When 50 Cent's LP, Get Rich or Die Tryin', dropped on February 6, it was something like the 20th release of his career, though the first official album you could find from the rapper on the shelves at your favorite record store.
50, the latest star to come out of Eminem and Dr. Dre's Shady/Aftermath camp, had already found great success in the music industry. But not that music industry. The other music industry, the one where labels don't exist and there are no highly paid Lizzie Grubmans to publicize your new release, where the CDs are sold by vendors hawking them off dirty blankets on city streets, and bootlegging is encouraged. Welcome to the world of mixtapes — artists as big as P. Diddy use mixtapes as radio for the streets, and new rappers will do anything they can to get on them if they want to make a name for themselves.
Those words have never been more true. And every hip-hop artist, producer and label exec knows it.
"Mixtapes are incredible because they're straight from a brother's heart," LL Cool J said. "Music that they really feel, not music that just researches well. That's special, and that's my favorite way to listen to music: mixtapes."
"That's the way we got our fame and the way we got our word-of-mouth on the streets," Roc-A-Fella CEO Damon Dash said about the mixtape phenomenon. "Jay-Z would rap on every mixtape that meant something. That's the best way to talk to that real hip-hop consumer. That's how you get your respect. If you're a real rapper, you don't have to make a record for the radio or something for MTV. You get to really showcase your skills on mixtapes. We're always gonna use that as a tool."
"We were trying to get heard," P. Diddy said of the old Bad Boy mixtapes that came out in the mid-'90s. "We had mixtapes then and we got some coming out. [You got to] get your mixtape hustle on."
What exactly are mixtapes? In the days of old (the '70s) they were exactly what they were called: Cassette tapes with a mix of music from different artists put together by a DJ. Before rap records were even made, such DJs as Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa would record their party-spinning and performances at clubs and sell the tapes in the streets for $20 a pop. (Click here for a history of the mixtape.) These days, mixtapes come primarily as CDs, cost $5 to $10, and can feature any or all of the following:
Sought-after, unreleased "exclusive" tracks and previously released songs from A-list or up-and-coming rappers.
-Freestyles — an artist rhyming for one or two verses over one of their peers' beats.
-An entire "unofficial" album from one artist.
-DJs' special mixes of songs or the blending of two different tracks together.
-Turntablists and artists speaking out on current topics affecting themselves or the hip-hop community.
-DJs playing popular collections of songs at considerably slower speeds than normal. This process is called "Screwed Up" and is most popular in the South. It was originated by deceased Houston legend DJ Screw. Nowadays DJs are starting to add scratches and cuts to these mixes; this is called "Screwed Up and Chopped."
All of this happens with little to no involvement from record labels.
Mixtapes have not been mere collections of obscure or unreleased tracks — over the years there have been major releases of important music desired by legions of fans, though most likely heard at first only by streetwise hip-hop aficionados who know where to score the tapes. Try topping the one-two punch of "The Realest": This track, on DJ Whoo Kid's mixtape Max Payne 2, combines never-before-heard vocals the Notorious B.I.G recorded before he signed to Bad Boy with a new verse and chorus laid down by 50 Cent. Remember a little ditty called "It's All About the Benjamins"? Years ago, DJ Clue debuted the original version of the song, which just featured Puff Daddy and the LOX.
"I remember when I first started listening to [DJ] Clue tapes, and I'm from Atlanta, the mixtape game ain't that heavy out here," Jermaine Dupri said. "Mase, Cam'ron, the LOX and DMX were all on a tape before they was ever signed. They became rap superstars and that's what the mixtapes are right now — the next wave of music. The DJs definitely have a good sense of 'this could be hot.' "
"On the West Coast it doesn't even matter," Snoop Dogg said about the mixtape game. "We got a couple of people that's trying [to get a mixtape scene going], but we don't get the notoriety that they do on the East Coast. They are dedicated to it. When it's a hit record on the mixtapes, somehow it climbs into the clubs, then it climbs onto the radio station. Me, I did it with 'Pimp Slapp'd.' I dropped that on the [East Coast] mixtapes last year and it was everywhere. Then I dropped 'Lollipop' and it was everywhere. I'm like, 'OK, this is a good way right here. I gotta turn my West Coast rappers into knowing this is a process we need to do.' "
While West Coast artists seem to prefer direct selling of complete albums, and the Atlanta scene focuses on basic party mixtapes, other areas of the U.S. are catching on. DJ Mike Love is holding it down in Chicago, and his Midwest neighbors, the St. Lunatics, are planning to put out their own mixtapes and help the St. Louis scene thrive. Meanwhile, Lil' Wayne and his new group, the Sqad, have been generating a heavy buzz in New Orleans. Not to mention all the DJs who put out their mixtapes on the Internet. Given the story of 50 Cent, it seems likely that mixtape mania will only spread across the rest of the country.
But right now, mixtapes are still most popular where they started, in the streets of New York, where they're sold (illegally, as no taxes are collected and samples aren't cleared) in mom-and-pop stores and on blankets alongside black-market copies of popular current albums. And in the battle of legitimate albums versus mixtapes, mixtapes are increasingly the winners.
"Mixtapes are selling way more than regular CDs," said Ra-Lou, who peddles pirated CDs on Jamaica Avenue in Queens, New York, which is an historically favorite spot for street vendors. "That's what the kids want. If I have a hot 50 Cent [mixtape] or a Kay Slay, it'll sell out. I'm still selling some mixtapes that came out a year ago. But something like Jay-Z's Blueprint 2 will only be hot for a few weeks then die down."
At a time when the "real" music business is crumbling — sales figures last year were down 8.7 percent from 2001 — the mixtape industry is thriving. For one thing, the mixtapes are cheaper than regular albums on sale at retail outlets. And fans know when they get their hands on a mixtape, most of the tracks are probably going to be hot. A so-so deep cut on say, Busta Rhymes' It Ain't Safe No More would never make it onto a discerning DJs mixtape — only the choice tracks are supposed to reach the streets.
And not only is the music on mixtapes supposed to bang, it also has to be honest and uncompromised.
"I can put out a mixtape and just say what I really feel." - Fabolous
"When you make an album, it's kind of different from making a mixtape," added Fabolous, who started building his following by flowing on DJ Clue's tapes. "Some stuff I can't say on the album. I tend to be a favorite with the children, so I try to watch what I say. I don't sugarcoat, but I try and make sure I'm not too harsh, too vulgar. But I can put out a mixtape and just say what I really feel."
Artists say the purity of the the music on mixtapes can be matched by packaging that is unflinching as well. "There are certain things that major [labels] won't allow us to do 'cause they don't feel like it's acceptable for marketing a project," 50 Cent explained. "Like they haven't [allowed] a gun on the cover of a CD since [Boogie Down Productions'] Criminal Minded [and By All Means Necessary], but those guns are still in the 'hood. So when I did the marketing for some of my street projects, I used things that were a little edgier than what they would use at the majors right now. I got a chance to express myself in a different way."
Great music, guerilla marketing — so where are the labels?
When record company bigwigs first started taking notice of mixtapes — particularly those mixtapes that had unreleased material by their own artists — eyebrows were raised, as there was concern about losing power over the music they felt should be label-controlled. But these days, you'll be hard-pressed to find the labels showing much resistance to their artists being on mixtapes, as record companies are recognizing the streets as an indispensable cog in the marketing and promotion machine.
"I can't say it's a trend for everybody, but I do say it's going to be a trend for new artists trying to break through," P. Diddy said. "Labels don't even have the heart to put out a new artist right now. There hasn't been a new artist released in I don't know how long. In the case of 50 Cent, it helped him that he put out so much product [on mixtapes]."
"It's a cheaper and better way to put out a new artist," DJ Whoo Kid explained. "If Jay-Z's or Nas' song is playing and a new artist is on [the tape] right after, you will check it out. The labels know that. That's why they call me, Kay Slay, Clue — they bother us all the time to break their new artists. And they're so cheap, they don't wanna pay. I charge five Gs just to get on my CD for a regular slot. But labels want favors, they'll give me a Nas freestyle and I'll play their new artists."
Mixtapes have played a crucial role in a number of major rappers' careers. Established acts like the LOX, Fabolous and Cam'ron reaped the platinum and gold benefits of having a loyal fanbase that chased down their rhymes on the mixtapes. Since 1995, the LOX's Jadakiss, Styles and Sheek have had a more consistent presence on mixtapes than any solo MC or rap group. When the airwaves balked at playing the Yonkers trio's blood-soaked gunplay anthems, corner-crack-sale narrations, and general tales of decadence, the mixtapes acted as the LOX's radio station, playing host to such classic underground songs as "N---as Done Started Something" and "You'll See." The marketing power of their constant mixtape grind has practically guaranteed at least a gold plaque anytime a LOX-related project hits stores. Obviously the mainstream is also listening — not only have the LOX laid down vocals with almost every viable mic mechanic on the planet, but also for mainstream divas like Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Mya and Jennifer Lopez.
Fabolous knows a few things about collaborating with the ladies as well. But his teamwork with DJ Clue is what put him on the road to fame. Signed to Elektra through Clue's Desert Storm imprint, Fab went the grassroots route, freestyling on Clue's mixtapes for a couple of years and gaining a buzz. Fab's labelmate, Lil' Mo, first heard him on a Clue tape and immediately scrambled to get him on her blockbuster single, "Superwoman Part 2." Fab's years of street hustling ultimately paid off with a platinum plaque for his 2001 debut, Ghetto Fabolous.
Fellow DJ Clue freestyle alumnus Cam'ron also had to make his own opportunities. He already had a solo recording contract with Roc-A-Fella when he started putting out Diplomats mix CDs last year with his partners Juelez Santana and Jimmy Jones, figuring the streets were the best venue to shop a group deal.
"There was a time where nobody wanted to sign Juelez or my man Jim or the Diplomats," Cam said. "We put our mixtape out, Volume One. It created a crazy buzz. Everybody loved it. After we did that, people started calling us for the deal. You ain't got to wait for the label promotion, you ain't got to wait for the marketing, you put a tape out in the streets, the streets gonna judge it itself."
The Roc bit in a major way, giving Cam his own imprint, Diplomat Records.
But far and away 50 Cent is the ultimate example of an artist who climbed the mixtape ladder to mainstream success. During his ascension, the streets watched, listened, applauded and pledged allegiance to his G-Unit flag. Its first week out, 50's official major-label debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin', sold over 872,000 copies in less than a full week in stores, bulldozing its way to the top of the Billboard albums chart. Although 50 didn't know he would push that many units so fast, he had no doubt that the name he had made for himself on mixtapes would deliver the streets to him.
"A new artist on the system that's designed by the majors, all you'll know from them [before you buy their album] is that very first single that they decide to put out," 50 said. "There's been several artists before that have released CDs that had only one good song or two good songs and that's what causes people not to purchase CDs immediately. They wait until they find out if this guy gives up a quality performance all the time. By then, your sales go down. Rap changes so rapidly that they can decide what you did for that album isn't hot anymore. I felt like I had to take advantage of that opportunity and hit the streets with the music myself."
One man who heard 50 Cent's mixtape work was Eminem.
"I heard about 50 three or four years ago," said Eminem, who, along with Dr Dre, spared no expense signing 50 Cent in the fall of last year. (The story goes that they forked over $500,000 dollars and a watch of equal value.) "50 went away for a minute, he was quiet. Then he came back, did all the G-Unit stuff, and hit the streets with all the mixtape DJs. I kept hearing things, then my manager hit me off with a CD. I had been in a slump, thinking, 'Where is hip-hop gonna go?' When I heard 50's stuff, it was like, 'OK, let's see who 50's talking to now. Let's see what the story is on him.' "
Enter the beatmaster. "The hook-up with me and 50 started with Eminem giving me a call and asking if I was interested in collaborating with [him] to put an album out on 50," Dr. Dre said of the deal. "I said, 'Yeah, let's give it a shot.' "
They hit the bull's-eye.
Meanwhile, platinum acts like Busta Rhymes and the St. Lunatics will be putting out their own mixtapes to keep the concrete heat wave going. Because they know — as do their labels — that while good press, radio and video airplay can do a lot for an artist, there's nothing like street buzz to help you break through. And for street buzz, you need to be on a mixtape.
So how do mixtapes actually get to the street? Once the DJs or rhymers have assembled their underground offering, it's not shipped to Wal-Mart, Virgin or FYE. This part of the mixtape game even the most vocal of record spinners don't like to talk about. And if you do get them to speak on it, without batting an eye they'll tell you they have nothing to do with how their product gets out to consumers.
"I don't know, distributing mixtapes is illegal, man," Clue, who pioneered the trend of having exclusive tracks from A-list MCs, said with a sly grin. "I don't distribute mixtapes. I just do them and they get out there. I do complimentary mail-outs to athletes — NBA cats and football cats are big hip-hop fans — and to little stores here and there, record stores and clothing stores."
Other DJs, like Kay Slay and Whoo Kid, admit to taking a more active role in making sure their work is heard on the streets, but swear that they don't make any profits.
"It's not me on that note," Slay, who many hail as the current mixtape king, said about acting as a conduit to the streets with his tapes. "It's the people I know. [The mixtapes are] for promotional use only."
"One thing I learned as time progressed in the game is that these bootleggers are beasts," said DJ Big Mike. "I've gotten calls from everywhere — Antigua, Ireland, Canada, L.A., Mexico — it's crazy how far a CD can go. It just really spreads like crack. The music is so universal. It's not just New York. They fiend for it more out of state, because they can't go to a Harlem Music Hut or something like that [to get the mixtapes easily.]"
"I got 400 and something stores myself," explained Whoo Kid, who says he mails free copies of his CDs all over the world. "But I take it to the main [wholesale] bootlegger and he does his thing and kills the streets. The main bootlegger has about 300 bootleggers [that he works with]. They all know each other. They all got their own portable pressing machines. It's not only them, it's regular people. My main thing is to get it bootlegged. I make more money from advertisers [who see] my tapes all over. It sounds crazy, but companies are starting to realize that people will buy these more than a regular album.
"Nobody can get rich off of a mixtape because it's an illegal business," continued Whoo Kid, who will often name his CDs after video games like "Grand Theft Auto" and "Max Payne" to rake in advertising dollars. "It's just a promotional tool. It's about making money on other things surrounding hip-hop. The mixtape game opened so many doors for me. I own my own marketing company, promotional hip-hop Web site, DVD-production company, and I get a million shows from the bootlegging. I can't even stop working right now."
Word on the street says that some DJs sell mixtapes to the stores either on consignment or straight-up for between $3 and $6 apiece, then the store will sell them for upwards of $10. Some DJs will sell their mixtapes to a "wholesaler" who presses up mass quantities of CDs. A wholesaler might also buy a CD at a store and then copy it himself. The wholesaler will sell it to the vendors on the streets for anywhere from $1.50 to $3 — it all depends on how hot the mixtape is.
While mixtape makers don't have to be as adroit on the 1s and 2s as they did when Grandmaster Flash reigned supreme, they do have to have some sort of vision. DJs like Cutmaster C and Whoo Kid are already putting out mixtape DVDs that combine original music, concert performances, underground videos, behind-the-scenes footage and candid interviews. Another spin-off are mixtape magazines, something DJ Boom is developing. Boom's mixtapes will soon come with little booklets that include credits, much like the inserts packaged with regular albums.
Regardless of how mixtapes change, as long as they meet hip-hop fans' demand for something new and flavorful, their influence over the music business will continue to be felt — that is, unless the outstretched hands of the record companies reach too far from the boardroom into the streets.
Many in the game are beginning to express concern that DJs need to be careful and not get too caught up in corporate politics or the purity of the mixtape game will be compromised.
"I think once we start letting all these companies get involved in it it's going to get blown out of proportion, and it's going to get taken away from where it needs to be," Jermaine Dupri warned. "They need to stay away and continue to let the DJs do what they do — break artists."
Given how much is at stake and how much money stands to be made — one need look no further than 50 Cent — it's questionable whether every DJ will be able to resist the temptation to do business with the labels.
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