It used to be that artists used mixtapes as promotional tools for albums. They were typically hard to find and would contain a collection of freestyles, the album's lead single and maybe one or two additional leaked album tracks.
But in 2009, mixtapes have become more than a promotional tool. They've become an outlet of sorts. For rappers to experiment creatively without the boundaries and approval of the record labels. Artists now record material specifically for their mixtapes. The formula is simple. Grab some tracks, hole up in the studio for about three weeks, and the release is as simple as uploading to a file sharing site and dropping the link via blogs and Twitter. Boom. Product released.
Many people may say that mixtapes make it possible for the industry to be easily flooded with garbage. For the most part, I agree. When sub-par artist put out rushed work, the results can only be horrific. Or even when good artists throw together mixtapes and drop one every week (i.e. Lil Wayne circa 2007), the oversaturation hurts both the artist's brand and the industry.
But in an industry where the most talented artists often get overlooked for the more marketable acts, mixtapes have also become the Savior of Hip-Hop culture. While the mainstream music industry refuses to push quality music, getting tapped into mixtape culture is the best bet for a true hip-hop head in search of that real. It's due to mixtapes that I've discovered my latest collection of favorite artists and am back in love with Hip-Hop. Had I depended on radio and music television to provide me with listenable music, well, Hip-Hop would still be outside my door looking like the mops and brooms in those Swiffer commercials. I'm going to step all the way out on a ledge and say that I actually prefer mixtapes over major label releases. There's no pressure to make money back. No Soundscan to monitor. Just art for the sake of art, reaching the people in the most convenient medium. Of course the downloads are monitored, but people either "get it" or they don't. When the label gets involved, strings follow. All of a sudden, it becomes moreso about making back the marketing budget than giving the fans quality music. So when you present me with the option of tricking off $15.00 on watered down product or downloading that hot ish for the free, guess what I'm more likely to pick?
Even potentially great artists face this dilemma. As much as I love Wale and like Drake, their upcoming major releases make me nervous. How much real Wale will Interscope allow to show up on Attention Deficit? Will it hold up to the genius of Mixtape About Nothing? And what about Drake? Will his album stand up against So Far Gone? Will they let him be him, or will they turn him into a singing pretty boy gangsta? (The singing of "soo-woo" on his Friends With Money mixtape leads me to believe it's already in the works.) We'll all have to wait and see.
But in the meantime, what say you? Mixtapes or albums?
Robin Monique aka "Mrs. Hip-Hop"
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3 comments:
This post is soooooooo on point!
"But in an industry where the most talented artists often get overlooked for the more marketable acts, mixtapes have also become the Savior of Hip-Hop culture."
I definitely think that mixtapes have saved Hip Hop and brought it back to it's orgin. Also, I can't say how many albums were the shit but, I sure can call off a long list of mixtapes. Most mixtapes these days are wayyyy better than folks albums and that's sad. So like you said if it came down to me Downloading a dope ass mixtape for free or maybe giving an artist $5 via paypal to get the hardcopy mailed to me vs. Giving TArget or Best Buy $10-$15 for a watered down product what do you think I'm gonna choose?
Too me personally mixtapes don't mean much because a true artist can put together a great album. Understanding that labels do play apart in the direcetion of an artist album, i really don't think you can deny good music, I mean look at Lupe Fiasco.
The fact of the matter is that the dope artist are not the ones getting deals, (to your point) so mixtapes are all they have to their name. I just hope for the sake of the rebirth of Hip-Hop that these artist that are making dope ass mixtapes can translate that into a classic album.
Note to Wale: I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
See, in my opinion, the internet is having such an affect on the industry that mixtapes should carry a greater weight. I mean, if we're talking content, what difference would it make if the content is on an album or a mixtape? I guess this is why I don't feel like hip-hop as dead as much as it's just being ignored by the mainstream. But it was birthed outside of the mainstream, so it makes you wonder if mainstream attention is more of a hindrance than a help to the genre at this point?
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