934714528953}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{Discogs master|83861}}

{{dead prez}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Dead Prez albums]]
[[Category:Loud Records albums]]
[[Category:2000 debut albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Kanye West]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Lord Jamar]]
[[Category:Political hip-hop albums]]