While I’m Still Young… The Talking Drums is the debut album of West African (Sierra Leone)  hip hop recording artist and author FREDDY WILL. It was released on September 23^rd 2008 by Ghetto Breed Entertainment and distributed by Soulkiss Entertainment, dep and Universal Music Canada, produced by JUNO Award winner Eddie Bullen and underground producer Stephen Staddelmann. Freddy Will stood in as executive producer of the album which was then released in Toronto, Canada. The album features artwork designed by G. L. Paterson in Toronto. Guest features include reggae singer Winnie Culture, rock n roll singer David Butlar, New York R&B singer Jay NY, JUNO award winners Diane Seaton & Liberty Silver, New Jersey rappers Filthy Rich, Quality, Chris Cruz, and Toronto R&B singers  S. Davis and Nigel Woods. 
 
Concept

The concept and theme of While I’m Still Young… The Talking Drums is about thriving against all odds and early success. Freddy Will's civil war experiences marked a very slim chance of success but narrowly escaping two genocides and in addition, a stint on the streets of New Jersey and Philadelphia ultimately inspired the lyrics, recorded and released on this album. Recording and releasing the album in itself marked a new success on its own. Many Africans spend a lifetime trying to accomplish such dreams. As  an independent recording artist from Sierra Leone, releasing an American style hip hop album internationally was a huge undertaking.

This debut album represents the starting point of success for this artist and in its lyrics he references this opportunity that were initially deemed impossible. The album cover shows an African death mask - an ancient tribal ritual in Africa wherein revered tribal warriors who passed on, had their face covered with a this mask during burial as a sign of reverence for their greatness. This mask symbolizes the death or end of one era  and the beginning of another. As a kid Freddy Will's parents frequently used African masks to frighten him into obedience, instead the act hardened him up and he soon became fearless. 

While I’m Still Young… The Talking Drums features several crossover songs with a wide range of influences from Reggae, Rock N Roll, Dance and even Jazz music. FREDDY WILL also introduced a melodic banter reminiscent of African rhythms and sang his rap which (at the time) was different from his East Coast flow. The album contains 21 tracks all of which were written by Freddy Will.

Background

FREDDY WILL started writing this album while living through the toughest periods of his life. He had narrowly escaped death when a rebel war ensued in Liberia, West Africa and flared into genocide and that experience influenced his gritty lyrics about naughty romance, violence, street loyalty and war which depicts his life experiences in the streets of West Africa and the United States at the time. This album is arguably his most explicit album to date adding to the fact that much of its content came from the 'Stay True' Mixtape.  But Freddy Will has continuously stated that the lifestyle portrayed in this album is not necessarily his intended lifestyle. He has argued that those days were unfortunate days of his life and the experiences are events he wish to share with whomever wishes to listen.

He began by writing poetic rants due to frustrations from hardships he underwent while living in Bo, Sierra Leone. Enrolled at Christ the King College to attend secondary school, he regularly skipped classes to avoid a flogging for being late to school. The 13 year old hid in the nearby cemetery, sitting on graves where he was soon inspired to write poems that later became the lyrics to this debut album. He continued to write poems even after relocating to Freetown where he became a young rapper (while attending the Methodist Boys High School). A few years later, Freddy Will was a refugee in Latrikunda, The Gambia another West African state. This time the 17 year old escaped Sierra Leone's genocide. He continued to write lyrics about his experiences on the streets (being homeless a times) and began to recite them to instrumental beats in 1996. In the Gambia, Freddy Will wrote a large volume of rap songs and once he relocated to the United States he  archived all his songs into various albums. Upon settling in Franklin, New Jersey he sort work at several places of employment including the general hospitals and the Jewish Nursing Home. He did so while attending local colleges like Raritan Valley Community College and Edison Job Corps Academy.

8 years later FREDDY WILL traveled to Toronto, Canada where he united with long time friend Qing Que hoping to record his debut album. But recording sessions lagged and they faced numerous setbacks. Initial recordings were released on a 2006 mixtape entitled "STAY TRUE" but subsequent label rivalry led the mixtape to be pulled from circulation after its released. FREDDY WILL formed his own record label called Ghetto Breed Entertainment and set off to re-record the album independently. He worked with a self proclaimed independent movie producer by the name of Duke Panache who promised to re-record and release the album as a soundtrack to his upcoming martial arts movie. But Duke faltered on that promise after many delays to start the recording. FREDDY WILL was left to shop for yet another studio to record his album. He formed an alliance with students at the CBC studios in Toronto but their amateur recordings were not up to par either.

Under a new management with the aid of new attorneys he discovered the art of record contracts and began to record vocals (for the album) at Slamm Production in Toronto while the bulk of his remaining vocals were recorded by Toronto Rock band Street 66's guitarist Stephen Staddelmann at his home studio. Staddelmann would go o to produce six (6) tracks for the album including the lead singles "CITY BOY" and "STRANGERS." Ultimately the album was produced at Thunder Dome Sounds by JUNO award winning producer and arranger Eddie Bullen.

FREDDY WILL also featured JUNO award winners Diane Seaton and Liberty Silver on two separate songs on the album. He later employed Soulkiss Entertainment to market, promote and distribute the album in Canada with dep and Universal Music Canada. On the release date, Brian LaRoche, CEO of Soulkiss Entertainment proved to be a fraud when it was exposed that his alleged ties to Universal Music Canada and dep had been greatly exaggerated. LaRoche and his co-conspirator Spencer, (an rep at dep at the time) were both incapable of fulfilling their obligations with Ghetto Breed Entertainment. This led FREDDY WILL to recall the album from their possession after three months of release. The album was finally released digitally under Ghetto Breed Distributions and Double K Records.

Reception

While I’m Still Young… The Talking Drums debuted at number one on several College radios in Canada and has sold over 7000 physical copies worldwide as well as hundreds of digital downloads. The album received favorable reviews and media coverage with music critics praising the production and lyrical versatility. Since the release, FREDDY WILL has been credited as an international independent recording artist from West Africa as he released this album in Canada and sold several units worldwide.

Singles

    

CITY BOY is the first official single off FREDDY WILL's debut Album WHILE I'M STILL YOUNG - THE TALKING DRUMS released on June 15th, 2008. It was produced by Stephen Staddelmann and Eddie Bullen at Thunder Dome Sounds in Toronto, Canada. This song received a substantial digital downloads throughout the internet with massive radio play in the Caribbean, West Africa, Canada, Europe and parts of the USA.

    

STRANGERS is the second official single off FREDDY WILL's debut Album WHILE I'M STILL YOUNG - THE TALKING DRUMS released on August 11th, 2008. It was produced by Stephen Staddelmann and Eddie Bullen at Thunder Dome Sounds in Toronto, Canada. This song received substantial digital downloads throughout the internet with radio airplay in the Caribbean, West Africa, Canada, Europe and parts of the USA.

    

HOW WOULD I KNOW feat. Jay NY is the third official single off FREDDY WILL's debut Album WHILE I'M STILL YOUNG - THE TALKING DRUMS released on December 5th, 2008. It was produced by Jay NY and Eddie Bullen at Thunder Dome Sounds in Toronto, Canada. This song received a substantial digital downloads throughout the internet with radio airplay in the Caribbean, West Africa, Canada, Europe and parts the USA.

www.freddywill.com