The Cure 2 is stream of consciousness drug peddling rap and Willie The Kid has some truly dazzling wordplay. Download the whole thing here and grab the keepers below.

Download: Willie The Kid – Twilight Freestyle Interlude One (produced by MoSS)

Download: Willie The Kid – Waste Not. Want Not. (produced by The Alchemist)

Download: Willie The Kid – Your Encouragement feat. Krondon (produced by Lee Bannon)

Let me explain,
Nothing’s been new since Big Daddy Kane.

I love it when a rapper so succinctly shits on the whole game. Grab the mixtape below.

Download: Ludacris – 1.21 Gigawatts: Back To The First Time

I heard about Chico 2Triple in January when Traps N Trunks posted “6 Year Grudge,” a loud and bullish self-introduction over stuttering hi-hats and a chipmunked vocal sample. Chico’s provided bio would make an A&R salivate: he had just been released from a six year stint in federal prison. In July, I spoke to Chico on the phone about his album The HomeComing, which was released online two weeks ago.

Chico was born in Columbus, Ohio, then moved to Detroit, “But I might as well be from Huntsville, Alabama,” he said. The city’s hip-hop scene has treated him well. “Before the rap thing, I was a real drug dealer. I was a real hustler. So they got respect for somebody who go off, do they time, don’t talk, and come back, and live what he really talk about.” Laughing, he added, “I can’t tell you how much free beats I done got and how much love I got.”

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Scram Jones lives on the sidelines. I’ve seen his name on production credits for as long as I can remember, but I can’t name any of them. He acknowledges his lack of visibility on “40 Bar Flashback,” where he says, “Was cool like that before I could produce a track / Ten years in the game and they’re like, ‘Scram Jones (who is that?)’” Littered with rap references, the tape is a hip-hop celebration with enthusiasm and mirth instead of suffocating reverence. There are familiar samples, punchlines that you’ll be tempted to tweet, a memorable Alchemist appearance (two if you count the previously-released Gangrene track), and Kenny Powers interludes instead of cries of “For the culture!” Proof that rap can still be casual and fun.

Download: Scram Jones – The Hat Trick

Starlito chases Ultimate Warrior with a nine song supplement. Separation Anxiety is a lot like Ultimate Warrior, but with an inclination toward slow jams inflamed by hi-hats, Lito’s laid back jeering, and cries of “bitch!”

via grindhard apparel

Rounding out this week’s deluge of mixtapes (Cold Day In Hell, LiveLoveASAP) is L.E.P. Bogus Boys’ Now or Neva. It’s street rap by the book, but not without its moments, which I’ve cherry picked for you. Keep that in mind when our telethon rolls around.

Download: L.E.P. Bogus Boys – Closer (ft. Dion Primo) (produced by Frank Dukes)

Download: L.E.P. Bogus Boys – Last Dance (produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)

via Fake Shore Drive

The beats are shinier and the guests are bigger but Freddie Gibbs still raps better than nigh everyone in possession of a microphone. Best song? “Neighborhood Hoez” with monsieur 2 Chainz.

Download: Freddie Gibbs – Cold Day In Hell

via LRG

Starlito’s newest mixtape Ultimate Warrior is a swirl of ambition, regret, and base desire. It’s more a mass of new material than a proper street album, but no less entrancing for it. The Nashville rapper is wildly charismatic and raps in lyrically dense bursts. Even when he adopts familiar topics – drug dealing sagas and misogynist romps – he sits on top of them and sneers at them. Or he transcends them by telling the stories with genuine feeling rather than going through the motions.

Ultimate Warrior starts with “#UW,” a title track for the hashtag age and a confrontational and cheeky introduction. Vitriolic peaks excuse the lack of a hook. Starlito raps from the back of his throat in a strangled croak that sounds like he’s about to throw up. The anticipative beat serves a hostile, outspoken loudmouth. “Antonio Montana” opens with Starlito reciting Scarface lesson number one, “Don’t underestimate the other guy’s greed,” before breaking into a cackle. He wavers between sardonic and aggressive throughout Ultimate Warrior.

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Huntsville rap is iridescent, but gritty; starry-eyed, but grounded; and always heavy on bass. It’s pretty much the only hip-hop scene worth getting excited about today. Family Ties came out this week, a new mixtape from O’Third, themselves a subset of great rappers and producers behind Huntsville’s relatively bigger names.

They’re much more grounded in today’s Southern rap sounds and tropes than their affiliate group G-Side. Money, weed, and bitches all make appearances. O’Third’s left turns aren’t as brazen — many of their songs wouldn’t be out of place on Def Jam release, except for the fact that they’re really good. The Auto-Tune verse on “Say My Girl” has no business on an underground mixtape, but it comes as naturally as the Hitchcockian beat on “DeBo.” Producers R.Dot, Snypa, and Bossman are in a league of their own and Monster, Zilla, DJ Cunta, and Mitch all command attention with authoritative performances. My only gripe is the line, “Killin’ ‘em all like Auschwitz,” which is tasteless and offensive, even by hip-hop standards.

Still, Family Ties is a milestone in Huntsville’s winning streak and a contender for mixtape/album of the year. Believe the hype.

Untamed is a mild alternative to adlib-heavy Southern rap. They have more in common with Freddie Gibbs than Waka Flocka; that is, they can actually rap. Grab The 6 Day Equation below and don’t forget about Street Solid.