''Broken Ankles'' is an extended play by American rapper

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

and American music producer and mashup musician Girl Talk, both of whom hail from Pennsylvania. It was released digitally on April 8, 2014.

Background

''Broken Ankles'' focuses more on traditional beats rather than the straight mash-ups of Girl Talk's previous work. Speaking about the release, he explained: "I had the idea to do a mixtape with someone, but have it flow like one of my albums. I wanted to do a mixtape that was pretty different from your average mixtape. Every song is connected and there's a very distinct beginning and end; it works as a whole." Freeway was Girl Talk's first choice for a collaborator, as he had been a fan of the rapper ever since hearing his appearance on the

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

song "1-900-Hustler" and felt that "his energy is unreal, and he's able to keep up with any production." The two communicated through phone calls and e-mails and recorded several songs in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Release

Girl Talk first announced the release of ''Broken Ankles'' through

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on October 6, 2013. Two days later, Girl Talk and Freeway debuted a song from the EP entitled "Tolerated" during a performance at the

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. The EP was originally set for a fall 2013 release through

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, but the release was postponed to 2014 due to Girl Talk's desire to "

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on a few features from other artists before ettlingon a definitive date." On March 25, 2014, Girl Talk announced that the video for "Tolerated", featuring Freeway and

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. He first became known for his 2009 single "O Let's Do It", which entered the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and led him to ...

, would be released on March 31, and that ''Broken Ankles'' would be released on April 8. The music video, directed by Allen Cordell, features Girl Talk and Freeway walking down a street and brutally assaulting passers-by who bother them.

Critical reception

''Broken Ankles'' was well received by critics and was commended as "Freeway’s best solo project" in a review by ''Pitchfork''. Reviewers praised Girl Talk's production, saying his "soulful sampling is perfected here" and "evokes some of the bombast and pageantry that made early 2000s Just Blaze so amazing." The samples in the EP "leaves you craving more" with its "hard-hitting" beats that "are a perfect compliment to Freeway's gritty, Philly cadence". The result is "a bracingly intense yet surprisingly harmonious EP that stuffs Girl Talk’s hyperactive beats under Freeway’s militantly growled rhymes".

Track listing

# "Broken Ankles Intro" – 0:34 # "Tolerated" – 3:15 # "Tell Me Yeah" – 3:10 # "I Can Hear Sweat" – 4:32 # "Suicide" – 3:20 # "Lived It" – 3:43

Personnel

– vocals * Gregg Gillis – music, production *

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– featured vocals *

Young Chris Christopher Francis Ries (born March 9, 1983), known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He rose to fame as one-half of the Philadelphia-based hip hop duo Young Gunz, which he formed with rapper Neef Buck in 2001. That same yea ...

– featured vocals

References

{{reflist 2014 EPs Girl Talk (musician) albums