A Guide to the Mixtape (Plus a chance to win free stuff)

Posted by Stacks (Follow Me)- Stacks was born in DC and raised in VA. That's about all you need to know about him. - To see more posts by this author click here

Hip-hop is different from all other musical forms in many ways and maybe one day I’ll write an entire post on all of them, but for now I just want to briefly touch on “the mixtape” and where the best places are to go to get them.  I was flipping through the latest XXL magazine and they had a story on the 100 best hip-hop websites so I thought “why not put together something that focuses on mixtape websites so our readers can get some fresh new music legally, without having to pay for it?”

Why are mixtapes free:

1)  The artist is new to the game – Let’s face it, no one is going to buy your stuff if they’ve never heard you before.  Simply put, it is a way to get your name out there.  It is also a key element in getting the attention of major labels (assuming you want to go that route) and also an integral part of gaining fans outside of your regional demographic.  [See 50 Cent]

2)  The artist is established, now they need to stay relevant – Every genre of music has its share of one-hit wonders or artist’s having the “sophomore jinx”, but it seems that with hip-hop, even the impression that you’re out of touch can be like a death warrant on your career.  Now, with all of the label mergers, the labels that fold, and the politics within various companies albums often get delayed.  If it gets delayed too much, there’s the impression that it’s because it isn’t very good.  At times that may be the case, but often it is for a different reason entirely.  And as I said earlier, that reason doesn’t matter.  Impressions are often just as important as realities.  So, if you’re album gets delayed but you drop a hot mixtape to satisfy your fans until it is released; not only are they appreciative, but they’ll know that you’re still relevant and they are going to be a little more willing to wait. [See The Clipse]

3)  The artist can’t afford to clear a sample – In hip-hop, many artists use samples from other artists and those artists whose music you’re using want to get paid too.  Now if that person tries to charge more than you’re willing to pay, or refuses to allow you to use; you can not use it…for profit.  I am no legal expert here and at times this can be a shady legal line, but generally as long as you are not making any money from it, you do not have to pay to use it.  Now of course I am sure that a cease-and-desist letter could be sent out, but in reality once it is out there, it’s out there.  So many times if someone has a song where they can’t get a sample cleared and doesn’t want to change it; they can let it go out on a mixtape so it can be heard, but won’t be breaking any laws in the process.  This can also be the case in some concept albums where the artist wants to put it out for art’s sake instead of profit.  [See Dangermouse's, "The Grey Album"]

4)  The artist is a DJ – I’m including this because although I was focusing this on being from the point-of-view of “the emcee”, technically this is another reason for the mixtape and DJs are just as much a part of hip-hop as emcees.  Also, within the past 5 years we’ve seen more of a re-emergence of the DJ as the star (just check out the popularity of the DJ Hero video game) and a mixtape is a perfect platform for them to exhibit their skills and diversity by working with a number of different artists instead of just doing the beats on someone else’s album.  [See DJ Khaled & Funkmaster Flex]

Okay now that we’ve got the reasoning down, here are a few places where you can go to get yourself some free mixtapes.  As always, we want your input as well.  I have included some of the sites that I personally use but this is far from being a comprehensive list and the only way to make it better is with your input (plus I am personally looking for some new sites myself), so please feel free to let everyone know of others in the comments section.  Also, please keep in mind that although I am including these as they are some of the best places to go to search for the latest and greatest; it doesn’t necessarily mean that the latest is the greatest.  It would be impossible for a site to keep all the crappy music off their site as what is good and what isn’t is subjective to the listener.  So even though these are the better sites to search, you still have to do some work on your own to find what you will like.

• Datpiff – The self-proclaimed “Authority in Free Mixtapes” is my personal favorite as free mixtapes are the main focus, there is a great variety, and there is also a bit of a community aspect to it.  This last thing is what can make finding what you want easier.  Once you’ve found some people with similar musical tastes to yourself, you can then get suggestions from them instead of searching blindly.  Once you’ve registered you can download up to 3 mixtapes for free, per day.  Premium accounts range from $2.99 for a week to $60 for a full year and allow for unlimited downloads, the ability to download individual tracks (vs. the entire album at once), and supports additional applications for listening, viewing, and downloading.  You can also upload your own mixtape to share with other members (see reason #1 for why you’d want to do this).

• GetRightMusic – Coming in at a very close second, this site covers all of the key elements of a good mixtape sight…a large variety of downloads and a very easy to use site (with a search feature).  It doesn’t seem to have a limit as to the number of downloads you can get per day, but since it does lack the community element and can be difficult to get suggestions if you don’t already know what you’re looking for.

• HipHopDX – This site is loaded with news, reviews, and yes…mixtapes.  Very large variety and since it ranks mixtapes by user feedback, it is a little easier to find out what’s hot right now without having to listen blindly through everything.  You can also search by ‘type’ so if you’re looking for audio you don’t have to sift through all the news articles to find it.

• NahRight (a subsidiary of Complex)- Tons of mixtapes, updated multiple times per day, broken down by category and easily searchable.  If you like mixtapes, you’ll love this site.  This site also includes a pretty extensive video archive section which again allows you to search by category, but also lists them chronologically as well.  Finally (& unlike many others), they also include a whole set of external links to other related sites where you may be able to whole new set of mixtapes that I have yet to discover.

• ConcreteLoop – Although the site contains at least as much gossip and news as it does mixtapes, you can find some decent stuff here if you look for it.  Now there is now ‘Mixtape’ section where you can find everything easily but if you do just put the word into the search bar by itself you will get some good results.  Of course if you have a particular one you are looking for (as with all search engines), the more relevant your query, the better the results.

• HipHopisRead – Remember earlier how I was talking about sampling in hip hop?  This site takes you to the source, often offering entire playlists of the original source material.  For example, DJ Premier of GangStarr is known for heavy sampling; here you can get an entire mixtape of just the songs he’s sampled from.

• TrapsNTrunks – With a strong focus on individuals and groups based south of the Mason-Dixon, here’s where to go if you just need to get yourself that “hood certified gangsta sh*t”.  Again, another site that keeps it clean and simple so that you can get to the good music quick and not be distracted by a lot of the other nonsense that some sites feel it necessary to include.

• BuckMarleyXXX - Don’t let the stupid XXX in the name fool you, this site is not porn (try telling that to your network administrator at work when he/she sees the triple-X in the URL), it is all hip-hop with a main focus on new music downloads.  The site is fairly devoid of clutter with new releases in chronological order from the top down, a sidebar with the top singles of the week, and also a ‘Featured Mixtape’ which makes finding what you want pretty easy as long as it just came out.  The site is lacking a search feature which can make finding a specific mixtape, an incredibly tedious task.

I know I said it earlier, but I personally am always looking for new good music and love when I can find a new artist to start listening to because let’s face it; commercial radio is crap.  So here’s the deal…I sent an email to The Gift of Gab and included my previous review of his most recent solo CD.  He replied by mailing me a box of promotional items which I am offering up to you.

If you go to any of these sites (or others) and come across a good mixtape; leave a comment with the site you found it on, a link to the mixtape, and why you think it is so good.  I will listen to all of them and on or about 12/23/09 I will pick my favorites.

1st Prize – “Escape 2 Mars” by the Gift of Gab on CD

2nd Prize – “Escape 2 Mars” promotional poster & a Dropcard which gives you a free download of one of the tracks of the album

3rd/4th/5th Prizes – A Dropcard which gives you a free download of one of the tracks off “Escape 2 Mars”, the newest release by The Gift of Gab

Get to searching and let me know what you find so I can give these prizes away!

udothedishes…

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