Snoop Dogg collected a small contingent of West Coast artists for a relatively short mixtape that’s low on filler. Snoop using his international pop star status to support aspiring West Coast rappers is nothing new. Previously, he’s cosigned Terrace Martin and Crooked I. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement: Snoop gives them a weighty cosign and they give keep him relevant in the eyes of the core hip-hop audience.
We Da West, Volume 1 features Kurupt, Daz, Bad Lucc, Problem, Tha Twinz, Nipsey Hussle, and The Hustle Boyz.
Watch the video for the tape’s opener after the jump.
Peep this tape of obscure southern acts. The rappers on this mixtape are mostly unknowns, with the exception of Freddie Gibbs, Pill, G-Side, and Jackie Chain, but I think I’m going to be checking for most of these guys very soon.
Tanya Morgan occupies a space in hip-hop right in the middle of the tough guys, the traditionalists, and the wanna-be Kanyes. No gimmicks, they just like making music. So give Donwill of TM your ear for a minute. He’s not a douchebag like most of the other rappers we write about. The mixtape is a preview of his album Don Cusack in High Fidelity.
X.Obama, same campaign. Off the excellent 1.1.10 mixtape, which we’ve posted about already. Cop and listen, I’m already prepared to call it one of the best mixtapes of ‘10.
We posted a track off this comp last week, now we hit you with the full tape. The tape has features from the likes of Prince Po, Von Pea of Tanya Morgan, Zilla Rocca, D. Black and Has-Lo and beats by Madlib, Jake One and Black Milk.
The premise of this mixtape is pretty cheesy. Buckshot and KRS-One made an album called Survival Skills (with spectacularly bad cover art) which no one really cared about. The Survival Kit mixtape features Duck Down artists and friends paying tribute to Buck and KRS by reinterpreting their songs.
And yet, the mix is solid. The younger cats did a great job of channeling Black Moon and KRS-One’s early 90s vibe. Admittedly, underground rappers like Sha Stimuli, Chaundon, and the Kid Daytona never impressed me much, but they all mastered their contributions.
Skyzoo and Torae need to do an album together. I’m bringing that up at the next Duck Down box social. Oh you weren’t invited to the box social?
Here is the new project from Atlanta production outfit SMKA. The 808 Experiment mixtapes are an annual series of compilations that feature rising artists from Atlanta and elsewhere. The largely unknown cast of rappers keeps apace while bigger names like Tanya Morgan and Yelawolf steal the show.
The tape is especially impressive considering it doesn’t get boring even after 21 tracks. SMKA’s clean, futuristic sound has a lot of potential.
D.C. singer Raheem DeVaughn just dropped a fantastic mixtape, including dope remakes/covers of the Clipse’s “I’m Good”, “Pretty Girls”, “Bonita Applebum” and “Redemption Song”. Appearances by Wale, X.O. and Tabi Bonney, among others. Raheem’s new album In Love & MasterPeace drops in March.
The ML interviewee and Beat Drop contributor just dropped Trunk Muzik, his third mixtape. We’vetalkedaboutYela quite a lot lately, but really this cat deserves all the praise. This is an incredibly strong, concise mixtape with great beats, great features and great rapping. Yela handles slow numbers and double-time trunk rattlers equally well. “Pop The Trunk” is clinic in storytelling and I think Yela actually outshined Bun on “Good To Go”. “Love Is Not Enough” is heartbreaking, the best fusion of singing and rapping on the album. No one quite sounds like dude right now, and this shit is hotter than a burning Confederate flag. Cop this.
You wouldn’t think it by looking at her, but Eternia has more in common with Torae and Blaq Poet than Lauryn Hill. She’s not as violent or profane as her fellow boom bappers, but every bit as abrasive and perhaps a better lyricist.
Get Caught Up rounds up tracks Eternia has recorded since 2000. The result is anything but cohesive, but a great introduction to a talented MC.
Eternia’s upcoming album with producer MoSS can only be good. Entitled At Last, the project drops next year.
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