Top Mixtapes of 2011

As 2011 is coming to an end, it is that time to look back upon everything that has happened over the past year.
Today the focus is on mixtapes from the year, here are my top 5 mixtapes from this year.
5. Mac Miller - Best Day Ever

This was the mixtape that brought Mac to the discussion in the hip hop world. With hits like Donald Trump and All around The World Mac really showed he was ready to break out after releasing this mixtape.
4. The Dean's List - The Drive-in

This one came out way at the beginning of the year back in February, so it may have been somewhat forgotten, but definitely deserves recognition. I had never heard of these guys, but once they dropped this mixtape I went back and found their older work and I am now a full fledged fan of theirs.
3. Chiddy Bang - Peanut Butter Swelly

While there has been a long delay on their first album, Chiddy Bang still has been giving their fans plenty of content to tide them over. This mixtape was just very complete, every song seemed to fit together and create a great collection.
2. ASAP Rocky - LiveLoveAsap

This was the big debut for ASAP Rocky. He signed a highly publicized deal worth reportedly $3 Million. With his mixtape he lived up to the hype. With a very polished sound he is someone to look for in 2012.
1. Meek Mill - Dreamchasers

Meek Mill had a huge year in 2011. He released this mixtape which was great with original songs and covers to the likes of "Paris" from Yeezy and Hov. He also made a huge impact emerging as the star of MMG from the group album that they released when he had the 2 big hits from the project. Now 2012 should be his time to shine all by himself out from the likes of Wale and Rick Ross.
Honorable Mention- mixtapes that definitely are worthy of checking out, not quite in the top 5 though.
Lupe Fiasco - Friend of the People
B.o.B. - EPIC: Every Play is Crucial
Ludacris - 1.21 Gigawatts to the First Time
Tyga - #Bitchimtheshit

Tyga Tyga

While Tiger Woods is making news in the sports world, there is a different Tyga making a splash in the hip hop world. Tyga, the YMCMB member, is about to have a huge month. He just released his mixtape #bitchimtheshit yesterday. Link to the datpiff page at the break. He also is set to release his album before christmas. The album is called Careless World and is his first album on the Cash Money label. Check out "Rack City" video after the break, which is a single off the album, if you like it then get pumped for the album to drop.

http://www.datpiff.com/Tyga-BitchImTheShit-mixtape.290715.html

Rack City Video

Big update

I haven't posted for quite some time because of the holiday week, and there has been quite a lot of good stuff since I last updated. Last week Yelawolf released his first big project since signing up with Eminem and his label. The album is called Radioactive and is not available as a mixtape, it is his first full fledged album. Check it out on iTunes. There has also been some great free music from big time artists that has come out. Lupe released his mixtape Friend of the People: I Fight Evil. This project he had originally been set to be released in 2009, but it recently came out and is definitely worth checking out. Link at the bottom. Also B.o.B. just released his mixtape EPIC: Every Play is Crucial today. This has been released as something to tide fans over until his second album drops next February. His last mixtape No Genre was just a masterpiece and hopefully EPIC can come close to the quality of that one. Download link at the bottom. I will have a review of Camp from Childish Gambino soon enough, also with EPIC and Friend of the People reviews down the road. Some negative news from today is that Chris Webby pushed back his album There Goes the Neighborhood which was supposed to be released at today at midnight, but he only pushed it back until Thursday which is manageable. I will be updating more frequently from now on.
http://www.datpiff.com/BoB-EPIC-Every-Play-Is-Crucial-mixtape.288111.html

http://www.datpiff.com/Lupe-Fiasco-Friend-Of-The-People-I-Fight-Evil-mixtape.287406.html

"What I Do"

For those who follow the mixtape world you have heard of Chris Webby most likely. For those who don't you are about to. He will be releasing his album There Goes the Neighborhood on Nov. 29. He also just released his first single of of the project "What I Do". It is a pretty ill song check it out.
http://www.hiphopearly.com/Chris-Webby-What-I-Do-t9654.html

Big day

Today is a big day in the hip hop/rap world. For those interested in the YMCMB star (I am not a huge fan of his) Drake's Take Care album dropped today and is definitely generating a lot of buzz. Also for those who have heard of him, Childish Gambino released his album Camp which is also being given a decent amount of recognition. From a new star to an old one, Ludacris released an official mixtape today that should be noted. One of my favorite up and coming groups, Chiddy Bang, dropped the second single from their upcoming album Breakfast, "Ray Charles." I may do a review of Camp if i decide to buy it.
"Ray Charles"- http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-stream-chiddy-bangs-soul-homage-ray-charles-20111114

Ludacris mixtape- http://www.datpiff.com/Ludacris-121-Gigawatts-Back-To-The-First-Time-mixtape.273694.html

Some good ol Kid Cudi

While Kid Cudi recently has been releasing too much recently he has given us fans something to check out from his early rap days. This is a mixtape of some work that he apparently recorded around 2000 and 2001. Here is a link to it for datpiff.
http://www.datpiff.com/Kid-Cudi-Rap-Hard-Demo-mixtape.283555.html

Random Song of the Day

I've been listening to this group for quite a while, and I haven't really understood why they aren't more popular yet, if you haven't heard em yet check this out, you won't be disappointed. Here is "Dear Professor" by The Dean's List
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQCAaGem0xM

Blue Slide Park review, track by track

To start off, I have to say that I am a huge Mac Miller fan. I've got all the mixtapes and was about as hyped for Blue Slide Park as anyone else. I'd been counting the days until the release, and I preordered a hard copy, which is something I rarely do when it comes to music. If I really like an album i'll buy it, after it comes out, but never a preorder just in anticipation. The first track is "English Lane" which is just a simple, short little intro song. It has a very happy tone and beat, not much in the way of lyrics, but it successfully does what is supposed to do, which is get the listener pumped for the rest of the album (8/10). The next song is "Blue Slide Park" which is one of my favs overall definitely. This is the song that he released once he reached 25k preorders, so I've been listening to it for a few weeks at this point, but I love the feel of this song, it could be on KIDS, the beat is a little old school, and the fast raps with no chorus make this one a blast to pump me up for more to come and remind me of what came first (9.5/10). The third track, also the second official single he released, is "Party on Fifth Ave" is a really upbeat, party type song. The beat is a sample of DJ Kool's "Let Me Clear My Throat", which gives Mac a lot of old school cred. While it is a generally catchy song there isn't much content minus the chorus and the beat (8/10). "PA Nights" is the next song. This is a far more chill song then "Party on Fifth Ave" and sets up what the majority of the rest of the album is like. The beat to this one is a bit bizarre, but the rapping is pretty ill (8.5/10). The next song is "Frick Park Market" which has been out since August is my favorite song. I love the chorus, i especially love the video. That is by far the most complex video he has made to date (10/10). "Smile Back" comes next. This is the song that Mac made for all his haters out there. "Imma big boy with a big boy bank" is one of my favorite lines throughout the whole album. "I just be like fuck you what you need you cant get nothing from me, you was talking shit now im somebody you would love to be" really shows what this song is about. This song is a shakeup from the Mac that most of his fans are used to, but he pull it off and that shows his versatility (8.5/10). "Under the Weather" comes next and not exactly one of my favs on the album. The beat is a bit weird and kind of distracts me too much and there is a long sort of instrumental outro that just drags it out too long (7/10). "Of the Soul" comes next, it isn't one of the better ones on the album either. Very slow raps and a lame beat give this song my worst review (6.5/10). "My Team" follows this string of a couple lower quality songs and brings the quality back up. When I originally saw the track list with the production lists, This was one of the songs that immediately caught my attention because it is produced by Clams Casino. For big Mac fans they know that one of his I Love Life, Thank You mixtape songs was produced by Clams Casino, "Cold Feet", it is my favorite from that mix and a lot is thanks to the beat, it had a very unique beat so I immediately thought this one would have that same unique feel, which it does. It is a song that Mac seems to have made to credit his "team" the people that have been with him since the beginning and helped him reach the heights that he has to this point. The beat doesn't disappoint and neither does the song (9/10). The next song doesn't even seem like a rap song. The beat is like a soft rock song and is one of the more bizzare songs I've ever heard based on what I expected for the CD. This song is about partying all night and drinking far too much. That is a typical theme in Mac Miller's songs, so he sticks to his guns with the lyrics, while testing out a new beat. Even though this song is bizzare, it still is pretty good to listen to, and will be a party jam (8.5/10). "Loitering" comes next and follows the message of the album which has to do with growing up in Pitt and hanging around Blue Slide Park. This song is about hanging at the park too late and loitering. The beat is pretty eerie, and somewhat detracts from the song, but it still is a pretty solid song (7.5/10). "Hole in my Pocket" isn't a song, it is just a sort of interlude so I don't really have any thoughts on it. "Diamonds & Gold" is the next track, The beat is kind of eh, and the song isn't that catchy (7.5/10). "Missed Calls" is one of my favorite songs. I watched an interview with Mac and he said that this song was basically about a relationship between a guy and girl and the guy was just too busy to always connect with her. I love the beat to this song and I love the hook. Mac's rap style fits perfectly with this beat and is honestly a song that only he could pull off (9.5/10). "Man in the Hat" is the penultimate song. The beat to this song isn't one of the highlights by itself, but he flows over it really well, and it really accentuates his rapping skills (9/10). "One Last Thing" as the title insinuates is the final song on the album. This is another Clams Casino beat, and while it isn't as good as the aforementioned "My Team" or "Cold Feet", it sticks to the unique style that Clams brings to Mac's songs. The beat almost overshadows the rapping in this one and is a bit overly chill to be one of the top songs (8.5/10). For the overall album I have to give it a 9/10. It is great for a long time Mac Miller fan, but is mostly what I expected and I believe that he released to many songs prior to the release.

Blue Slide Park first thoughts

As I listened to Blue Slide Park all the way through for the first time today I wasn't sure what i exactly thought. I had hoped that Mac hadn't fallen into the trap of releasing all the best songs prior to the actual release of the album. While I think that the best song was released prior to the ,"Frick Park Market," I believe that he did a good job of saving some gems for the actual release. "Up All Night" and "My Team" are some of my favs after my initial listen through. The best thing about the album is that there aren't any duds on it at all, I believe I will listen to every song on this album for quite some time. I was worried that he might go the route of Wiz Khalifa and sell out by losing his original sound that gained him all his fans with his first album, but he didn't do that at all, this is the same Mac since KIDS and the High Life, which is what all the true fans were looking for. Overall my initial impression is that this is a great CD and Mac is here to stay.