Most folks saw Jay’s Philly press conference earlier this week and, understandably, cracked up over Free’s seeming random cameo. Sitting down with Billboard, however, Freeway sets the record straight…
“I was there because I wanted to see my friend, and I wanted people to know that me and Jay are still cool,” says the rapper, born Leslie Edward Pridgen, who stood silently onstage during the announcement. “If you follow me or you’re familiar with what I do on the Internet, whenever anyone comes to town in Philly that I’m OK with, I usually come and support them.”
Freeway’s attendance at the press conference didn’t come without controversy. The rapper wasn’t included in a group photo op at the event, prompting media to assume that his presence wasn’t actually welcome and sparking a flurry of chatter online that found Freeway the butt of many jokes. Still, he remains unfazed.
“All press is good press, and I’ve definitely been doing a lot of press,” says Freeway, who took to Twitter (@PhillyFreezer, 88,000 followers) during the press conference to post a picture of himself with Jay-Z at the event with the note: “Stop that shit, Jay my N***a!!” “I’m happy for the press, because the truth is, Jay knew that I was there and it was all love. There’s nothing negative about that. People just turned it into what they wanted to. I actually thought it was kind of funny.”
You can read the entire thing over at Billboard.
