Not Ya Mama's Mixtape

Over the past month I downloaded three new mixtapes, given away by the artists or DJs who created them.  One from Sri Lankan rapper/producer M.I.A. (ViCKi LEEKX) and another from Kid Sister, a Chicago-based rapper (KissKissKiss). The third, a ‘proper’ mixtape full of various artists, Who’s Ya Best Emcee? from Femcees is on heavy rotation in my apartment and on my iPod.  These mixtapes are not ones that you and I remember. They are not the cassette tape kind, where you spliced together your favorite songs for either a party mix or to give to that special someone.  (If you don’t know what a cassette tape is, you’re probably too young to be reading this blog). No. These mixtapes, likely the ones your teenagers are listening to, are a significant part of the hip-hop industry and a critical part of promotion.  But they do originate with those cassette tapes from back in the day.  

I don’t remember the songs on my first mixtape. Creating it would have involved taping songs from the radio onto a cassette using my Sears stereo, which had a turntable, AM/FM radio, 8-track and cassette player. The mix most likely included some Go-Go’s and Joan Jett. By the time I was in college I was making party mixes with my friend, and eventual radio co-host, Christine.  I believe we called them ‘Chris & Kyra’s Kick-Ass Party Mixes’ and included everything from The Cure to Run DMC. I still create mixes for my friends, but now I assemble them on my iMac and either burn them to CDs or post them on iTunes. (The Very Special K Holiday series is legendary.)

The hip-hop mixtape evolved similarly, but has a much bigger impact on today’s music industry than anything I ever created. In the 1970’s club DJs sold recordings of their performances on 8-track or cassette tapes. As cassettes became cheaper and more available, someone would just set up a boombox (remember those?) next to a speaker at a party to record and then distribute en masse. Eventually mixtapes became the best way to find new artists and exclusive mixes of new songs from the hottest DJs. Today, these mixtapes are mainly sold on the street as CDs or given away for free online. The ongoing struggle of major record labels to get rid of mixtapes, touting copyright laws, while simultaneously using mixtapes to promote new artists and songs exemplifies the current state of the music industry.  Now that it's possible to download music online, and many artists are selling direct to their fans, major labels have no idea how to make money.  But the pathetic state of the music industry and the decline of greedy major record labels are topics for another blog post.

You can’t buy a mixtape on iTunes or at Best Buy (one of the few places you can even buy actual CDs these days). Mixtapes remain somewhat underground, yet not impossible to locate.  It doesn’t take much searching to find online mixtape sites or your local independent music retailer and it's worth the effort. While the M.I.A. and Kid Sister mixtapes are great, I highly recommend checking out Femcees, Who’s Ya Best Emcee?  It contains tracks from all the usual suspects in popular hip-hop, Nicki Minaj, Keri Hilson and Rye Rye, as well as some older favs like Missy Elliot, Eve and Lil’ Kim.  It’s a refreshing reminder that there are some fierce female rappers out there.  Most of the lyrics revolve around sex, money, bling, and just general fabulousness,  while leveraging all sorts of inappropriate language. But how can you not sing along to lyrics like “all my fly girls, fly girls, gettin’ money” or “let’s make some make-up sex”?  The songs, including Tamika Scott's Ah Remix with the catchy refrain “yeah boy it’s my birthday and my body’s looking tasty,” can get stuck in your head.  These tunes will either convince you that you are totally hot or motivate you to get your arse to the gym, where you can workout along to the beats of this fab mixtape.  Wasn’t that one of the places we originally listened to mixtapes? Running or dancing around with headphones and a Sony Walkman. Leg warmers optional. 

A few songs from Who’s Ya Best Emcee?

To learn more about mixtapes check out the 2007 documentary Mixtape Inc. which is seriously lacking in SWIK representation, but informative none-the-less.