James Drake - James Blake x Drake Mash-up Mixtape

Few things excite me more than when two of my favorite artists collaborate. In this case, though, it isn't so much a collaboration, but a mixtape mash-up of @jamesblake and @drakkardnoir, produced by Philadelphia's own DJ Bombe and Mr. Carribean, that has me incredibly excited.

James Drake Mixtape (DJ Bombe & Mr. Caribbean)

James Blake, the UK sensation, took the indie-world by storm this past year with his debut self-titled LP, headlining shows and festivals across the globe.

Drake, I probably don't need to preface. He's been killing it for years now, and judging by the two leaked singles from his forthcoming album, Marvin's Room and Dreams Money Can Buy, things are only getting better for this dude.

In what's come as a bit of a surprise to me, Drake has really taken on a life of his own in the indie-world. Recently, his track Marvin's Room, took over the #1 spot on Hypem.com's list of most popular singles, a site known for promoting the best of the best in Indie. And also, more importantly, the elitist tastemakers at Pitchfork.com seemed to have taken a real liking to this guy, too, consistently mentioning his whereabouts and promoting the projects he's involved in.

Enough talk though, let's get to the mixtape. The first half of the album is much stronger than the second, in my opinion, with Wilhelm's F***ing Best being an instant favorite.

Drake x James Blake - Wilhelm's F***ing Best

Successful CMYK and Forever Bells are also worth noting, but Drake fans be warned, this mixtape is definitely geared more towards James Blake fans. Blake's style is very much dub-step, fairly slow and methodical, and you won't find a lot of singles here, just an abundance of consistently good tracks. This project definitely showcases the talents of these producers, in their ability to fuse together two seemingly contrasting styles, but I was definitely holding out for more.

These two artists are stars, and maybe I was being greedy in expecting too much, but if you like James Blake, it's still very much worth checking out, just don't expect a revolutionary album, a la the Danger Mouse's Gray album