A month plus some change late but you know I had to put together list of my top mixtapes of 2009. As much as everyone still complains about mixtapes and music declining in quality, I didn't have a problem picking 20+ tapes that got plenty of rotation throughout the year.
Honorable Mentions:
Cunninlynguists-Strange Volume 1 & 2: New material from my favorite hip hop group…these guys never disappoint. “Georgia Remix” and “Close Your Eyes” are gems that are always in my rotation.
Crown City-The Insurgency: Following up on last year’s The Drama Initiative, Crown City dropped another tape full of head bangers. No cookie cutter songs on this tape…you get the street bangers that CC is known for. Purgatory is one of my favs with Evil Eye murdering the beat with Maze and The Prince Ali Vegas. I was also feeling Rod Da Blizz on Return of Mr. Goodbars with its old school funky sound, but the entire tape is fiyah.
Mac Miller-The High Life: The teenager from Pittsburgh is slowly making a name for himself and this is his best material yet. Nice to see him switch up his style and flow on a few of the songs, but I still wish his “Party in the USA remix” made the cut haha.
Beedie-Most Slept On: The other half of Illspoken ain’t no slouch on the mic either. Beedie has a more polished delivery and has hit own set of bangers. “Fly” and “Catch’em All” are my ish at the moment
AC-911 Retrospective: Releasing each song on twitter during the exact time of each tragic event on 9/11 must be the weirdest/most original release plan I have ever heard of….great music tho.
Cambatta-The Visionary: One of the most complete artist mixtapes I’ve heard but where’s Cambatta been sine this tape? Read my crazy long
review of this tape HERE.
Drake-So Far Gone: Can’t deny the impact of Drake in 2009 but this tape ain’t all that it’s hyped up as.
Lil Wayne-No Ceiling: I need my Weezy dose here and there. Similar to Da Drought 3, Wayne just spits over other peepz’s beats while drugged out.
J-Period & K’Naan-The Messenger: Could have been GREAT but is a bag of mixed results. Loving the Marley section the most.
K-Salaam & Beatnick-Never Say Goodbye: Salaam and Beatnick always drop quality tapes and this one is no different.
DJ Scene-2080’s: Rock mixtape like no other with the cheesy songs you love from the 80s mixed together like only a hip hop DJ can.
DJ Solo-Hair Metal Hero: Are rock mixtapes the new it thing?...nah
2Mello-Summer Breeze 3 & 4: After dropping the first 2 volumes of Summer Breeze last year, DJ 2Mello keeps a good thing going with the next two volumes dropping a 70’s Curtis Mayfield inspired tape and a 90’s rnb tape.
NOW FOR THE TOP 20 MIXTAPES OF 2009 (AS VOTED ON BY ME, MYSELF AND I)
20: Terry Urban-How My Brain Works 2
No real concept…just a hodgepodge of dope mashups giving us a sneak peak into how Terry Urban’s mind works. Wayne still makes no sense, but Urban makes the goblin sound damn good over Coldplay’s Viva La Vida and Buffalo Springfield’s For What Its Worth. Shawty Lo over Journey? Gotta hear it to appreciate it. This is the perfect tape to throw on when you just want to shock your senses a bit.
19: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis-TheVS.EP
Ryan Lewis crafts some crazy instrumentals sampling the likes of the Chili Peppers and The Killers while Macklemore just rips each apart with some of the most introspective rhymes I've heard in a long time. These 2 compliment each other to a tee as seen on "Otherside," where Macklemore's heartfelt lyrics about the dangerous cough syrup fad in hip hop are brought out perfectly by the sonically rich instrumental crafted by Lewis. The Seattle music scene is ever growing and Macklemore and the Blue Scholars are the perfect fire bearers of possibly the most underrated hip hop hub in the country.
18: Mateo-Underneath the Sky
Mateo dropped the first two volumes of his Underneath the Sky mixtape seriesin 2009 which I thought were absolutely dope. It’s quite obvious to most listeners if an artist has invested quality time into crafting and developing a song, let alone a concept that ties all the songs together. These “mixtape chapters” I’m sure have won over many of fans like myself that see Mateo’s dedication to his craft…even if it is a bit like “Trapped in a Closet” ahhahah.
What I said earlier this year: “People don’t feel anything anymore. I want people to feel some type of emotion when they listen to my music. Whether that means empathizing with the song’s story or internalizing the lyrics and thinking of what the song means to their life.” Mateo stays true to his words with this absolute gem of a mixtape. Only 5 songs deep, this tape doesn't waste a second to tell the first chapter of a love tale. Mateo can simply sing his a$$ off. I can't remember the last time a new singer held my attention the way this tape did (maybe Lyfe Jennings and a few Kevin Michael songs).
17: Cee & Bekay-The Soul Movement Vol. 3Cee & Bekah dropped the third and final Installment of The Soul Movement and prove they’re ready for the big time. This tape is as polished as they come with Cee’s sharp rhymes and Bekay’s vocals coming together to craft solid and rich songs that touch upon various issues and emotions. The original work on this tape is album ready while they still give us some remixes over others’ beats, my favorites being over Kno’s “KKY” and Brother Ali “The Truth is Here.”
16: Charlie Hilton-Good Music
One of the new artists that impressed me immediately was producer Charlie Hilton with his Good Food! Mixtape which kept finding its way back into my rotation with his, what I like to call, late-night headphone instrumentals that take you on a sonically soulful journey.
What I said earlier: WOAAAH. This is why I still take time to listen to random tapes from new comers. For every 10 or 20 tapes I listen to, I stumble upon an artist that makes it all worthwhile and gives me that refreshing feeling about hip hop again. Charlie Hilton is a 21 year old producer from London who absolutely kills every beat on this tape. Not only was I impressed by the instrumentals, but all the emcees (all of who are quite new to me) rip every track. This is an extremely polished tape where the quality shines through. There isn't a club or party track on here; just music for the soul and lyrics with substance. Hilton reminds me a bit of Kno (from Cunninlynguists) with his layered instrumentals that have an epic feel to them. Despite all the different emcees, the album still feels very cohesive and the tracks complement each other and flow nicely.
15: Pill-4075 The Refill
I heard “Glass” and I was sold on Pill immediately. He’s got that ability to make the listener feel the pain and struggle of his lyrics. You just want to believe every word he’s saying and the honesty and emotion in his music reminds me a bit of Pac. But don’t get me wrong, he can still rip apart a beat like his annihilation of “Made You Look.” Make sure to grab this tape and check for the next great lyricists from the South.
14: Digger’s Union Vol. 1
Not since The Mashup of the Titans has this type of monster collabo occurred. Remixes, rock/rap mashups, breaks, unreleased tracks and demos!!!! Every DJ brings something unique and special to the table. Rob Shock, Jazzy G and Unexpected absolutely killed their break sets while Crazy Chris serves as the comedic relief: “Chris gonna give it to ya” hahaha.
13: DJ Baby Yu-Tribute & DJ Semi-Forever (TIE)How many more Biggie tapes do we need? As much as these songs and lyrics have been recycled, I couldn’t leave these 2 tapes out of the top 20 list. Semi’s tape is full of dope new mashups and blends while Baby Yu’s is a tribute with originals, blends, samples, and interludes/interviews all brilliantly mixed together. My “essential” Biggie mixtape collection was at about 5 (Vlad & Dirty Harry, Mister Cee, Ceasar, Doo Wop, Lennox) but these 2 are definitely getting added to the mix.
12: Kenzo Digital-Beat CinematicKenzo Digital used the mixtape medium to create the BEAT CINEMATIC City of God’s Son, a “crime drama/coming of age tale of three fictitious characters growing up in the crime ridden city in a jungle.” For fans of that golden era New York hip hop and gangster films, this was a dream come true. I still can’t imagine all the work put into this project. I remember pressing play for the first time with the intent of just skimming through it to see how the blends were, but an hour later I had experienced a f**** mixtape movie which had you gripping on every lyric/scene and narrative by Joe Bataan. This however was not a totally unprecedented idea…I gotta give a shout out to Draze who began the
“Mixtape Movie” concept with Trading Places 3 years ago (not to this level but still dope as f***).
11: DJUnexpected & Hevehitta-Deadly Duos
Deadly Duos is a must have for any Hov and Esco fan. First you know Hevehitta always brings some unreleased ish you won’t find anywhere even with my polished internet finding skills. Time with AZ and Nature is now among my favorite Nasty Nas tracks. I was also loving the interludes spliced in between giving you a peak into the mind of the GREATEST lyricist EVER…what what. The gem of this tape however are Unexpected’s break beats where he brings back his “Look What I Found” ish and recreates our Illmatic and Reasonable Doubt classic tracks from scratch. My head was spinning listening to this section.
10: Dub Floyd-Renegades
Dub Floyd’s Urban Warfare tape with Budden and Ortiz was one of my faves from last year and he followed that up with another monster pairing with Renegades. This tape has it all: dope concept, dope emcees, new shit, crazy screamixxes, and unheard of pairings (Em and Pun!). I don’t think I’ve heard a proper remix to my favorite song from back in the day “Forgot About Dre” before, but Floyd just destroys it with a hot new backdrop. The only problem you could have with Dub is that he doesn’t drop often enough…every tape he drops bananas.
9: Mike Posner-A Matter of Time & One Foot Out The Door
I’m always a sucker for some good old pop music. I was a huge fan of the Colin Munroe and KO mixtapes last year, and this year Mike Posner filled that need in my music collection. Every song on both tapes is a hit waiting to happen, but doesn’t seem forced or manufactured. His unique voice, catchy lyrics, and dope beats (he’s a producer too) have already made him the go to collaborator with many hip hop acts which should only push him to stardom even sooner. This guy is going to BLOW THE F*** UP this year.
8: B.o.B-B.o.B. vs Bobby RayI don’t know what the f*** the label is waiting for because B.o.B. should be a star right now. His tape B.o.B. vs Bobby Ray didn’t have one weak track on it, showcasing his rapping, singing, and guitar playing which B.o.B. uses to craft a sound all his own.
7: Joell Ortiz-Covers the Classics & Road KillJoell's mixtape covering the classics made huge waves earlier in the year as he absolutely shredded instrumentals from our favorite classic hip hop tracks. He was truly in his comfort zone spitting over these tracks as he's got the old school lyrical mentality. This tape just sounded like he was chillin' with his crew outside in a cypher and just spitting for the love of hip hop. Who better to recreate Big L's classic "Ebonics" with a 2009 refix? How about "T.R.O.Y." and "A Children's Story"? Every track is a highlight.
6: Phene-This is the Phenemix 2Phene dropped a bomb with the Phenemix 2 with a polished product as any album I’ve heard in a while. He rips apart every beat…and not just in the usual freestyle punchline way. Phene makes every track his own crafting complete songs with a meaning and message. You could have fooled me into thinking “Today” and “Everybody Knows” were made for Phene originally…he owned those instrumentals and made the tracks 100% his. “All My Life” is my shit bringing back memories of my Junior High Years “debating Barkley and Jordan” and “playing Mario Kart.”
5: Chris Read-Michael Jackson Legacy Mix
Everyone and their grandma dropped a MJ mixtape after the superstar’s passing… more likely trying to pocket some extra cash off his death rather than honor his legend. Chris Read’s Legacy Mix was the only one I encountered which gave the legendary pop star a worthy tribute with “60 minutes, 45 tracks, featuring a selection of Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5’s original works, edits, acapellas and demos accompanied by records that have sampled them, cover versions, tributes and remixes from the likes of Dwele, Dilla, DJ Spinna and Ian Brown amongst others. All that laced with original interviews and some heavy edits.” I loved the way this tape not only showcased MJ’s work but also his musical influence across other genres (especially hip hop).
4: Playboy Tre-The Liquor Store Mascot
Playboy Tre’s “Liquor Store Mascot” is by far my biggest surprise mixtape of the year. When I pressed play I was expecting some comedic concept around alcohol, but little did I know that I was about to listen to the most complete, personal, and honest piece of work of the year. With every song, Tre just opens up about his life, a lot of which revolves around his struggles with alcohol. Zilla Rocca mentioned on WYDUblog.com that this is the South’s version of College Dropout and I can totally see that. Made up of all original beats and honest lyrics this tape ended up being one of my favorites of the year.
“They ask me if drinkin is an image that I use for gimmick
And am I scared the youth will hear my songs and try to mimic
I tell them wait a minute, I put my soul up in it
To let them know if a drunken man can make it man, the sky’s the limit”
3: DJ Bling-King of Rock
This is now my official party tape. “A mashed up combination of rock, hip hop, r&b, 80’s and more,” this tape will satisfy every music craving possible. Every person I’ve played this to has absolutely loved it. The mashups, mixing, track choices, and energy of this mix is top notch. Now why can’t I find anything else by this guy?
2: Crazy Chris-Bionic Blendz 3
Released at the beginning of the year, this tape stayed close to the top of the rotation probably 6/7 months of the year for me. What can I say that I already haven’t about CC. He’s in the f***ing zone right now with his Bionic Blendz format and is one of the few trendsetters left in the mixtape game. Read the
full review HERE and if you’re still late to the bandwagon, grab Bionic Blendz 3 now and hop on the West Virginian’s mountain top.
1: DJ Spindbad-90s Mix
My most played tape of the year bar none…and I don’t even like most of the music on it (at least I thought I didn’t). That’s how you know you have the mixtape of the year. This tape just timewarped my a$$ back to the 90s with Smashmouth, Sublime, Sugar Ray, Third Eye Blind, Kriss Kross, and Chambuwamba. The playlist flow was flawless with crazzzy skills, perfectly timed clips from all our favorite tv shows, and just straight up fun from one of the greatest DJs on the 1s and 2s. No tape has brought this feeling of nostalgia to my 23 yr old a$$ and I still rock to this every few weeks.
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