MIXTAPES: evolution?

("whats?! mixtape is Evolving into....")

The American language has a rather nasty habbit of taking words and completly changing the meaning overtime through general social understanding. Take the word "Yankee" for example. a term originally used by the british which described a simpleton colonial transplant (akin to how suburbanites refer to rural dwellers as "rednecks") a blatant derogatory word most likely at the height of its controversy during the build up to the revolutionary war, now a common term in the states used in songs and a baseball team. They still call us yank in some spots in europe and they get mad when it has zero effect on us.

*snapping out of my history channel moment now*

Which brings us to the word Mixtape. Without goin too far back (like colonial times back) I will say that the word mixtape has changed a few times before. there was a point where it actually had mixes of songs. one blending into another, extended "party mix" versions of songs and the like. you could pop in a mixtape and play it straight through, a virtual dj in a can.

As the hip hoppers started to get in on the action the word slowly changed from the above, to simply a mixed collection of freestyles spit over already recognized (industry) beats. Used primarily as a way to get promotion, Mixtapes served as a perfect "work-around" against the momentum roadblocks that come with trying to create and release an album. As they were not for profit sample clearance was generally not an issue, grabbing an industry beat was a simple task thanks to the internet, and the artist had no fear of being "shelved" by his label as he/she had completly creative control of the release.

The formula worked and mixtapes became known for this new approach almost as much as for there wildly exuberrant covers. Everything about the notion of a mixtape suggested an "no holds barred" system where anything was allowed. this allowed rappers to ride this off into the deep end until the term mixtape became synonomous with laziness. Rappers were able to use the term to hide behind as an excuse for not having any damn business being near a microphone.

"aye man this album was fucking horrible!"

"awww it's just my mixtape"

"oh......well i guess its pretty good then"

Recently I have noticed that we are currently in the midst of seeing the term be changed again. There have been a few classic mixtapes as of late that bare almost no resemblence to the formula that held the same name a few years prior.

Big K.R.I.T. dropped his acclaimed "Krit wuz here" with all original production (done by Krit himself), around the same time Yellawolf dropped "Trunk Musik" another well thought out and detailed piece of music with original production. This in addition to efforts by more newcomers Wiz Khalifa, and redemption bound Chris Brown show a strong change in the formula of the mixtape.

MY OBSERVATION: the mixtape meaning has not simply been changing, but evolving. Emerging from a chrysalis stage to finally recognize its full potential. this last phase however, can only come with the shedding of the final skin of the previous mixtape makeup:

The Mixtape DJ

MY REASONING: Lets be honest, the Mixtape is becoming the poor artist album. with many of these artist reaching out to a different kind of music consumer (i.e. women) they are reaching people with different taste then the average rap fan. Recently Chris Brown rereleased a mixtape sans dj's after much complaining from his dominantly female fanbase. Furthermore, mixtapes are becoming less about building a buzz by showing off your skills as an emcee and more about building a buzz by promoting a possible strong single that could make it on the album. Wiz Khalifa's hit single "black and yellow" was all over the radio in 2010/2011 but few casual listeners will remember it started on a mixtape when it more than likely ends up on his upcoming album (it will be dead by then but it had a run that will definently help propel his album sales). The same can be said for Rick Ross and his mixtape anthem Blowing Money Fast. when your goal is to get people to hear a single as clearly as possible, the last thing you want is for them to hear a bastardized version of this single at the hands of some dj that wants to scream on the track or "bring it back" in the middle of the song.

This is similar to a scratch dj doing his thing at a club. in the right setting or competiton or even during a performance of a song the scratch dj is king, but no one wants to hear that at the club when they tryna hear there song (a girl will scratch your eyes out if you start scratching over her favorite Trey Songz joint lol).

Mixtape Dj's will have there place with certain artist. but the media is definently changing towards the poor mans album approach. look around. Artist are dropping leaks off of there mixtape......off of their mixtape! thats like getting a free sample of a free item. your hearing more and more songs with original compositoin and fewer samples (mainly on the song the artist intends to be the single as this song will make it to the album if its popular enough). smart artist looking to hedge there bets (such as artist Kid Ink's release "Crash Landing") are even droppin two versions. one for the streets with the mixtape dj included, and one geared more towards the casual listener and radio with no dj. Dj's don't even have the god like pull they used to anymore. that music master that used to have listeners hinging on every cosign he gave to an up and coming artist is now obsolete in comparision to a goliath like twitter. When Kush and Oj dropped it was a trending topic amongst millions of people with not one official nod from a notable dj to its name.

IN CONCLUSION: All in all, i feel the rap universe is still trying to settle now that the dark ages of post record label rule is settin in. We greeted the internet as liberators, but we didn't ask it to help us set up a better system so were gonna just have to wait and let the dust settle to see how things go. For now just pray your dj doesn't @#$@ up your mixtape tryna be the star.