Frederick B. Williams (born February 13, 1966), better known by his stage name Freedom Williams, is an American
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
, singer and songwriter, who gained fame as the lead vocalist on
C+C Music Factory
C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''.
History
"C" ...
's biggest hits.
Career
Born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
in 1966, Williams went to school to become an audio engineer and worked as a janitor at New York's Quad Recording Studios. At the time
Robert Clivillés
Robert Manuel Clivillés (; born July 30, 1964 from
David Cole frequently used this studio. Clivillés and Cole heard and liked Williams' baritone timbre and rhythmic flow and they recruited Williams to rap on their 1990 debut album '' Gonna Make You Sweat'' as part of Clivillés and Cole’s music group
C+C Music Factory
C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''.
History
"C" ...
. Williams' rapping can be prominently heard on many of the songs on the album, including ''Billboard'' Hot 100 No. 1 "
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)
"Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" is a hit song by C+C Music Factory. It was released in late 1990 as the debut and lead single from their first album, '' Gonna Make You Sweat'' (1990). The song is sung by singer Martha Wash and rapper ...
", as well as other major hits "
Here We Go (Let's Rock & Roll)
"Here We Go (Let's Rock & Roll)" is a song by American dance music group C+C Music Factory, released on March 3, 1991 as the second single from their debut album, '' Gonna Make You Sweat'' (1990). The song was a success in the US, reaching number ...
Hot Dance Music/Club Play
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...
chart. According to C+C Music Factory founder Clivillés he and Cole had asked him in 1994 to work on new C+C Music Factory material but Williams refused.
Williams' solo debut, ''Freedom'' was released on June 1, 1993 on
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. The single "Voice of Freedom" peaked at No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1993, and its follow-up "Groove Your Mind" also charted on the Club Play chart, peaking at No. 33. In 2004 he enjoyed chart success again in the UK with his single "Sweat the Remixes" on RMD Entertainment. The song got national airplay and peaked at No. 8 on the UK Dance Charts that year. Williams contributed all the rap vocals for Eurodance act
Masterboy
Masterboy is a German Eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, ...
's digital-only best-of-release "US Album" from 2006.
Williams was the majority owner of the
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...
's
Atlanta Krunk
The Augusta Groove was a team in the Premier Basketball League that previously played in the Continental Basketball Association and the modern American Basketball Association. Formerly, the team was known as the Charlotte Krunk in the ABA, wher ...
franchise.
In the late 1990s Williams started to worldwide perform shows under the C+C Music Factory, or a variation of that name.The Depressing Story of America’s Favorite Pump-Up Jam
VICE
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...
(October 4, 2016) In 2005 C+C Music Factory founding member Clivillés labeled this "the biggest insult in the world". In 2003, Freedom Williams acquired the federal trademark to use the name "C and C Music Factory" for live performances. Williams toured under that name until renewing his trademark to "C & C Music Factory" in 2014. As of 2014, Williams has owned the trademark rights to the name for all related efforts, not just live performances.US Trademark Office: Serial Number 86438725, Registration Number 4775972
* "Another Night"
* "Into the Future", a collaboration with Mark E Walker (who has a hit with Stevie B)
See also
*
List of number-one hits (United States)
This is a list of songs that have peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the magazine's national singles charts that preceded it. Introduced in 1958, the Hot 100 is the pre-eminent singles chart in the United States, currently mon ...
*
List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on '' Billboard'' magazine's weekly singles chart(s). This list spans from the issue dated January 1, 1955 to the present. Prior to the creation of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ''Bil ...
*
List of number-one dance hits (United States)
This is a list of number-one dance hits as recorded by ''Billboard'' magazine's Dance Club Songs chart – a weekly national survey of popular songs in U.S. dance clubs. It began on October 26, 1974, under the title ''Disco Action'' chart. It is c ...
*
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on ''Billboard magazine's'' Dance Club Songs chart. ''Billboard'' began ranking dance music on the week ending October 26, 1974, and this is the standard music popularity chart in th ...