Tory Lanez Stakes Claim to 2017 With Two New Mixtapes

While everyone was getting over their New Years hangover, Tory Lanez was prepping a heavy payload of new music. Today he let loose two full length mixtapes in Chixtape 4 and The New Toronto 2. Both releases are the next chapter in two different series of mixtapes as he previously released The New Toronto, Chixtape, Chixtape 2, and Chixtape 3. With 25 new tracks to wade through it was tough to pick just one to post, but Proud Family stood out as an immediate favorite. I say that because it's exactly what you'd expect from Tory with a whole lot of autotune aided crooning over a slow and steady beat. Aided by production assists from Play Picasso and CoopChardonnay, it's another BMM quality track to add to his list of grown and sexy R&B releases. Feel free to pick your own favorite and join the internet buzz surrounding the releases by hopping on this hashtag --> #Swavey

Tory Lanez - Proud Family (prod by Tory Lanez, Play Picasso & CoopChardonnay)

"We Be Out in Silicone, Tryin' to Get Our Billions on"

If you're a Drake fan you've spent the past four days running laps around his new paid mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late. Evidently that whole Jungle video he released last week served as a prelude to the dark tone of his new mixtape. For those of you looking for a shiny new studio album, this is not that. It's much more grimy and random like his past legendary mixtape. Rather than talk your ear off about the whole tape, I'll simply list a set of pros and cons.

Pros:

• Most of the songs sound like they have been gathering dust for a while. I list that as a pro because we all remember the youthful exuberance of young Drizzy on his come up.
• The vast majority of the album is produced by Boi-1da and 40.
• It's 95% Drake. If you're a Drake fan, you get a huge dose of him in raw, elemental form.

Cons:

• There's a quality or polish that's absent. Again, if you're expecting a HQ, studio sound, you're going to be disappointed.
• There really aren't many collaborators on the album. If you like the typical star power he brings with him, it's absent here.
• There isn't one song on the mixtape I like better than my least favorite song on So Far Gone. It's an unfair comp, I know, but you understand what I mean when I say it.

To that last point, it's taking me a bit to warm up to the 17 song surprise barrage. Coincidentally enough, if you asked me to pick a favorite on the mixtape, it's bringing up the caboose at track 17. 6 PM in New York fits the mold of his previous freestyles that follow the same naming convention (9 AM in Dallas, 5 AM in Toronto). The beat continues rolling on with a hook nowhere to be found. It's one bar after the next, which Drake excels at when he decides to put it on wax. If You're Reading This It's Too Late may be more of a nostalgic favorite than something we'll put on his mantlepiece when all is said and done, but I'm sucker for a good throwback, so you won't see me complaining...#IYRTITL

Drake - 6 PM in New York (prod by Boi-1da & Mike Zombie)

"You Better Sink Your Teeth Before I Disappear"

The track below is a great example of why you shouldn't always judge a track on first listen. Full disclosure, I wholeheartedly passed on this track after first listen. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention to the hook at first because it sunk it's teeth in me on round two. The harmony between Dan Smith and the Haim sisters resonated with me and made the interesting collaboration that much more enjoyable. You'll be able to find it and a whole bunch of other fun mixes on Bastille's upcoming Vs (Other People's Heartache, Pt III) mixtape/EP. Tip of the cap to Bastille for being one of the few rock bands forward thinking enough to still release mixtapes...#OtherPeoplesHeartache

Chuck Inglish Does it For the Love

Now that The Cool Kids have parted ways, I feel like a kid who is going through divorce. Now I need to get to know Chuck Inglish and Sir Michael Rocks on their own as individuals, which is a little strange because of how well they worked together. It's as if they're both fighting for the love of fans this week as they both released solo mixtapes. Sir Michael just let dropped his While You Wait mixtape, while Chuck released Droptops via Karmaloop.

Seeing how much I enjoy the production value that The Cool Kids brought to the table, it shouldn't be a surprise that I'm posting a Chuck track first. His new one with Asher Roth is throwback as hell with the repetitive rolling beat clap that lays the foundation for some laid back verses from the dynamic duo. Now that I'm looking at the tracklist, I've already posted the majority of the tracks on Droptops, which speaks to how much of a gift it is to be able to cop it for free. It's heavy, well-produced Hip Hop that will take you back to the 1990s when folks were just starting to harness the power of an 808 drum machine. Go do yourself a favor and cop it...#Droptops

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Chuck Inglish feat Asher Roth - For the Love

"I'm Headed to the Moon Cause the World Screwed Up"

Now more than ever, an important first step in making a name for yourself is an album quality debut mixtape. Nowadays, if you're a rising star in Hip Hop, it's not uncommon to have the industry clamoring for a mixtape as if it were a studio album. Enter Travis Scott, who has had Hip Hop heads eagerly anticipating his debut Owl Pharaoh mixtape for the past year. Aside from being named to XXL's Freshman Class of 2013, he has managed to get my attention by working with the likes of Chuck Inglish and of course being co-signed an an artist by T.I.'s Grand Hustle as well as producer for Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music label.

After one lap around his debut mixtape, I've got my thumbs behind my chips leaning forward to declare that I'm all in on him. It's abundantly clear that Travis is cut from the same cloth as Kanye and Cudi in that he has a knack for the aesthetics of production and a similar lyrical style and delivery. The mixtape as a whole is impressive, but no track caught my attention more than Dance on the Moon. Having now learned that Travis is from Houston, the track below is less of a surprise, but it's just as dope. Quick caveat, I've been on board with screwed and chopped music since Robert Davis was shaping Southern Hip Hop over two decades ago. Knowing that, you can understand why my jaw almost hit the floor around the 3:15 mark on the track below. The beat goes from 100 mph to like 45 mph in a matter of seconds and gives way to a flawless Paul Wall verse. Bottom line, it's in your best interests to go and cop his debut tape for free simply because of how well put together each and every beat is on it...#OwlPharoah

Travis Scott feat Theophilus London & Paul Wall - Dance On The Moon

"I Could Eat You Up, That's Greedy Love"

Good news everyone, Bobby Ray is coming out with a new album soon. If B.O.B.'s upcoming album stays the course as a Rock EP, this track below wouldn't make the cut, but it's available to download for free on his latest F*** 'Em We Ball mixtape. The reason why it's worthy of being sharing is because animation extraordinaire Andrey Shushkov provided a fun story visual to match the sentiment of Greedy Love...
I could see the track making some waves on radio as all the greedy pop lovers come out of the woodwork. Either way the visuals were well scripted and I can at the very least appreciate that. No word yet on when his new album is due out, but I'm intrigued at what it's going to sound like...#HustleGang

B.O.B. - Greedy Love (prod by Sonny Digital)

Born Sinner on a Power Trip

Seems like Hip Hop artists are in the giving mood these days with free singles and free EPs. The latest of which @JColeNC let loose with a nice five track Yours Truly EP. The EP will serve as more of a hype generator for Cole's upcoming sophomore album Born Sinner, due out later this year.

I say it'll be a hype generator because the lead single off Born Sinner, Power Trip, just hit iTunes on Thursday. The sheer fact that Cole already letting loose extras from his upcoming album is downright exciting. Album cuts implies finality, which combined with a lead single release leads this blogger to believe Born Sinner is coming more sooner than later. If anybody watched the Grammys they are now very familiar with @MiguelUnlimited, which makes the hook on the track below that much more noteworthy. All I gotta ask is "Would you believe me if I said I was in love?"...#YoursTruly

J Cole feat Miguel - Power Trip

"The Lights Will Lead You There"

After taking a full lap around @rockiefresh's new Electric Highway mixtape, I'll admit, I'm thoroughly impressed with this dude. He initially got my attention with the @ClareMaguire Ain't Nobody (Breakage Remix) sample on Nobody, but then he went ahead and sprinkled some more awesomeness throughout the tape like his @lunice featured Superman OG and the track below, The Lights.

A couple weeks back I was critical of @asvpxrocky for falling short on his recent vocalization attempts and Rockie showed him how to do right on The Lights. Sure, there's an autotune crutch, but it sounds good as a result, so it's works. Strangely enough, the @MaybachMusicGrp signee found a way to pull off a beautifully melodic track. For the life of me I can't find out who the woman on the vocal sample is, but that still won't stop me from shouting out the producer of the track @Lifted_NewFOs. If there's one takeaway from this post, I hope that it's to give Rockie's new mixtape a full listen because dude is on a come up...#ElectricHighway

Rockie Fresh - The Lights (prod by Lifted)

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Wiz Khalifa is So Turnt Up on Cabin Fever 2

It's becoming an interesting trend that some Hip Hop artists are resorting to releasing high quality non-single tracks on mixtapes prior to their studio album being released. The reason for the trend? The might dollar bill y'all! Yep, with record labels like Atlantic who are pulling back the reins on @RealWizKhalifa's upcoming album O.N.I.F.C. until they milk his potential for all it's worth.

For the record, I don't really don't blame record companies for wanting to maximize their profit. In the end they have the distribution and marketing channels that artists need to sell massive amounts of records. Sure, artists can say I'm going to take my ball and go home, but that's usually about as successful as an NFL contract hold out. Even better, we as listeners benefit from artists releasing free mixtapes that aren't "studio album quality". Really the only people that end up getting screwed in the deal is the artist who has to play the record label's games to make a buck. As an aside, I'm really interested in whether artists like David Banner (2M1 Movement) or comedians like Louis C.K. cutting out the middle man will ever make a tangible effect on the skewed business model of the music industry as a whole.

Anyways, let's land this wild tangent plane. Below is my favorite track off Wiz Khalifa's new Cabin Fever 2 mixtape. It's every bit the booty shaking anthem you'd expect from a Bay Area strip club track. In other words, if you like @Drake's The Motto, you'll really like the new one featuring Three Six Mafia's own @therealjuicyj. Check the video below for a visuals...


O.N.F.I.C. due out in early December...#StayTuned

Wiz Khalifa feat Juicy J - STU (prod by Invasion)
|Mixtape

"You Had Me Like a Dread Locked Down"

With just over a month til @machinegunkelly's debut album Lace Up hits, it's only fair that he drop the obligatory mixtape to get the hype machine running. I'm sure there's someone out their doing the due diligence to prove that the mixtape right before an album works well because it seems like everyone and their brother's mother's cousin is doing it nowadays.

For all of you that missed it two weeks ago, his new tape is titled EST 4 Life and includes the track below. Not only did he sample of one my favorite bands (@thescript) best songs (For the First Time), but he showed an introspective side that is a stark contrast to his usual self. Maybe I'll partially take that back because he shares his love lost story in a real abrasive way, but would you expect anything less from MGK?

If you haven't heard the song, I'd encourage you to watch the @Spordy19XX directed visuals below...

The real question is have we heard his best already with Invincible already having been released? My inclination is to say yes, but I'm hopeful the answer is no. Is it time for the weekend yet?...#PowerRager

Machine Gun Kelly - Her Song
|Mixtape

Wiz Khalifa Samples Deadmau5 on O.N.I.F.C.

So I'm taking a routine lap around @realwizkhalifa's new Taylor Allerdice mixtape and I kept thinking that the sample on his track O.N.I.F.C. track sounded really familiar. The resemblance was subtle, but enough to warrant some follow up Googling. Since the internet is awesome, I was able to figure out what I was looking for and it ended up being @deadmau5's track with @kaskade off his Random Album Title album called I Remember...

Solid use of the sample by in-house Taylor Gang producers @imsledgren and @cardogotwings. Like only Wiz can do, he flips it into a smooth, repetitive Hip Hop track than ends up sounding strangely soothing. If you're wondering, O.N.I.F.C. stands for Only Ni**a In First Class, which just happens to be the title of upcoming sophomore album. No release date in sight, but I'm intrigued that @ADAMLEVINE is a confirmed guest on the album. One thing I know, it's not going to be as good as his last album and I'm totally cool with lowering my expectations in advance...#SafeBet

Wiz Khalifa - O.N.I.F.C. (prod by Cardo & Sledgren)

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Big K.R.I.T. Got This

Embedded in every notable Southern Hip Hop artist is an persistent desire to be the best. At the center of that desire is an a unwavering confidence that @bigkrit puts on full display with his new single I Got The Here off his upcoming album Live From the Underground. In a not so subtle way, the track barrels forward through all adversity like Kobe in the 4th quarter. It's the ultimate, you can't stop me track lyrically that maintains it's Southern roots through an unmistakable Mississippi drawl.

Just last week K.R.I.T. promised that his new album would find a way to hit stores in June. Along with that announcement came a new mixtape, 4eva N a Day, to tide us over until the real studio debut comes through. I haven't been able to narrow down a favorite yet, but I'm a sucker for screwed up samples, so Me and My Old School Guitar is in the lead right now. Man if his studio debut is half as good as all the mixtapes he's released the past two years, we're all in for a treat this summer...
#CantWait

Big K.R.I.T. - I Got This Here

|iTunes

"I'm Leanin' Like a Kick Stand"

I'm as guilty as the next man when it comes to falling for sugar coated, repeatable Hip Hop anthems. I've been wanting to post the track below for a while, maybe close to two months, but I kept thinking to myself, do I really like this song? I mean really, actually like it? The answer to that is probably yes and no 50% of the time, but today I heard @StueyRock on Sirius XM 44 (Hip Hop Hits XL) on my way home and thought to myself, ya know what...tonight it's gettin' posted.

At this point I feel comfortable categorizing Leanin' with the Rack on Racks of the world. The type of track that you hate to love and hate that every time it plays, you can't help but turn it up. Shouts out to @honorablecnote on the beat and sexy tag line at the beginning. Heads up for plenty more from Stuey Rock, who is rubbing shoulders with a lot of your favorite Southern Hip Hop artists and producers like @reallilscrappy, @roscoedash, @therealjuicyj, @YoGottiKOM and even one of my favorites who doesn't get enough love, @djmontay. If you like what you're hearing below and would like more of a main course rather than an appetizer, feel free to check out his latest mixtape Feature Presentation.

Either way, pour it up and slow it down...#PintOfLeanOnDeck

Stuey Rock - Leanin' (prod by Honorable C-Note)

|Mixtape

"We Buy Gold, Grams and O's"

Yep, I'd say it's safe to say in my eyes @bigkrit has taken over Southern Hip Hop. No disrespect to @tip, seeing he is the King of the South, but K.R.I.T. can do it all. He's consistently putting together retro, UGK quality type beats that make me think of Pimp C every single damn time I hear one of his beats. Add to that, he can chip in a hook or verse and you've got yourself a triple threat that maybe only @JColeNC can rival.

Below is a video of him at work in studio with @dareal_8ball and @pimptypemjg as they lay down verses over his head nod worthy, Southern funk masterpiece.

Pretty cool hearing 8ball reminisce back to 1994 when he made the same type of music with the late Pimp C. If you're wondering where this track will land, you're in luck. Word has it 8ball is releasing a new mixtape titled Premro, which will be hosted by @iamdrumma and is due out soon. I bet you didn't even know 8ball's real name is Premro Smith, did you? That makes two of us, but it explains the title of the mixtape.

On another note, keep an eye out for K.R.I.T.'s debut studio album titled Live From the Underground due early 2012. My expectations are high, but with efforts like the one below, I should have very little to worry about...#Hype

8Ball & MJG feat Big K.R.I.T. - We Buy Gold (prod by Big K.R.I.T.)

A Fresh Plate of Hot Beats

It's pretty rare nowadays for an artist/producer to release a strictly beat or instrumental only mixtape. It's ever more rare that the same beat tape is widely disseminated and recognized by the online Hip Hop community as something that you should universally give a listen to. The aforementioned statements are just a few reasons why anything Chuck Inglish produces is dope.

Maybe dope isn't the right word, unique is a more fitting description for what he provides the game of Hip Hop. Sure everybody loves 808 bass and it's been a staple of American R&B/Hip Hop since Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing. But the beats @chuckisdope puts together goes way beyond just bass. Don't get me wrong my favorite beats of his are the ones that make it seems like a caged gorilla is trying to escape the trunk, but there's something innately throw back about his sound that makes everything he creates so fresh.

The beat below is an example of why simple can be perfect if done right. XXL has a heavy, grimy simplicity to it that will find a way to make your head nod. There aren't a lot of crazy bells and whistles like what you'd normally hear on the radio, but therein lies the appeal. Sometimes less is more and in Chuck's case, less with get the job done by #WRKING...

Chuck Inglish - XXL
|Mixtape

Sammy Adams is Taking on the World

Up to this point, I've made a concerted effort to try and get my hands on anything @SammyAdams has released. Why you may ask? Songs like Driving Me Crazy, his Deadmau5 cover of Some Chords or even his track Comin' Up. Keepin' it 100, I've had a hard time differentiating him from Mac Miller, but that's not a bad thing because Mac has taken off this year. What I like better about Sammy is that he brings the heat when it comes to uptempo party music. Need an example? Look no further than his latest track below, Take the World. It's got an engaging, electronic beat that's pretty easy to wild out to. Put it this way, as soon as the hook comes in, you're either going to turn it down because it's a little too intense or you're going to turn it up and rock the f word out.

The track below surfaced on his "pre-album" mixtape titled Into the Wild that dropped on New Years Eve. Found it pretty cool because the tape was posted by @deejayillwill to Hot New Hip Hop, which lends even more credibility. Sort of like finding low hanging fruit at the club around 2 AM, Ill Will knows where the good new music lives. As far as the real album, no idea when it's set to drop, but I'm happy giving his pre-album tape a few spins in the meantime. I'd suggest you do the same and rep Cambridge, Massachusetts in the process...#SamAdamsIsntJustGoodBeer

Sammy Adams - Take the World (prod by JOB)
|Mixtape

Feel free to stream the mixtape below if you're not sure yet if you wanna cop it above. Sampling always helps those who are stingy with the storage...#NewSchoolInternetProverb

The Good Doctor Pays T.I. a Visit

A couple of weeks ago there were rumors floating around that @tip was in studio with @drdre. I'll admit it, when I first heard the news, I was pretty excited because it was like getting to see one of the best players getting to work with one of the best coaches. On top of that, they have two very different sounds, so meshing them together on a track was intriguing to me.

What ended up coming out on Popped Off was a middle of the road, mellow track. It was cool hearing Dr Dre on the mic again and you could hear his influence on the sound of the beat. Could it have been better and done a better job of living up to the massive expectations of such a heavyweight collab? Probably...but the Heat didn't win a title last year if you catch my drift (but they'll win it this year). In other words, watch out for a follow up track as their chemistry develops in working together.

Really doe, anybody else catch that throat babies like T.I. dropped on the last verse? Gotta love a little vulgar creativity...#SayYesToThroatBabies

T.I. feat Dr Dre - Popped Off (prod by Dr Dre)

|Mixtape

Again, if you haven't heard Tip's new mixtape, feel free and stream or download below...

Download Mixtape

"Bitch You Wasn’t With Me Shooting in the Gym"

Just when @tip was starting to get all the love with his newest mixtape, here comes the Don of Dade county with his own high profile mixtape. Yesterday at 3:05 @rickyrozay's Rich Forever mixtape dropped on LiveMixtapes.com. Naturally, I gravitated toward the @drake track, but what I found weird is that the mixtape was simultaneously released with the video of Stay Scemin'. That means not only did the track not leak before the mixtape dropped (rare), but the video came along with it (even rarer).

To begin with, shouts out to @THEBEATBULLY for putting together the instrumental on the track. I mention that first because it was the basis for why this track is dope. Even though it's on Ross's tape, it still comes off as more of a Drake track because Rick's verse is so short and his role is primarily to come in with the hook. With all the buzz surrounding the potential of @FrencHMonTanA, his verse to me was as forgettable as they come. It's an unenviable task following Drake's verse on a track, but when you go from a well thought out, coherent verse (Drake) to random nonsense about the feds and people in jail, it's noticeable.

Still a solid effort on the track all around, so be sure and cop Rich Forever, which is again, free for all because Hip Hop is badass and Hip Hop artists fully understand what can be gained from releasing free music...#GetWithTheProgramEveryoneElse

Rick Ross feat Drake & French Montana - Stay Schemin' (prod by The Beat Bully)
|Mixtape

"I’m in a Hot Wheel and I’m Driving Real Fast"

After a few more listens to @tip's new mixtape, I may have settled on a favorite track. Whether it be a mixtape or studio album, a common practice seems to put an intro followed by two of the best album or mixtape's top singles at tracks #2 and #3. Knowing that I naturally gravitate toward the "first impression singles" in those top 3 slots...especially when I see it features @IAmTravisPorter, @DROPOLO and @producertminus on the beat like Hot Wheels does.

The track is every bit authentic Southern trap Hip Hop with every verse marked by exaggerated southern drawls. Add to it a catchy as hell upbeat instrumental and you've got a great follow up track to the hyped up title track with Jeezy. I'm pretty sure every media outlet has leaked and posted that track already, so I'm sticking to the off the beaten path tracks that you might miss even if you check the internet daily for new music like me. It's what small time bloggers like me gotta do to differentiate from the Hip Hop blog heavyweights that have a staff and budget rather than a one man army like my own little piece of Hip Hop real estate on the internet...#InternetRealEstateWins

If you haven't already, please do yourself a favor and cop the mixtape at one of my favorite mixtape outlets here, here or even here if you want to get straight to the point. It's free on all three links, which is just part of the awesomness of Hip Hop...#FreeWinsInTheLongRun

T.I. feat Travis Porter Young Dro - Hot Wheels (prod by T-Minus)

|Mixtape

T.I.'s New Mixtape is Studio Album Quality

No matter what field you're in or who you interact with, it's universally known that making a first impression can go a long ways. After one lap around @tip's F*uck Da City Up album mixtape that dropped today, it's pretty clear he wants to make the first big Hip Hop statement in 2012. I'm a firm believer that production is the key to success in Hip Hop, so you could imagine what I thought when I saw that T.I. hooked up with legendary beatmakers on the mixtape like @DRDRE, @djtoomp, @producertminus, @manniefresh, @HitBoy_SC and to top it off, @JustBlaze. It's hard to get one single from one of those producers on an album, let alone a whole free mixtape worth.

For starters I'm posting a track that may get overshadowed by other high profile collabos on the mixtape like the title track he did with Jeezy. The track below, Oh Yeah, is low key track stashed at the back of the mixtape with @TreySongz on the hook and @JustBlaze on the beat. It's got a feel good vibe to it and gives plenty of room for T.I. to show off a little lyrical vitality on the mic. Somehow the Megatron Don always seems to concoct inspirational beats with his use of strings on every beat. While Oh Yeah won't exactly make you jump out of your seat like other beats he's done, it's sufficiently head nod worthy and a standout track on a mixtape that would put some of the best studio album releases in 2011 to shame. Something tells me I'll be posting a lot of favorites from this mixtape this week...#KeepItLocked

T.I. feat Trey Songz - Oh Yeah (prod by Just Blaze)

Bonus: Feel free to stream the whole mixtape below or download it from the link below off datpiff...

Download Mixtape