Curren$y – Fear & Loathing in New Orleans [click to listen]

If you don’t know who Curren$y is, let me catch you up real quick. He used to roll with Young Money and Lil Wayne (Tyga [click to read] was his replacement), but word around the block is that he used to ghostwrite for Weezy F. I’m not sure the truth in that, but regardless, Curren$y has been hitting us with a mixtape every month to keep his name in peoples ears. This tape is no different than anything else you’ve heard from the hot Spitta. He even calls people out on the title track with lines like, “Niggaz listen to my mixtapes, and jack my swagga then get on TV with it and I gotta look at it.” "Lost in Transit" is one of the standout tracks of the tape that I wish would have been longer. The other track that should grab you by your feet, pull you and drag you is “Calm Down" featuring Ced Hughes.” Its funky groove makes it easy for both of them to trade bars with such braggadicious poignancy. Even sampling Daft Punk on "Intergalactic" is a nice experimental track to groove to. If you’ve been following Spitta for a while, you know what kind of serving you he’s feeding with.

D12 - Return of the Dozen Volume 1 [click to listen]

D12’s latest mixtape, Return of the Dozen, has a lot going against it. First off, it’s the group’s first effort without the slain Proof [click to read], who was easily the group’s most charismatic member and the glue that held everyone together. Secondly, there’s not one appearance from Eminem, the group’s ringleader and infinite selling point. But with that being said, the mixtape holds itself together surprisingly well. Each of the members seem to have notably improved not only their rhyme skills, but their group chemistry—the verses all mesh together incredibly well, as if they know that they know that all they have is each other. The group’s deft combination of street rap and grim humor is still intact, as seen on tracks like “Cheatin In The Bedroom” and “I Am Gone.” Plus, all of the guest appearances here are well-done: former nemesis Royce Da 5’9” shows up to spit fire alongside everyone on “Plead For Your Life,” and Detroit mainstay King Gordy makes a strong case to be a new member of the group with his seamless contributions throughout the mixtape on songs like “I Am Gone” and “The Situation.” “13 Emcees” reads like a “Who’s who” of Detroit’s best street emcees—D12, Guilty Simpson, Quest McCody, Stretch Money and others—and not one of them disappoints. Hopefully the album has more of the group’s two star members, but if you can get over their temporary absences, Return of the Dozen is a solid effort.

Kardinal Offishall – Limited Time Only (Clinton Sparks) [click to listen]

How classic is that door close/"Konvict" drop? Add that with the “Get Familiar” stamp and that should spell success. Being as how this is the OFFISHALL (no pun intended) mixtape from Akon [click to read], Kardi [click to read] and Clinton Sparks [click to read], I commend the sincerity he broke down on the intro. He tells a brief story of his career and the ups and downs he’s faced through it all. He speaks on the hardships of being on a label and seeing your dream almost vanish. Then he jumpstarts the tape with his lead single but when that Clipse [click to read] feature kicks in, the track breaks windows from a block away. Five tracks in and you even get a 16 from Akon himself. And by that I don’t mean a singing verse, I’m actually talking about an Akon 16 that translates to him rapping (he didn’t sound half bad actually). Even the Estelle track bangs. Real talk, if you’re sleeping on Kardinall Offishall, this tape should snap your neck and wake you up like a cold bucket of water while you’re sleeping. You need to get familiar.