World Be Free is Brian Freeland, who has lived in Syracuse, New York since he was three. He took the name from the NBA guard World B. Free born Lloyd Free, changed it in 1981 and then gave it a different meaning: "A lot of rap artists take a name of a gangster or criminal. For me, it's the case of the world being free." He has communications degrees from Howard, and he has spent his career making music in a city that doesn't produce much national coverage. Diamonds Are Forever, credited with The Diamond Gallery, came out this week: ten tracks, twenty-five minutes. Reading the tracklist The titles place it. "Everson Museum (Interlude)" is a thirty-eight second nod to the art museum in his city. "Moh's Scale" is the mineral hardness index, which is the album title taken literally. "Bruv Heart" opens, "Free Puffy" sits at seven, and Symphonie appears twice on "Nothing's Real" and "Nike Shoe Box." The pattern is a rapper working in a specific place and refusing to translate it for a wider audience. There's no regional signposting, no explanation of Syracuse for outsiders just a record that assumes you know where you are. That's rarer than it sounds. Most regional rap either performs its city for tourists or pretends geography doesn't matter. This one does neither. No mix or mastering credits, no label, and no information on The Diamond Gallery the credit appears on the release, but I couldn't identify who or what it is. Twenty-five minutes, out now.
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