The Year of the Mixtape

May 27, 2010

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Consig’s Corner: A Weekly Column

I don’t know what it is, but I can’t really remember a time when mixtapes were more prominent than now. A lot of people, to me, have run after 50’s model of doing other artists’ songs and beats over. Drake might not like it, but I liked it then, and I love it now. 50 may be the king of this model, but other artists are definitely doing their thing with re-doing other artists’ songs and making them into their own. This takes a lot of creativity. Maybe you want to sound like the original song, and maybe you don’t.

There are others who have decided to just have their own beats also, and make a mixtape into a free album of sorts. Lloyd Banks’ V5 is a prime example of this, as well as his other classic mixtapes from his series. Either way, creativity is at a high level. It might be with the beats more, or just with the lyrics. Because it’s so much more of a free version of expression compared to albums, lyricists can just go off! I think Fabolous controls that example where his album may have lyricism, but its more catchy hooks and uptempo beats to make it sound more commercialized. But Fab knows when he throws on the mixtape hat, it’s time to let loose. Without smoking, listening to Banks’, Fab, and Kiss’ metaphors get me just as sourfaced!

Somehow, 2010 has become the year of the mixtape, and I haven’t heard a bad one yet this year. Is it that easy to make a classic?

Even though Banks’ V5 was rather early for the season, dropping in 2009, it was still a banger. Classic.

Then of course, the highly anticipated Funeral Service by Fab that everyone waited almost up until the world ended to hear. Very rich in songs, beats, and Fab’s lyrics speak for themselves. If you didn’t hear it yet, even if you’re a female, you have been living under a boulder! Classic.

Jadakiss punched all of us in the mouth with the third installment of The Champ is Here. This was something I personally needed to hear, since he’s a throwback to the time of B.I.G., and like he said “Aint have one weak verse since the 90’s.” There aint much more like son left. Classic.

Jae Millz, the Harlem-bred lyricists is definitely bodyin shit with his The Flood series. That old school flow and slick wordplay is a killer, and his songs are murderous too! The Flood and the Flood Continues…Classics. (Them snippets be killing me though).

Jeezy released the sequel to his classic Trap or Die mixtape this year also, with them crazy beats, crazy stories, and that good ‘ol Jeezy flow that no one could mimic if they tried to. Get ‘Em Yuuuuunhhg! I still wished that Drama could’ve been on that, but Cannon definitely did the damn thing. Classic.

Ross’ A Timeless Audemars Piguet Collection does sound fuckin’ expensive, and like it should be paid for, but it’s cool that we didn’t have to pay! Nonetheless, it’s still another tape that was flawless and raw, as Fab would call himself… Classic.

Cam’Ron and Vado dropped their Boss of All Bosses 2.5 with DJ Drama callin’ the plays for ‘em. Another classic joint.

I just gotta say shout out to DJ Drama too, that dude is like the voice of the mixtape circuit right now. I don’t know if it’s the nicknames he gives himself or what, but that dude is hilarious and he just makes shit hotter…

Even a Houston rapper named Settle 4 Les, who, I hadn’t heard of until Twitter, threw me some shit I couldn’t believe in his self-titled mixtape. I don’t know where that production came from, but it brought me back to a time when rap was RAP in the nineties. Fire.

Maybe, we should just start calling these shits something other than mixtapes, like pre-albums or something, I don’t know. They’re starting to really take over. I remember one day in Brooklyn, chillin’ in an IMAX department store, they started playing Fab’s “Body Ya” on the radio and I couldn’t believe it! I don’t think I’d ever heard a mixtape song on the radio in broad day. Then Jeezy dropped a video for his “Lose My Mind” track with Plies off of Trap or Die 2. The game has definitely changed. I’m starting to believe that albums are going out of style and the mixtape game is where its at. Soon it may get to the point where an artist can release mixtapes, and make his money off of doing shows, (like most do now). Nobody is buying albums, and I think the consensus would agree that they like the free music better any way. Well, we’ll see what happens. Until then, smoke, drink, and bump these shits in ya whip!

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