An unexpected (I say that as someone removed from the industry for two weeks!) arrival from Game, his first since releasing The RED Album last summer to mixed reviews. With his next full LP, Fear is Victory’s Evolution, due later this year, Game sets things up with a huge 24-track mixtape that will certainly satisfy his fans until that album drops.
The features on this are certain to gain interest, reading like a who’s who of today’s mainstream hip-hop/R&B scene with Drake, Trey Songz, Meek Mill, Rick Ross and many more joining Game for the mixtape. The same applies on the production side, with a series of notable names involved alongside a couple of remixes of popular instrumentals. Grab the full project for free below.
27 new tracks from the now-free from prison Prodigy! Good to see him get back on his grind to deliver us Mobb Deep fans some music.
Haven’t had a chance to check this one out yet (just been made available today, so give me a chance!) but I’m sure quality wise it does the job. Production credits goes towards the likes of J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and Havoc, with features from French Montana, Cory Gunz and more. Download below.
The tagline to this mixtape reads ‘the album before the album’ and boy is that the truth. After recent impressive mixtapes from Rick Ross and Saigon, where the quality of material was as high/higher than most rapper’s albums, Maino follows up with an equally as impressive mixtape. 21 tracks and feature-heavy (Maino’s upcoming sophomore album will only have a couple features at the most!) there’s something for everyone here.
Great use of sampling of some classic lines from the epic TV series, The Wire. Real nice touch which gives the mixtape a concept feel. Visit the link below to go stream and download the mixtape!
Hosted by the venerable Terry Urban, Gilbere comes through with an unexpected mixtape, composed of unreleased songs, freestyles and remixes over the course of his short career thus far.
Gilbere is certainly one of OTU’s favourite upcoming rappers, and hopefully his consistency will carry over to this collection of rarities, whilst providing a good platform for him to really excel and break that glass ceiling this year. He’s joined by an excellent line-up of supporting artists, including established acts such as Pusha T and Lloyd Banks alongside frequent collaborators Sean Rose and Selina Carrera. Free grab of the 18-track project is available below.
19 (that’s right, nineteen!) new tracks from Saigon with the latest instalment of his Warning Shots mixtapes (I remember buying Warning Shots 1 in HMV back in 2003!).
Hosted by Just Blaze and a feature from ex-enemy Joe Budden, I anticipate this’ll be a good mixtape. Especially as the blogs have been praising the quality of the singles that Saigon had put out there from this tape. Grab it below.
King of the adlibs, and one of those rappers whose verses have a nasty habit of getting stuck in your head, the boss Rick Ross comes through with a bumper 19-track mixtape, made up of what I believe to mostly be brand new, original material to satisfy those disappointed by the delay on his God Forgives, I Don’t album.
Plenty of features for the mainstream crowd to lap up, including Drake (who apparently goes at Common on his verse), Kelly Rowland, the ubiquitous 2 Chainz and more, alongside some for the rest of us including Nas, Stalley and Styles P. Production-wise, there’s an interesting mix of established guys and new names (to me, at least), which should make for a nice diverse listen as some of those newcomers look to prove themselves. Free grab below.
Young Jeezy returns to give us a new mixtape, the sequel to the mixtape he dropped around three months ago. Fans have been impatiently waiting for him to drop his upcoming album, TM103, but this should alleviate fans just a little while longer.
TM103 is finally coming out on September the 20th! Go grab this 11-track mixtape below to warm yourself up to The Snowman.
Brand new work from someone who generally brings some real quality to his mixtape products, as Wale comes through with the latest addition to his lengthy catalogue.
He’s been on a decent run of form recently with his various verses, and the early response to this tape seems to suggest that consistency continues with this 18-track effort. The tracklist offers a taste of what to expect, with a few solid features and a few familiar tracks (Lacefrontin‘ and Let’s Chill, amongst others) as well as some new efforts that will hopefully be as diverse as those we’re already familiar with. Free grab available below.
I’m without a personal laptop, headphones, and iPod this week, so I can’t give a review of this mixtape just yet.
On the plus side, you know what to expect when it comes to these two. Statik Selektah has been consistently putting out solid mixtapes for years now and to add to that, Slaine has been on a mission as of late (as I mentioned here the other day), and will no doubt bring his own brand of Boston hip-hop to the Statik Selektah sound.
It’s also something to hold us over until A World With No Skies, and with features from Ill Bill, Termanology, and Action Bronson, fans can probably guess what they’re getting here.
I’ve been meaning to get this up for the last couple of days as new kid on the block Calez is starting to generate some buzz by not getting any buzz. Wait. What?
Calez dropped a mixtape a few months back entitled Is Calez Famous Yet?but was disappointed (as I’m sure most are) with the lack of support from the blogs. He recorded and shot this in response. Normally I would shun this kind of thing out of pure principle, but the music is very good. This joint is like something straight out of the early ’90s and I’ve read bloggers likening it to that of the Native Tongue’s collective which I can see.
My advice is much the same as my counterparts which is just keep putting out good material and be patient. The cream always rises to the top eventually.
For now, you can finally get hold of Calez’ mixtape here.
Game’s taken a lot of criticism lately, and not for unfound reasons; his Purp and Patron mixtape was weak, his Uncle Otis and Drug Test tracks perhaps ill conceived, general beat selection shoddy. I could go on.
All of the above reasons are good enough to justify people not bothering with this mixtape, but I think that would be a mistake. The stuff he’s been coming out with lately hasn’t all been bad, Pot Of Gold and Red Nation were both excellent in my book, and with this mixtape he seems to have taken heed of the criticism directed at the production on the Purp and Patron mixtape and stepped up considerably in that regard. Undoubtedly, Game on good beats is a completely different animal, and his more long-term fans will really like this. His long-awaited fourth LP is out in a few weeks too and, on the basis of this mixtape, it could actually be up to the high standards of his previous albums.
You can download it and check out the tracklisting over here.
Today is probably the most exciting and fulfilling moment of my musical career. I am proud to announce the release of my free mixtape Leap Year. I began writing Leap Year when I decided to leave my job at Google and follow my passion. The thirteen track album is a look into my world and what it means to step out of your comfort zone. I wanted Leap Year to mirror my life and experiences–it’s fun, crazy, sarcastic, and introspective– its me growing up on record.
As mentioned a few days ago, Hoodie’s certainly one to look out for this year and I fully expect this to be a breakout project for the upcoming rapper. There’s an accessibility to his sound that makes him very friendly to casual and mainstream listeners, and he has the intelligence and potential to be a good rapper in addition to that. Get on the bandwagon early and grab the mixtape (for free) at Hoodie’s place below.
Got my sweaty little mitts (it’s been incredibly humid in Barcelona) on Act Proof’s latest free offering in association with DJBooth.net and some other people. As I tweeted an hour ago, it’s well worth getting your hands on it too if you’re really into your hip-hop as it’s got solid lyricism and enjoyable production in abundance.
“The project features 18 original joints from emcees Sundown and Enigma, including reader-approved leak “Get It Done.”
Joining Actual Proof on the guest tip throughout Still Hotter Than July are Thee Tom Hardy, Sean Boog,Rapsody, Chuuwee, GQ, Drique London, Median and Bluu Suede. In addition to instrumentals by 9th Wonder and Enigma the set features beats by fellow Soul Council members E. Jones, Ka$h, Khrysis and Amp.”
The Joe Budden approved Mz Bratt brings us a brand new mixtape to enjoy! Featuring the likes of Wiley, Ed Sheeran and Dot Rotten, it’s got some heavy-hitters to supplement Mz Bratt’s own unique style.
First impressions of this mixtape: I’m liking the production an awful lot, the tracks that are dub-influenced in particular I enjoyed thoroughly and tracks like Make It Rain (freestyle), Get Dark and Speeding proves this girl can add some rapping substance to do the production justice.
Head over to her Facebook page to not only see the tracklist in full, but also grab this mixtape for free!
I guess this is an apology for the much delayed Carter IV album. Had assumed this mixtape would be just full of throwaway tracks (in which case, I would have told Wayne to stuff his apology) but looking at the tracklist, he’s rapping over some of the recent biggest hits in the hip hop circuit.
That makes this mixtape worth checking out in my book.
Today finally sees the release of the much anticipated début EP from producer Dan Kent. Music 2000 contains 13 addictive instrumentals for your ears to overdose on, and if you recall, we posted one of the tracks from this a little while back, History Of Pain, which is a great indicator towards of how good the EP is.
Having given it a quick listen I can verify that the quality is backed up by tracks such as L.I.A.A, Mr Cool Ice, Man On Fire, Dry Mouth and Kriminal, and you really can’t go wrong by acquiring this EP (for free no less!) over at ukrapmusic.com. With a mixtape from Dan Kent containing some of his (and your!) favourite UK hip-hop and grime artists to follow soon, those of you who’re into the UK scene are in for a treat.
“Summertime is here once again. The weather is hot. And girls are dressing less (lol). What a perfect time to release part 2 of the definitive summertime soundtrack: Jazzy Jeff & Mick Boogie: Summertime 2!
The first volume from last summer has been downloaded and streamed over 500K times and this new one promises to reach even more people! Laid-back, beach-friendly, top-down, barbeque-rific music from De La Soul, Stevie Wonder, The Fresh Prince (of course!), The Turtles, Slum Village, The Pharcyde, Q-Tip, Slick Rick, The Isley Brothers and more. Download or stream it NOW by clicking here.”
Still waiting for that album that will define your summer? Try your ears with this compilation from Mick Boogie and DJ Jazzy Jeff, which should quench your thirst for now. You can do that by clicking the above link which will take you to their site to download the mixtape (or stream it). Their mixtape for last summer went down a treat, so I imagine this one will too.
Very pleased to get some new material from Gilbere, having finally exhausted his absolutely superb Eyes of Veritas mixtape from back in February. It surprises me that he still gets slept on given the diversity and depth of his rapping ability, but hopefully projects of the aforementioned mixtape’s quality will ensure he gets his credit eventually, hence I’ve got hopes and expectations pinned on this one!
Don’t know much about Sean Rose, though his one feature on Gilbere’s mixtape was on my favourite track from the entire project, Tonight, which certainly bodes well for this EP. Forte’s frequent vocal collaborator Selina Carrera also makes a few appearances on the EP, and she’s certainly not to be ignored either, possessing a hugely captivating voice that suggests she’s also one to watch. Free grab below.
Jersey up-and-comer The ILLZ has hooked up with DJBooth.net to present ILLZSENTIAL, a street album covering the highlights of his musical career to date.
“Released to commemorate the two-year anniversary of his debut project, This is…(The W.C.A. Session EP), the project features 15 previously-released records from the freestyle series alumnus, as well as five bonus remixes. ILLZ flies solo throughout ILLZSENTIAL, flowing over the boardwork of Coldcut & DJ Krush, ILL Tal, Rekevin, Eliot Lipp and many more.”
This is a great project for people yet to sample the brilliance of The ILLZ or even the hardcore fans like me who seemed to be missing a few of these tracks!
The hugely anticipated mixtape from Jean Greasy arrives right on time, and I’m sure there’ll be no shortage of takers on this free 11-track project.
It’s fair to say Jean’s really developed her reputation and fanbase with her entertaining tweets, being very responsive to fans as well as broadcasting her natural wit, and certainly stands up as one of hip-hop’s true beneficiaries of Twitter. This project comes at a great time to capitalise on that growing buzz, and the releases we’ve heard from it so far suggest the whole tape should live up to the hype. Free grab and stream available below.
Staying true to my half-year’s resolution to listen to more artists I’ve not previously heard of, here’s my first offering in the form of Oklahoma spitter Jabee and his free EP in association with DJ Booth and IM KING. Aside from that new and fresh styled lyricism akin to artists such as Elzhi there’s some top production work on display here too all tidily packaged together with some crisp artwork (upcoming artists: you’d be surprised at the difference it makes between ‘play’ or ‘skip’).
Hit the play button below for my favourite from the EP: a Nas/Herb McGruff sampling little gem.
I wasn’t really sold on James Blake having listened to his heavily-overrated album, but in isolation some of his sombre productions were quite enjoyable. Pair them up with one of the more melodic, catchy rapper-singers in the game and there’s potential for a solid synergy of styles.
From the sections I have listened to, this did indeed work quite well both musically and contextually, with the general mood of the productions working in tandem with the original vibe of Drake’s vocals. Naturally, there are points where it doesn’t quite come together, but that’s the nature of the mashup ‘genre’ and still is worth checking out for the high points. Stream the full thing below, and/or download it at this link.
There isn’t much to say about this that I didn’t say a few posts below. The reaction to the first Royal Flush was mixed, yet that doesn’t seem to have stopped a tide of expectation from washing over this one, and from the track dropped off with Big Sean yesterday, we could be in for something enjoyable.
A few good features on this one, with Trey Songz, Yelawolf and B.o.B and others making appearances, and similarly a few solid producers are on board with CyHi here. He’s had a somewhat meteoric rise from obscurity to popularity by virtue of signing with G.O.O.D. Music, and it seems now is the time to deliver on the buzz. Mixtape can be grabbed for free below.
CyHi Da Prynce-Royal Flush 2
Inevitably, there will be a ton of tribute tracks and mixtapes surfacing in the aftermath of the untimely passing of Gil, but if you’re to check out one you could do an awful lot worse than go with Cookin’ Soul’s effort. They’re simply superb at putting remixes together, and I have faith they’ll do justice to both the quality of Heron’s back catalogue, and justice to the legacy of the man himself.
I expect many of the younger heads will be largely disaffected by the passing of Gil having had minimal exposure to his music, hence I’d recommend this should be checked out by those of you in that category, as inevitably Cookin’ Soul will put a modern twist onto his many classics. Free grab below.
The husky-voiced rapper returns to the limelight with his latest mixtape effort, hooking up with Drama for a 20-track mixtape with loads of original material.
It has to be said that this wasn’t released to much fanfare. Whether that’s because it was relatively unexpected, or because fans are impatient with the fact his TM103 album is repeadtedly delayed is unclear, but we’ll see if the Snowman can reel those heads back in with this one. Few solid features on this one too, grab the tape for free below.
New work from the Chiddy Bang duo, coming through with a 15-track mixtape to satisfy the fans. Anyone else feel like they really missed the boat on dropping their album? This time last year their buzz was enormous, and they’ve possibly waited a little too long to release that debut album.
We’ll see how that pans out, but for now be sure to grab this mixtape and see if they can resurrect that hype. From a quick glance at the tracklist, I recognised Baby Roulette and Heatwave, though it appears the version of Heatwave on the tape has a few additional guests, namely Trae Tha Truth and frequent OFWGKTA collaborator Casey Veggies. Grab the mixtape below.
“After the release of his gold-selling 2009 LP The Last Kiss, Jadakiss promised fans he’d put out Top 5, Dead or Alive—his fourth studio album. Problems with Def Jam lead to the album being indefinitely shelved with no release date in the new future. However, Jada is not letting label woes get in the way of releasing new music.
The warmly titled, I Love You (A Dedication To My Fans), features guest appearances from Rick Ross, Styles P, Trae The Truth, Teyana Taylor, Emanny, and much more.
Download and listen to the 11-track mixtape two days before it’s official release May 24 release.
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