The City Is In Good Hands sounds more like a mixtape than one of DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz releases has in recent memory. His stamp on a project is usually synonymous with an artist going their hardest on every track, but Snoop Dogg seems to be coasting throughout much of this effort. Don’t get it twisted: Snoop’s silky, relaxed-yet-menacing flow is still on display here, but when his already relatively generic lyrics are dumbed down even more, his style over substance approach isn’t as engaging. That’s not to say that Good Hands isn’t a solid effort: the funky, synth’d out production here is spellbinding from top to bottom and it perfectly meshes with Snoop’s steez, and guest stars like Kurupt, Western Union and Warzone all hold their own when given shine. And when Snoop does go in, the results are undeniable: “Fresh Like Me” sees him cockily strutting down the blue carpet while giving a description of his California streets, while “The Lookout” sees him giving advice to the soon-to-be-incarcerated T.I. “Ridaman” takes a dare to combine “A Children’s Story” and the Spiderman theme and somehow succeeds, with a head-nodding beat and Snoop’s comic book narrative of a ‘hood superhero. For these two’s better work, see Snoop’s Blue Carpet Treatment [click to read] and DJ Drama’s other Gangsta Grillz tapes.

The Cool Kids - That’s Stupid: The Mixtape (Mando Fresco) [click to listen]

Considering the cult following they’ve accumulated over the past couple of years, The Cool Kids haven’t released much material to back it up. Before the release of this mixtape, they had only released The Bake Sale [click to read]. That’s Stupid is short as well, with a sparse six songs and a playtime of less than 20 minutes. But quality outshines quantity here, as the six tracks all showcase what The Cool Kids are known for: sparse, trunk-rattling beats under flossy, stylistic hipster rhymes that snugly adhere to the '80s aesthetic they respect so much. To be fair, the Cali-meets-Michigan duo is more talented than naysayers give them credit for, as their verses feature more complicated rhyme schemes and clever punchlines than those from the average swag rapper. But if you aren’t a fan already, this won’t make you one. And if you are, then this undersized collection executes like a small fry from McDonald’s: good, but leaving you hungrier than you were in the first place.

J The S - When In Rome [click to download]

This mixtape is a little older, but the latest effort from Boston/New York emcee J The S, When In Rome, offers solid, no frills Hip Hop. Solid, song-appropriate production paired with vivid, efficient lyricism give J The S—which stands for Jake The Snake—the fundamental tools needed for mixtape success. Homie works best under peer pressure: “Kilograms (I Know)” features J outshining west coast staple Ras Kass [click to read] with lines like, “Y’all be snitchin’, like it’s cool to rat/the only time I drop a dime is when I lose my sack,” while “Pump” sees his second verse rivaling closing bars from more popular up-and-coming New Yorker Skyzoo [click to read]. J’s got solo songs that stand on their own too, though: the highlight is “Don’t Hear Me,” which narrates a man and a woman’s struggles with addictions to drugs and gambling. Jake The Snake’s mainstream appeal needs refinement, as some of his hooks are nearly unbearable, and “Chase Cutter” falls on its face as a trite attempt at a club banger with a hood edge. Still, J The S is a passionate, bonafide talent on the east coast: and that’s already enough to put him a step ahead.

6th Sense and Mick Boogie - Just Do It [click to listen]

Just Do It is a unique effort: 6th Sense and Mick Boogie visited the Nike headquarters in Portland, and they put together this mixtape in two days as an ode to the legendary sportswear company. As corny as the concept may sound—especially to an Adidas head like me—it’s a fun, concise listen. Even though it’s only nine songs deep (minus an intro), the duo does a commendable job of keeping things versatile: the mixtape doesn’t only have the expected odes to fly kicks (a “Nike Boots” freestyle, and the Lupe Fiasco and A-Trak assisted “Me & My Sneakers”), but odes to actual players, like “Team USA” and “December 30 (King James),” the latter of which slyly alludes to Jay-Z’s song “December 4th.” While it doesn’t necessarily work as a mixtape in the traditional sense, it’d definitely be a good look as an insert to some Nike shoes or the soundtrack to a video game. Continued on page 3 »