Freddy Will

Wilfred Kanu Jr., known by his stage name Freddy Will, is a Sierra Leonean American author, music producer, publisher, recording artist, and philanthropist best known for releasing three consecutive albums with accompanying books. He launched his music career by mixing hip-hop with jazz, calypso, r&b, classical music, and Afrobeat. He writes books on history, philosophy, biography, poetry, personal development, and fiction. He is best known for his singles "City Boy" (2008), "Providence feat. Carvin Winans" (2009), "Endurance" (2010), "Mandingo Love" (2012), "2 Passports" (2014), "Livin' N' Toronto feat. Kao Denero" (2014), "Girl from Happy Hill" (2017), "IV U feat. King Boss LAJ" (2020) and "Natural Light" (2024). He has also written several books in Europe.

Early life
Wilfred Kanu Jr. was born in Brookfields, Freetown, to parents who hailed from Sierra Leone. At 2, he relocated with his parents to Monrovia, Liberia. There, he discovered music, theater performance, and literary expression. As a teenager, he navigated through the tumultuous Liberian and Sierra Leonean civil conflicts, residing in Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Senegal. Eventually, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Toronto, Canada
In 2006, Freddy Will traveled to Toronto, Canada, to record his debut album. After revisiting the country a few times, he filed for permanent residency there. While living there he recorded a mixtape, two additional independent studio albums, an EP and released them off his independent record labels, Ghetto Breed Entertainment and Swift Nightz Entertainment. He also started his freelance writing career, launched his blog website, and authored three books that were self-published by Soul Asylum Poetry & Publishing, as well as his publishing company, Freddy Will Publishing in Ontario, Canada. All three books were self-published in a book plus album concomitant. He also launched The Freddy Will Hope Foundation.

Literary, music, and theater influences
During his interview with award-winning Ghanaian journalist, Jefferson Sackey, Freddy Will stated that he started rapping when he was still living in Liberia. He credited Kool Moe Dee, LL Cool J., Queen Latifah, Ice-T, Naughty By Nature, legendary Sierra Leone rapper, Jimmy B, Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, Scarface, Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B. I. G., Nas, The Luniz and the LOX as some of his primary musical influences in hip-hop. For his writing, he credits his father, John Grisham, Shakespeare, Langston Hughes, Caresse Crosby, Maya Angelou and Pacesetter Novels as his primary influences and Idris Elba, Ice Cube, John Singleton and Spike Lee, his influences in theater and film.

Healthy Food For Thought: Good Enough to Eat
In 2010, Freddy Will was among several musicians, music producers, spoken word artists, chefs and children's book authors who participated in a children's compilation album consisting of 60 selections of prose, poems, and songs about food, nutrition, and self-awareness that can be used as part of a childhood obesity awareness curriculum and to promote awareness for Type 2 Diabetes among school children. This album was executive produced in Philadelphia by the New York Coalition for Healthy School Foods. In 2011, the Recording Academy nominated the Double CD charity album for a Grammy Award.

Albums

 * While I'm Still Young – The Talking Drums (2008)
 * While I'm Still Young – The Talking Drums 1.2v (2009)
 * Dark Horse From Romarong – a City of Kings (2010)
 * Laboramus Exspectantes (2014)
 * Views From The 7 (2017)
 * African Black: The Unreleased Anthems & Ballads (2020)

EP

 * City of Kings: RELOADED (2012)

Mixtape

 * Stay True (2006)

Collaboration

 * Healthy Food for Thought: Good Enough to Eat (2010)

Paperback

 * My Book of Chrymes – released August 11, 2009 (ISBN 0-981-21601-3)
 * The Dark Road from Romarong – released on October 10, 2010 (ISBN 1-926-87609-1)
 * Hip Hop Kruzade - Path of a Legend – published November 22, 2014 (ISBN 1-926-87650-4)
 * My Book of Chrymes (Definitive Edition) – released January 11, 2024 (ISBN 979-8-89269-294-6)
 * The Dark Road from Romarong (Definitive Edition) – released on January 25, 2024 (ISBN 979-8-89298-094-4)
 * Hip Hop Kru Zade: Path beyond clichés – published February 21, 2024 (ISBN 979-8-89372-905-4)
 * Crime Rhymez – published April 25, 2024 (ISBN 979-8-89443-841-2)

eBooks

 * The Sandmann's Journal Vol. 1 – published June 6, 2016 (ISBN 1-483-57305-2)
 * The Sandmann's Journal Vol. 2 – published November 15, 2016 (ISBN 978-1-483-58654-0)
 * The Sandmann's Journal Vol. 3 – published August 8, 2018 (ISBN 978-1-644-40966-4)
 * The Sandmann's Journal Vol. 4 – published October 10, 2018 (ISBN 978-1-644-67715-5)
 * The Sandmann's Journal Vol. 5 – published March 5, 2019 (ISBN 978-1-645-16095-3)
 * The Sandmann's Journal Vol. 6 – published February 22, 2020 (ISBN 978-1-648-26437-5)
 * The Sandmann's Journal Vol. 7 – published February 22, 2022 (ISBN 979-8-891-21460-6)