Akon has grown with each new album release, while his sound has evolved to the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of his fans, Freedom will no doubt be remembered as the turning point in Akon’s career where he evolves from a hip hop artist to a bonafide entertainer.

 Freedom does not contain the harsh or explicit lyrics found in “I Still Kill” or the infamous “I Want to **** You” Instead the album is filled with sounds familiar to “Put the Blame on Me” which was lyrically powered rather than over the top production. That does not mean there are no upbeat club hits on this album, Troublemaker and Beautiful will keep everyone on the dance floor moving. Akon’s previous love ballad “Don’t Matter” is replaced with a lyrically driven “Be With You” that possess a crisper production that will no doubt lead to some slower sensual dance moves when the DJ decides to spin the track. The released singles “Right Now” and “I’m So Paid” are great but are drastically different.

Freedom plays with this contrast in sound by providing many catchy radio friendly songs that are subtly different but possess deeper lyrics than found in past Akon albums. With all the radio friendly songs you’ll find yourself humming to many of these songs during the day, therefore, making it buy you won’t regret this holiday season.