Some of My Favorite Mixtapes

The term mixtape has a lot of definition, but from the perspective of hip-hop it tends to be an album that uses beats from other songs that the artist raps over.  This practice can be traced back to the early days of hip-hop when up-and-coming rappers would record their freestyles over recordings of other music like funk and jazz tracks.  With the cheap and easy recording process of cassette tapes rappers were able to replicate these tapes and distribute them for free at concert, and events in the hope of getting discovered.  

The cassette tape has since fallen out of favor, but instead we have the internet, which not only drops the price of the recording from cheap to free, but also makes the distribution global.  Because of this we are entering a golden age of mixtapes.  We have tons of artists both new and established dropping new material all the time to gain new listeners.  This means a lot of free music, and in an attempt to make this surplus of music more manageable I’ve included a list of some of my favorite mixtape artists and links to download their mixtapes.  

Chance The Rapper: From the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago, 21-year-old Chance, has made a huge splash in the last 2 years.  After releasing his “10 Days” mixtape in 2012, about a 10-day high school suspension the year before, he wound up on everyone’s rapper to watch list.  He followed up with 2013’s “Acid Rap” which critics loved even more.  He frequently mixes singing and rapping in his tracks, and draws from styles ranging from hip-hop, blues, soul and acid jazz.

Joey Bada$$: Joey Bada$$ is a 19-year-old independent rapper who is one of the most prominent members of Brooklyn’s Pro Era hip-hop collective.  Like Chance he has also released fantastic mixtapes in 2012 (“1999”) and 2013 (“Summer Knights”). His style is a combination of early 90’s hip-hop, as well as influential underground hip-hop artist like J Dilla and MF DOOM.  His first proper studio album is slated to come out in January.

Action Bronson: Former gourmet chef (yeah that’s not a typo) from Queens, New York turned rapper.  He has a similar vocal style to Ghostface Killah of The Wu-Tang Clan.  Since 2011 he has released several mixtapes that were collaborations with some fantastic producers like Party Supplies (“Blue Chips”, “Blue Chips 2”) and The Alchemist (“Rare Chandeliers”).  If you want to hear a rapper with the style of the Wu-Tang Clan who raps about food and college basketball then these are some mixtapes you should definitely check out.

Death Grips: Experimental hip-hop outfit formed in 2010 and disbanded earlier this year.  In that time they put out 4 albums, an EP, and a mixtape to major critical acclaim.  Their first release “Exmilitary” is their only mixtape, but most of their studio work is free to download as well.  This music is extremely experimental and combines hip-hop with various styles most notably noise rock and electronica.