Free Black! self-titled debut project 


Free Black! is a Hip-Hop collective consisting of Hip-Hop musician Floco Torres & Producer/Drummer Holbrook Riles III aka HR3. The Free Black! mantra is that "There isn't one way to be black." There are many stereotypes with blackness specifically that suggest that we aren't multi-faceted people & through our music we attack those stereotypes head on. In embracing our individuality we can learn to be more accepting of ourselves & where we come from as well as our peers. 
The collective was created in 2017 through collaboration between both artists. Their self-titled album will be released on October 26th via Bandcamp & Soundcloud.

Produced by HR3 
Performers: Floco Torres, HR3 
Mixing/Mastering: Nate Bucher (Akron Recording Company) 
Composers: HR3, Floco Torres, Nate Bucher 
Additional Instrumentation: Egan Ammerman 
Artwork: Floco Torres

Free Black!

By Free Black!
Produced by HR3

From Willingboro to Highland Square 
I been a very good sport haven't I this year 
I'm having a heaven sized career 
Slightly hesitant of putting sharpies under brassiere's 
I sign (on) & keep it moving 
Unclutter ya life and it gets less confusing 
My (girl) coming (home now) 
Then we gon walk to the movies 
She think it's sold out & I tell her we good you gotta.. 

The country's up in flames we just keep making fire 
I try to keep the wins fairly quiet tho it's mainly 
I know the last thing you needs another rapper bragging that his chick is badder and they're doing way better than.. 
My jackets from Japan I got the link for ya 
Next time you see me I might bring back some Diadora's 
I been putting way more focus in appearance 
The weight of the words are 
Live inside of filters but we speaking without one 
I can tell you ain't been punched in the mouth much but 
For your sake I would think about the future 
You don't think these tweets really disappear do ya? 
Identities online the new currency 
Telling me I got too many albums I tell em look at Curren$y 
Burning out is is never gonna worry me 
The stars write these raps I just deliver em vertically 

I rep the city wherever I'm at 
We dropped the You! video before the summer 
If you ain't signed they saying you on the come up 
Don't tell me where I'm tryna go keep strictly 
Homie I'm (on) I ain't gotta fake flex 
I will be taking 100 bars to Flex tho 
Scratch it off the bucket list 
You don't know who you fuckin wit 
Creative servant till I'm dead & 
I'm re-design how the media do news 
Inspirational rooms with quotes all on the walls 
And we gon build an infrastructure like Europe 
That treats artists better so that we can work better 
If Kanye is Walt Disney I'm Floyd Norman 
I made it out The Jungle Book into the 
So come 
The Torres One project in full effect 
This world is done we on to the next so

Surrender! (produced by HR3)

Nobody move and nobody get obliterated 
I'm here for the bright lights like when you enter Vegas 
And nah I aint never been 
But Google can enhance imaginations 
Yet yall look the same you could be neighbors 
That didn't know there's possibly a chance that you're related 
All them thoughts you've got left over yea you can save em 
And all the h*** yall talkin about wanting relations 
Just to fill their Father's seat at the dinner table 
I'm not here for your admiration 
I'm here to make you tally up the time you're wasting trying to be a star 
Catch me in the bars 
Staring at the screen writing lines in my head that pose like Draymond Green 
I had to learn this game has no roles or teams 
The only way to make it past the local scene is if the flow creates dopamine 
I hope you got the message 
Consider this last bullet a part of your severance

Get Down! (Produced by HR3)

You should already know its time to mobilize 
Whether walking or motorized voices loud shoulders high 
A bougie board in the water cannot control the tide 
And the bitch can't kill it if you control the vibe 
I took notes and learned how to get em notorized 
Never be the guy that knows the guy be the guy 
I'm showing up when I'm ready to buy 
Still chasin Ready to Die & yea I might be 
Somewhere along the way I got caught in the world wind 
While they professing theories of the worlds end 
Rappers going for dap and catch the Rock Bottom 
Turn the video off I know the cops shot em 

I'm tired of your jokes and false hope and Fall clothes 
500 for a sweater with holes in it so I can look like I didn't try 
Who would've thought back then our self-esteem was actually high 
Your uninformed political views 
Blaming the media for issues that started when our Dad's was gone 
So when you grow up and do something fucked up 


We should already see the signs in cloud formations in the sky 
God ain't coming He's been inside you the whole time 
A nose job won't protect you from a nosedive 
Your spirit tryna shed ya baggage let it downsize 
We're being spoon fed drama with the plane noise 
Whole diet turned soy now I've gotta new pain in my deltoid 
Over the counter medication no insurance supposed to make it 
But somewhere inside the black and white spiral 
A glimmer of hope just went viral 
Inspirational quotes put with a montage of my idol 
Next to vid of a black man that was titled 

I'm tired of these apps that all do the same shit 
Tired of hearing people say engagement 
That's based in nothing that has to do people actually engaging 
We just throwing voices in the matrix 
You should think about ya reputation online 
Talk to people like you would when you outside 
If somebody catch you with the over hand right they'll be like 


My God I gotta be one of the illest ones alive 
At giving a glimpse of how we all should feel inside 
Living all alone but surprised that I Phyllis Hy 
Man I just hope when I go that somebody cry/Beats karate chopped/Rhymes the sound that you hear when a body drop 
From 20 stories that you heard about an artist and the deal that they prolly got 
Give our lives to an art that can possibly flop 
But some of us get a chance to make it outta the world wind 
Industry crying broke and the budget thin 
Got you chasing the trends to have a hot week 
2nd album comes around and they lookin like... 

I think it's all a hoax/Independence is sold 
The biggest fuckin culture on the globe 
And we let some outsiders take a bulk of the control 
And sell the vision back without the box or the remote 
Bunch of folks tryna network without the code 
Follow me on IG bro I'll hit you back when I charge my phone 
I Samsung in they face and tell em no

You Should! (Produced by HR3)

Tell you really what's going on 
Feelings of falling off but holding on for dear life 
Like I wrote a letter to it professing all of my short comings 
I've had my share but nothing Columbus Short 
No comparisons of struggle just an observation 
I never took solace in violence on the streets that raised me 
I never put stock in people that promise to pay me 
I catch myself staring at my phone a lot lately hoping that you 
Down like I thought you would eventually 
I'm well aware of what's in-store for me 
I'll leave the door open so you keep taking more of me 
As you slowly chase your way back to your origin 
Cause it's easier to fill the void 
Without addressing all the noise 
If I'm honest I saw it all before it 
Came to fruition 
Sort of a premonition 
Uncontrollable hustlers ambition 
Gotta drawer full of some drive's from Sandisk 
At this point I wonder what I'm capable of 
I look up to my idols 
But I don't wanna meet em 
It's cool till you grow up and they know that you can beat em 
They jack ya style just to sell a couple songs 
You noticed they was washed all along Dear Mama why you 
See the good in folks 
I'm hoping that you just absent minded 
Not taking advantage of my kindness 
You don't know where I come from 
I've got favors to call if we really is on one 
Just get back to the music 
I'm praying everyday there's a reason that I do this 
If I'm just another kid chasing false dreams 
I'm asking that the Lord gives me strength right before he bout to

Let Me Down Easy! (Produced by HR3)

Why do we scream and shout? 
What is we talking bout? 

Why do we fuss and fight? 
What we gon say tonight? 

Tonight I thought about telling you how I really feel 
Without considering the repercussions 
Spirit beat like the African percussionist 
In a grade school when they lied about our heritage 
Supposedly I'm outspoken like Popovich 
More or less it's my opinion aint the populace 
I'm more concerned with the babies out in Flint 
Instead It's tweets on CNN like 


Why do we scream and shout? 
What is we talkin bout? 
Why do we fuss and fight? 
What we gon say tonight? 

What we talking bout real shit or we talkin bout rhymes 
You talkin millions of voices that's online 
Giving data for free to the companies tracking every single sound 
I liked the wrong pic & my girl ain't around 
Now my ads promoting single women in my town 
It's alot of single moms apparently wanting b**** 
It's alot of people round here that wish I wasn't 
And Id never know until it's coming 
Gotta journalist mind like Rocket in the City of God 
Standing between a battle I'm just tryna get the shot 

Why do we scream and shout? 
What is we talkin bout? 
Why do we fuss and fight? 
What we gon say tonight? 

Visions, Visions

Visions! feat HR3 (Produced by HR3)

MLK once said that “we must accept our finite circumstances, but we must never lose infinite hope”. This sentiment rings especially true for Ohio-based artist Floco Torres, whose struggles earlier in life have paved the way for the deeply personal, grounded, and motivational lyricism that has evolved into a robust career in hip-hop.

Citing influences from the likes of Jay Z, Biggie, Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi, and St. Vincent, Torres' sound is a collation of the old school boom bap hip-hop sprinkled with pop and indie influences. Both lyrically and emotionally, his music pivots around themes of motivation, faith, and resilience, drawing on his struggles with homelessness in his teens and his upbringing around addiction. With intricate flows and deeply relatable wordplay at the very core of his sound, Floco Torres creates an intimate musical experience that simulates the feeling that Floco is speaking directly to you.

As a child, Torres played the violin, drums, and trumpet. His parents also encouraged him to journal, with this gradually evolving into a love for writing lyrics when he first discovered hip-hop. Now with 24 unique musical projects to his name, including involvement with a hip-hop group called ‘Free Black!’ with producer/drummer HR3 and Akron, Floco Torres is showing no signs of slowing down. Torres' career took flight in 2011 when he received a $25,000 grant to produce the '10,000 Hours EP' w/ Grammy Nominated Producer/Percussionist Steve Moretti. Additionally, his song 'Cherry Street' went on to win 6 ADDY awards and a Mosaic award for diversity.

Since his debut release 'Another World' in 2006, he has played shows with Gym Class Heroes, Chester French, Slick Rick, Raekwon, KRS-One, Black Moon, Black Milk, Desiigner, and Amine.