Street Dreams

Mixtapes have been around since the 80’s, Ron J and Kid Capri were the radio before radio got hip hop. Mixatpes were an underground thing, it was a system that benefited everyone, that kept hip-hop connected to its roots. Queen's own DJ Clue popularized the mixtape format. By breaking a lot of major New York artists at the time. Artists like DMX, Cam’ron, Cannabis, and Biggie established their foundation from the streets through Clue’s tapes. DJ Clue not only dictated the sound of the streets, but also what was hot on the radio.

One instance in which DJ Clue helped swing the momentum for an up-and-coming is when Irv Gotti introduced him to JAY-Z, who had a reputation as a battle-tested lyricist, but had yet to separate himself as a star or achieve chart success.That changed the following year, when Irv Gotti presented him with “Ain’t No Nigga,” a song JAY-Z had recorded with Foxy Brown. After putting the song on his mixtape, the song would blow up in the clubs, as well the radio. This notched the Brooklyn hustler his first hit and sparked a relationship that changed the role of the DJ forever.

Clue’s tapes revolutionized how mixtapes were created. Instead of a Dj set, mixtapes were exclusive projects. Rappers would spit 16 bars on beats that weren’t theirs, until 50 came in the game. Instead of just spitting a 16, 50 would re-do the original hook and make his own version. 50’s era began with “How to Rob.” A track where he describes robbing a long list of rappers. It gained a lot of attention from rappers for its namedroping. But to 50 it was a way of letting the rap game who he was. 50 quickly became a polarizing figure in the NYC rap scene, his reckless persona was making him serious enemies in the music industry, and in the streets. After 50 got shot 9 times, he was dropped by his label Colombia. 50 refused to stop working and linked with Dj Whoo Kid, Sha Money Xl, and brought his homies, LLoyd Banks, Tony Yayo: G Unit. They recorded freestyles in Sha’s basement, which ended up becoming the first installment in the G Unit series, 50 Cent Is The Future.

As for distribution, long-time G-Unit affiliate DJ Whoo Kid remembers the grassroots approach to the A&R they employed. “I would go to the bodega and be like “I’m gonna leave like 20 tapes here.” Cause’ the whole drug culture is connected with 50 Cent”, Whoo Kid told Mass Appeal. “They love his music. So, I’m like “If these guys are coming here to buy drugs, buy weed, get their nickel bags and shit, there’s a tape on the window right there. Hey, and you get a tape too. I’ll get a bag of chips, a turkey sandwich, and a G-Unit tape. His follow up 'Guess Who's Back?,' a compilation of hits from past street albums and mixtapes defined street essence, songs like “Too Hot” featuring Nas and Nature, and “Power Of The Dollar” flooded the streets. That flood ended up flowing to Detroit, where Eminem caught attention and signed 50 to Shady Records under Dr.Dre’s Aftermath. With the aid of Em & Dre, 50 Cent became one of the world’s best-selling rappers, especially after his record-breaking first major-label album “Get Rich or Die Tryin.” The project debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 12 million copies in the first year of its release, and named the best album of 2003.

50 flow like Slick Rick, delivery like GZA, relatability like Biggie, and a “I don’t give a fuck” attitude can be found throughout the album. With hit singles like “In Da Club” and “21 Questions'' both topping the Billboard Hot 100, and album cuts like “What Up Gangsta,” “Many Men (Wish Death),” “Heat,” and “Back Down” circulating in the streets, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ proved to be the biggest album of 03 and was acclaimed an instant classic. 50 cent broke hip hop decades old mode for mixtapes, turning mixtapes into street albums, and empowering rappers to cut their own path to stardom.

The impact of this massive shift was immediate across the country, and no city would use it to greater effect than Atlanta. Where mixtapes would facilitate the birth of a whole new subgenre of hip hop; Trap Music. Trap is a lifestyle, one that perpetuates. The term itself is more than appropriate for the climate in which it was born, in that it is difficult to escape. Trap music is unique in a way that it speaks to the cultural and economic disparities that exist in the Black community of both past and present. It details the bleak standard of living in the hood and the observations of life in the streets. One of the architects of the trap sound is T.I had spent most of his life serving in the “trap.” He tried to change his ways and go straight by becoming a rapper, signing with Arista Records, changing his name from Tip to T.I., and dropping his first album, I'm Serious, in 01. But his major label debut would prove to be a major disappointment, one that failed to highlight T.I.’s southern appeal and his skill as a wordsmith. With one foot still in the trap, Tip contemplated quitting rap for good. In retrospect, the 2000s were the decade of Southern hip-hop, artists like Lil Flip, Outkast, Ludacris, Lil Jon, and Cash Money started to establish southern hip hop into pop culture. T.I saw this as motivation and

decided to keep rapping, hitting the mixtape scene hard with his In Da Streets series. T.I. created a buzz through his series, and capitalized on the buzz with the release of his Atlantic debut, Trap Muzik, an album that would alter the playing field and impression of Atlanta rap. Released on August 19, 2003, Trap Muzik, led by the DJ Toomp-produced hit single “24’s,” debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and would achieve platinum status off the strength of tracks like “Be Easy,” “Rubber Band Man,” and “Let’s Get Away.” Toomp trap drums knockeddd, with three e’s, along with triumphant horns and strings echoing. Toomp in an interview with Red Bull Music Academy, Toomp stated he used two different basses. “I use one as an 808 kick, the “boom, boom, boom.” But then sometimes I might have a solid kick with a real crazy sub, just a real heavy low-end bass. Organs, real high-end sound. Basically, you try to catch every frequency, every chakra. You got the bass and you’ve got the mids, and then you got the highs, whether it’s some type of strings or synthesizer sound. But then, right in the mids, you can have that kick right in the middle”(Red Bull 2008). Toomp dominated radio through 04-08 from working with T.I, he gained greater recognition, which allowed him to work with Kanye West, Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, and Mariah Carey through this period.

T.I on these records delivery wasn’t aloud, he was laid back with the same cadence as a East Coast rapper, but with a uniquely Southern twang and a sensibility shaped by his neighborhood’s brutalities. T.I. was the sound of Atlanta that came from the streets that urged listeners to immerse themselves on the trappings of the cycle of poverty, maintained by drug dealing and overt attempts by the Atlanta police to target Black communities and men. Both T.I. and 50 Cent used mixtapes to revive their career and turned themselves into bonafide stars. From 04 through 2011 was when Lil Wayne took the reign as mixtape king. Wayne was already solidified but he was in the shadow of Cash Money. In a position of being unnoticed, Wayne used this as motivation and released The Carter. But it wasn't until he linked up with Gangsta Grillz DJ Drama, where Wayne went on a course with what became the most prolific mixtape run in history. It started in 2005, when Wayne dropped The Dedication and claimed he was the best rapper alive. Wayne’s series played as the path for the numerous transformations of Wayne as an emcee, and each of its chapters summarizes a moment in his timeline.

When Jay Z retired as the Best Rapper Alive after 03’s The Black Album, Lil Wayne stepped in with his unmatchable, off-the-cuff style. A low-key important moment in hip-hop history is 2004’s “10,000 Bars”, a 35-minute verse in which Lil Wayne embraces spontaneous bars and turns towards an improvised stream of consciousness. Of his many mixtapes, Dedication 2 and Da Drought 3 received the most media exposure and critical review. Dedication 2, released in 2006, Wayne was beginning to be considered the “Best Rapper Alive ''. The mixtape’s opener, Get Em, sets the stage accordingly. Following a fitting voice-over (“You are watching a master at work”), Wayne delivers on his promise. It was the most motivated he had ever sounded, spending three-straight minutes going after every doubter, make believe or otherwise, that was still arguing Wayne’s status. The track that converted most “oldheads”, "Georgia Bush '', borrows the instrumental from Disturbing Tha Peace's state-repping anthem; Wayne adds one word to the hook and transforms the hoedown into a protest. Wayne challenges the U.S. president, the media, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, racism, an embrace of his city and its populace, and a fearsome display of skill and intelligence.

"So what happened to the levees, Why wasn't they steady? Why wasn't they able to control this? I know some folk that live by the levee that keep on tellin' me they heard some explosions, Same shit happened back with Hurricane Betsy 1965, I ain't too young to know this, That was President Johnson, This is President [Georgia] Bush,'' Wayne raps in breathless double-time, folding history, conspiracy, anger, and confusion over each other with style and grim. Da Drought 3 was an unofficial follow up to Dedication, Wayne further showcased his unreal talent for flipping words and concepts. Da Drought 3 was the next step in Wayne’s relentless passion to prove that he was better than anyone in hip-hop. “F*ck a competition, me wanna murder dem,” he boldly stated on the opening track “Intro.” He wasn’t kidding. Wayne still felt he had a chip on his shoulder.

To help reach his peak, he put together a blueprint based around references to ‘80s rock culture, excursions into ‘80s Miami bass (Rodney O and Joe Cooley “Everlasting Bass”), the moody New York sample of Jay Z’s “Dead Presidents II,” Nas’ “If I Rule The World” as well as paying homage to his Southern ties which remained his specialty (“Throw Some Ds”, “Walk It Out”). Da Drought 3 also showcased Wayne’s best punchlines. “I’m so high I could eat a star,” he rapped on “Upgrade U.” “Put a motherf*cker on ice like the Maple Leafs / That’s a hockey team and I ain’t on no hockey team / But I’m a champion, where’s the f*cking Rocky theme? Damn, rest in peace Apollo Creed.” Not only was Wayne killing his songs, he was murdering his features. You already knew what time it was when you heard the lighter flick at the beginning of the song. Wayne appeared on R&B singles "Girls Around the World" by Lloyd, "Official Girl" by Cassie, "I'm So Paid" by Akon, "Turnin' Me On" by Keri Hilson, and "Can't Believe It" by T-Pain; rap singles "Shawty Say" by David Banner, "Swagga Like Us" by T.I., "Cutty Buddy" by Mike Jones, All My Life (In the Ghetto) by Jay Rock and the remix to "Certified" by Glasses Malone; and pop single "Let It Rock" by new Cash Money artist Kevin Rudolf. Wayne released mixtapes at a quick rate, Wayne even had aspirations to collaborate with Juelz Santana for a mixtape because of the heat they made together during their mixtape run.

Wayne’s run reached a crescendo with the release of The Carter 3 in 2008. Which felt like a victorious culmination of Wayne’s multi-years grinding. Tha Carter III became the first album in three years to sell one million copies in its first week of retail and would be the last album of the 2000s to do so. Mixtapes were entering the streaming era, tapes were tossed onto DatPiff, either for free download, fan-made mixes, or leaks. Enough tracks originally meant for the album leaked to eventually form their own tape, The Carter III Mixtape. Even with all the Weezy material flooding the market, anticipation was sky high for The Carter 3. The first single took full advantage of that spotlight to completely revolutionize rap into pop music. “Lollipop” covers desire, doubt, and drugs beneath a catchy club track. It’s “Sexual Healing” for a new era of autotune vocals, a prime distillation of 2008’s fizzy, infectiously catchy pop rap. Another highlight is “Dr. Carter,” a surgical, deconstruction of the “Hip-Hop Is Dead” criticism that dominated discussion at the rise of the blog rap era that finds Weezy both combatting the criticism of the ringtone rap movement’s critics and symbolically setting the stage for the genre’s next evolution slowly building on websites like HipHopDX and HotnewHiphop.

For the last ten years we’ve gotten all of our biggest artists from internet mixtapes. Future, Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, Asap Rocky, all made major contributions to the “Blog era”. Future was the closest thing to a modern example of Wayne’s mixtape era. His consistent work ethic and fast paced mixtape run in the mid 2010’s goes down in history. Dropping trap masterpieces like “Monster”, “Beast Mode”, “56 Nights”, and “Purple Reign'' at an alarming rate. As for releasing mixtapes, artists now bypass the mixtape sites that were foundation of the early tens. Today were in an era where streaming is dominating and hip hop blogs aren’t the same. If it isn’t on Instagram, fans won't go out of their way to find music. As a result, curation is taking a step backward and editorial playlists are stepping forward. Editorial playlists aren’t the same as mixtapes because they don’t highlight underrated artists. Curated playlists are cool and essential but they shouldn’t be the end all be all. And when artists make art to conform to “making it on RapCaviar,” we lose true artistry that made us fall in love with hip hop to begin with.