22 tracks · 68 min
40oz. to Freedom is the 1992 debut album by the Southern California ska-punk band Sublime released by Skunk Records and again by MCA. 40oz. to Freedom received mixed critical reviews upon its first release, but has earned an improved public perception since. Sublime would not achieve any mainstream success until the release of their eponymous album, two months after the overdose death of their lead singer and guitarist, Bradley Nowell, in 1996 (see 1996 in music). As of 2011, the album has certified sales of two million copies in the US, and is Sublime's second best-selling studio album there (the self-titled album leads with six million). Along with The Offspring's 1994 album Smash, 40oz. to Freedom is one of the highest-selling independently released albums of all time.[citation needed] 40oz. to Freedom's sound blended various forms of Jamaican music, including ska ("Date Rape"), rocksteady ("54-46 That's My Number"), roots reggae ("Smoke Two Joints") and dub ("Let's Go Get Stoned", "D.J.s") with British and American hardcore punk ("New Thrash", "Hope"), and hip hop (as in "Live at E's").
