Free Lunch, Vol. 3: Rap Ballads

by Free Tillman

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Full Digital Discography

15

releases

Get all 15 Free Tillman releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Adjusting Each Others Crowns, Undiscovered Colors, The Ground Moved When They Jumped, Free Lunch, Vol. 3: Rap Ballads, Free Lunch, Vol. 2: Salad, Free Lunch, Vol. 1: Fish, BLACK, Sweet Dreams, and 7 more. , and , .

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1.	Amy Sherald 02:30		buy track
2.	Kerry James Marshall 02:06		buy track
3.	Faith Ringgold 02:06		buy track
4.	Theaster Gates 02:24	lyrics	buy track
Do we have the capacity to be great creatures in the absence of light? If blackness has something to do with the absence of light, does creating Black art mean that sometimes I’m making when no one's looking? And for the most part that has been the truth of our lives. Is there a light? Yes. But until we own the light I’m not happy. Until we’re in our own houses of exhibition of discovery, of research, until we’ve figured out a way to be masters of our own art world then I’d rather work in darkness. I’d rather work in darkness because at least I know that I'm working. I don’t want to work only when the light comes on. My fear is that we’re being trained and conditioned to only create if there’s a light. And that makes us codependent on a thing that we don’t control. Are you willing to create art in the absence of light?
5.	Carrie Mae Weems 01:27		buy track
6.	Henry Taylor 02:06		buy track
7.	Alma Thomas 02:31		buy track
8.	Beauford Delaney 02:00	lyrics	buy track
We’re all so cold hearted Scared of MJ’s music until Chapelle said it was ok Now we’re back where restarted We just want confirmation of our beliefs You want to catch a cop it takes a thief Burn down a whole precinct in a search for peace Search the whole map for relief And it was right under our feet Tell me what I have to do to remain inactive Just paint the other side in the color of a savage If you don’t understand the argument, no need to get nervous Apathy is clearly the lazy man's courage Climbing down but I can’t see the ground Feeling chunky in the waist like I’m packing a four pound Ironic that’s my age and I feel every millimeter Last call draining shots like a buzzer beater All my heroes had guns I’m doing my best to make sure I never become one
9.	Edward Clark 01:51		buy track
10.	Sam Gilliam 02:00		buy track
11.	Howardena Pindell 01:41		buy track
12.	Stanley Whitney 02:08		buy track
13.	Jack Whitten 01:48		buy track
14.	Tomashi Jackson 01:54		buy track
15.	Torkwase Dyson 01:25		buy track
16.	Theaster Gates - (Instrumental) 02:24		buy track
17.	Beauford Delaney - (Instrumental) 02:00		buy track
18.	Do The Work 01:50
19.	Another Day, Baby 02:09
20.	Fear Eats the Soul 01:36
21.	Major Cleavage 02:05
22.	Mega Hurts 01:44

about

This one is for the art lovers and loop diggers.

Inspired by artist like Roc Marciano, Alchemist, Daringer, & Ras G.

THIS VERSION OF THE ALBUM INCLUDES BONUS TRACKS THAT ARE NOT AVAILABLE ON STREAMING SERVICES.

About the title.
Believe it or not the title of this project is not a play on the name Free Tillman. My favorite opening line of a song is “We eat fish, toss salads, and make rap ballads” from “Fish” by Ghostface Killah. Is it a jail reference, drug slang or is it meant to be taken literary? I’ve always taken it literally but honestly I never want to know the answer.

Before I started making any music I got it into my head that I wanted to make an album called Fish, Toss Salads & Rap Ballads. Once I started working I realized I was making songs that wouldn’t sound right on an album together so I decided to make 3. I also decided to leave out the word “toss” because Chris Rock ruined the phrase “tossed salad” for me.

So now I needed something that would tie everything together. I went back to Ironman and I landed on the song “All That I Got is You”. Specifically the phrase "In the summer, free lunch held us down like steel”. This phase has always stuck out to me for 2 reasons:

1. I too was on the Summer Food Service Program as a kid and I never really appreciated it until I heard this song.

2. I didn’t realize there were other people that had the same experience as I did and it instilled in me the importance of sharing your experiences and the importance of art in general.

So, that’s why the album is called Free Lunch: Fish, Salad & Rap Ballads.