F-ROCK MIXTAPE MONDAYS

Big Sean - Uknow Big Sean Mixtape

Big Sean is one of Kanye's artists on G.O.O.D Music and if you don't know about him you will when his finally famous CD drops. He's a dope rapper and it doesn't hurt to have one of the best in the biz (kanye) working with you. He has a lot of swag rap but he's super clever when it comes to his flow and the mixtape is dope. He's just another example of how good the rappers are in the midwest (he's from the D) really are. Look for his album coming out soon also.

Columnist - Ricky Chon

Team Teamwork - Ocarina of Rhyme

For anyone who played The Ocarina of Time, this mixtape will bring back a lot of memories. Team Teamwork came up with the brilliant idea of remixing the music of Ocarina of Time with some of their favorite tracks including: MF Doom - Vomit, Edan - Fumbling, Busta Rhymes - Don Touch Me Now, and several others. It's always great to hear new innovative mixes, and this one definitely takes the cake. Download it for free here.

-By Columnist T.U.

Fidget - I'm Going in 3-The F-Rock Family Edition

F-Rock Ent. & Sunny Boy Music Team up again to bring to you:
I'm Goin' In' Part 3-The F-Rock Family Edition,
Hosted by: F-Rock Crew Mixed by: DJ Mynd Tek

Wu-Tang vs. The Beatles - Enter the Magical Mystery Chambers

This is a dope mixtape put together using Wu songs (solo or group) and mixing in the Beatles samples, beats, vocals, etc. Tom Caruana did a good job of putting this together. It's just crazy how you can throw the Beatles on different music and the sound comes out dope (the Grey Album, Danger Mouse mixing Jay-Z's Black Album and The Beatles White Album). The remixes are good, now don't get me wrong I'm a big Wu fan so a lot of these joints are classic and perfect the way they are, but hearing a creative remix to a lot of these songs you can't really go wrong. You just have to take a listen for yourself, it's creative and works well. Wu-Tang is dope, The Beatles are dope so it just happened to be a good combination.

-By Columnist Ricky Chon

Ludacris- A Hustler's Spirit

Ludacris is one of the more underrated artists in the mainstream right now. He makes club bangers and he can spit with the best of them. If you didn't hear Luda on the last album, I suggest you go pick it up as he kills a lot of tracks. Theater of the Mind shows his versatility and this mixtape is no different. Now, not everyone might not like all of his tracks and guest appearances but he comes through for the most part. Plus a free mixtape from a major label artist, can't really beat that. Just listen to the dude and you'll know what I'm talkin about.

-By Columnist Ricky Chon

November 30, 2009

Mick Boogie & Terry Urban - Le Da Soul Mixtape

Mick Boogie & Terry Urban put together another mixtape, a dedication to De La Soul who have been in the game for 20 years now. Pretty much everyone knows De La Soul as they were very influential to many artists out there from the native tongue days all the way up to even making a lil cameo appearance on Chappelle's Show. It's a dope dedication mixtape with reinterpretations from newer artists like Tanya Morgan all the way back to Phife from Tribe Called Quest. De La Soul is dope and these artists are dope and the DJs are dope so you can't go wrong with putting together a mixtape like this.

-By Columnist Ricky Chon

August 31, 2009

Charles Hamilton and DJ Green Lantern- Outside Looking

Charles Hamilton if you haven't heard, is a very talented new rapper coming out. He's had many mixtape releases and is signed to Interscope Records. The funny thing is you might have heard him because he might be one of the biggest haters in hip hop, but I mean the dude can talk that stuff so I gotta give him credit. From calling out Rhymefest to telling everyone stop comparing him to soulja boy because they are on the same label and stuff, he's done his fair share of talking. But the dude can rap, and is very different from the pink clothes to Sonic the Hedgehog persona he's adopted. He has his Brooklyn Girls song which is his single, Don't Touch Me produced by 9th wonder, and November 10th where he uses a Sonic the Hedgehog video game song and spits on it. Hey he's dope, he can rap, and the mixtape is pretty good so regardless of the other stuff it's kind of refreshing to hear from a major label artist.

-By Columnist R.C.

June 27, 2009

Rhymefest - Man in the Mirror

I thought that this mixtape would seem appropriate due to the tragic passing of Michael Jackson, the greatest singer/entertainer/musician of all time. This was a mixtape that Rhymefest dedicated to Michael Jackson, using Michael's songs, voices, interviews, and samples to make tracks with Mark Ronson. The mixtape is dope, Rhymefest is dope, Michael Jackson is the King. RIP to Michael Jackson

By Columnist R.C.

May 18, 2009

Mick Boogie - Unbelievable (A Tribute to Biggie)

This actually came out the week when Notorious dropped in theaters and has some excerpts from the movie in it. It is a tribute mixtape to Biggie and it is dope. A lot of the different tracks that he puts his vocals over make Biggie sound even crazier (although there isn''t too much wrong with old Biggie) but it made me wonder what type of dope music could have been put out say if Biggie got a track produced by Kanye, Dr. Dre, Neptunes, Just Blaze, and etc.

Like just imagine how hip hop would be different if this dude was alive and got to rip on those type of tracks. I think people''s views of the mainstream artist might be a lil different today and Diddy might still be more in the background. But yeah, not really too much to say, y''all know bout the Notorious B.I.G. and just catch a glimpse of how things would be if Biggie was alive rappin on these dude''s tracks.

By Columnist R.C.

April 27, 2009

Kid Kudi - Dat Kid From Cleveland

Kid Cudi is soon to make big waves in mainstream hip hop world. He is an artist cosigned (and literally signed) by Kanye West and just recently inked a deal with Universal/Motown. Kid Cudi has a very popular hot track called "Day'N'Nite" which has been a mainstay on the billboard singles charts for a while now. On one of Kanye's new singles off 808s & Heartbreak, he's featured on the song Welcome to Heartbreak.

So if you don't know who Kid Cudi is by now and you are a hip hop head...then I suggest you start listening a lil more to what is going on out there. He is very good musically and lyrics are good so I think it's fair to give the dude a shot, plus Kanye's artists on G.O.O.D. aren't bad, no put intended really...anywho the mixtape is dope and I'm sure you will hear more from dude. He also got tasered by the police at the NBA All-Star weekend which he stated "hurt like a motha *****!"

By Columnist R.C.

April 20, 2009

Del The Funky Homosapien - The Funk Man (stimulus package)

Del The Funky Homosapien is back with a mixtape to help ease the stress of the recession with the Funk Man (stimulus package). For those of you who don't know Del and you live on the West Coast...tsk tsk tsk to you. Del has been a staple in the hip hop scene out here from being signed early on Elektra releasing two albums in the early 1990s. He is one of the dopest MCs out of the west coast and a fun lil fact for everyone if they didn't know Del is the cousin of Ice Cube.

As one of he pioneers of underground hip hop culture, him and the Hieroglyphics have help put the bay area on the map for hip hop. Deltron 3030 with producer Dan the Automator was one of the best concept albums ever. Both Sides of the Brain sold over 100,000 copies which is really good for an underground artist and especially in an age where mp3s were starting to take over. Del also recently released the Eleventh Hour on Def Jux/Hiero Imperium which received positive remarks from critics. Honestly this dude has kinda done it all and worked with some of the dopest MCs out there and Hieroglyphics are all so dope so get some relief from the recession and get the free download of Del's mixtape.

His plan is to revive "the public at large" that is "over the whole rap era", as Del puts it. Del is digging deep this time around and giving directly back to the people in order to make the future of hip hop a more prosperous place.

By Columnist R.C.

April 6, 2009

Zion I - The Search and Seizure Mixtape

Zion I the Search & Seizure is a throwback mixtape doing a lot of old school beats from Public Enemy to EPMD. It is nice to hear some good west coast artists out there especially with the mainstream focus on the south for so long. Besides Snoop Dogg and the Game no one has been making a lot of noise out of the west. While I don't see Zion I necessarily coming to be a huge major label success or any of that, they have been a staple in the west coast for pretty much 10 years from their first CD Mind over Matter. The guest appearances are dope and fit in well from having Talib Kweli to Irascience to west coast legends like Del the Funky Homosapien and Grouch.

The dope thing about the mixtape, is they actually set up the mixtape to be like a cassette tape. So on Side A there are 18 mins of songs then you'd have to "flip it over" and listen to side B. Refreshing because this is how mixtapes actually were and fits in with theme of the mixtape. Plus I heard one of the best lines I heard in a while "Artists be chasin labels, labels be chasin hackers/ and autotune is everyone's favorite rapper".

By Columnist R.C.

February 23, 2009

Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing

Really in a time where people aren't paying attention to any new MCs out there unless there is a dance or ringtone attached to their music, nothing feels better than good music that is FREE and is supposed to be downloaded (so no real pirating going on here).

In comes the Mixtape About Nothing from D.C. rapper Wale, presented by 10 deep. For those who aren't hip to the game with the dude, he's been featured on songs with the Roots-Rising Up (video with the b-girls!), Rhymefest, and so on plus he is getting constant little commercials on MTV with his jam Nike boots. The mixtape is very innovative, just not the regular "let's just throw a freestyle over Lil Wayne's A Milli beat", it's actually a Seinfeld dedication mixtape with the lead song sampling the opening from the show Seinfeld (along with Wale doin the rap version of Seinfeld's comedy stand up). Yet don't get it twisted there are joints of him rapping over Jay-Z's roc boys beat, the Roots star beat, and even a remix to Nike boots feat. Lil' Wayne (aptly titled the Lil Wayne cliche feature). However he shows his versatility from the battle raps to a song called the Kramer, (inspired by Michael Richards insane racist rant after being heckled) where he explains the usage of the n word and how it has had positive and negative effects in society. Wale is definitely a MC worth paying attention to, lyrically he's dope, he's clever, and his character on the mic is entertaining.

The mixtape is fresh, the skits are funny (crank dat flying squirrel 'nuff said), and in a time where major labels haven't been promoting MCs that can actually spit it's nice to see a good rapper who can make good music get the backing from a major label (Allido records). Get on board and support the dude when his LP officially drops!

By Columnist R.C.