Another positive change the mixtape has undergone is in its quest for beat originality. More and more, artists are using original beats to strut their stuff as opposed to riding off on someone else’s home run, which was the dominant thing to do in the mid and late-'90s. Tek, half of the duo from Smif N Wessun, who is currently working on his U.G.P. mixtape (Underground Prince), is a believer in using original beats, if not for any other reason but to keep up with the times:

"[Artists] choose original beats because it shows their creativity and range to make a song on their own instead of following someone else’s blue print. Plus, I think fans are growing tired of hearing older beats re-used. One second, a beat is hot, but then your mixtape comes out a few months later as it sits on a production line, and the beat you used that was once hot is now a thing of the past. That’s not a good look for any artist, to sound outdated.” Tek is not alone, as some of the most notable mixtape artists navigate a search for original beats, including Joe Budden whose Mood Muzik 3 [click to listen] album/mixtape is nominated for various categories for this year’s Justo Awards (annual mixtape awards), including “Best East Coast Mixtape Artist”, “Best Hip Hop Mixtape” and “Best Mixtape of the Year.”

Last but not least, we see another significant change in the tape, as it now performs on the podium for rap beefs. “Within the last seven to eight years, it [the tape] sometimes served as a platform for ‘rap beefs’ because if you’re going to respond to a diss, rumor [and other things], there’s no way that you’re gonna want to wait until your album drops to reply. Someone disses you today, and by tomorrow, you could have your comeback on the streets via a mixtape.” DJ Doo Wop knows this better than most as he was a contender in one of the earliest "mixtape beefs" dating back to early '90s, with Kid Capri.

The Right Consistencies

If the cliché is true and the more things change the more than stay the same, then same is true with the tape. As we’ve just witnessed both negative and positive changes in the mixtape circuit, let that not overshadow some of the tape’s most notable consistencies. First and foremost is its appeal to the freedom of speech; as the tape was used two decades ago for artistic expression, it is still used today for the same reason. As the demand of the streets and the demand of the labels differs in most cases, mixtapes are solely dropped for the streets, allowing artists to put out whatever they want to, without label’s interference. “With a record company you have to submit a sample and have it approved; so at the end of the day, it’s tweaked. The labels monitor everything and they usually pick songs that will go on the radio and hit the mainstream market,” says Capri. “A lot of what the artist has to say gets cut and dropped.”

As the tape enforces freedom of speech, artistic creativity and minimal regulation from the labels, it also allows the deejay to have his/her own identity. Deejay's releasing the mixtapes are as popular as the artists on the tapes – and in many cases even more so than the artists, earning themselves both the loot and the booty (no pun intended), as well as all the accolades associated with a classic tape. Whether the tape serves as a backdrop for hot lyrics (refer to DJ Tony Touch’s Power Cypha Series) or a setting for rap beef (DJ Kay Slay was the first deejay to play Nas’ “Ether”), it gave deejays their deserved honor, setting them at front of the bidding wars among artists choosing mixtape hosts while predicting mixtape success based on the deejay hosting/presenting it.

Another constant of the mixtape is its legal status. The tapes were always and are still sold illegally without samples being cleared or taxes paid upon sales. They are still the cheapest route to promoting and breaking new artists, as both artists and labels opt out for the economical mixtape option, as the rest of the budget is divided between marketing, promotion and PR. As well, the tape is still one of the best tools for keeping an artist sharp, as it raises the bar for artistic creativity, and it is still an east coast phenomenon that has never fully expanded into the West:

“Mixtapes originated on the east coast – on the underground circuit. […] Since it originated on the east, the west never really picked it up like we could. Rap and Hip Hop is so much stronger on the east coast. The West hasn’t really generated any strong talent lately. With the exception of Snoop, The Game and a few others, not too many rappers are making as much of an impact.” – Kid Capri.

The Balancing Act

Though the mixtape has gone through ups and downs since its conception, the one thing the current tape circuit doesn’t lack is balance. As saturated as it is with both rappers and deejays, it also prides itself with originality, raising the bar for rappers as each “diss record”, each street album, and each mixtape drops. Rappers keep each other on their toes simply by competing in the streets and the tape is the means they use to throw punches, win praise and even street status among the fans and Hip Hop media alike. As well, we have seen the mixtape beefs spill over into the streets, the labels, and even to Photoshop (refer to Fat Joe’s feud with 50). On the other hand, the mixtape has also been used for pushing political agendas and supporting presidential candidates, where most recently, DJ Green Lantern was approached by Russell Simmons to work his magic and release a tape titled Yes We Can in support of Senator Obama. Continued on page 3 »