10. Travis Barker and DJ AM: Fix Your Face
They escaped death. It was one of the biggest news stories of the year, and hopefully, if any positives from their music benefit, people check out this mixtape… unreal.
9. Kid Cudi: A Kid Named Cudi
I’m still not sold on him, but he does have plenty to offer. This mixtape is actually pretty dope on many levels too.
8. Bishop Lamont & DJ Whoo Kid: The Confessional
Bishop had a pretty great year and has really become something special of an emcee. He can do the mixtape thing, but hopefully that doesn’t limit him when it comes to LPs.
7. Blue Sky Black Death: Jean Grae’s Evil Jeanius
Not sure how to classify this. Unreleased, older Jean tracks brought up and mixed by this production team. It’s pretty dope and is probably better than the wack re-release of Jeanius.
6. Royce Da 5’9 & DJ Green Lantern: The Bar Exam 2
The year’s best rapper dropped a great mixtape in 2008. A blend of him rapping on older beats, newer beats, a few original tracks sprinkled in there too. It makes for a pretty dope mixtape.
5. Mick Boogie Presents: Adele: 1988
Mick Boogie, a mixtape beast, dropped this piece of work and apparently went on a Grammy attacking rampage. Teaming up with plenty of up and coming talent and even getting Big Pooh and Naledge on it, Mick dropped one hell of a dope mix that combined Adele’s Grammy nominated joints with 80′s hip hop beats. With a twist, of course.
4. Nas & DJ Green Lantern: The N***er Tapes
It had a blend of tracks that were on his upcoming LP and a bunch of tracks that didn’t make the cut. I enjoyed this more than the album. Is that wrong?
3. Maroon 5: Call & Response: The Remix Album
Ali Shaheed, DJ Premier, ?uestlove, Tiesto, Pharrell, Paul Oakenfield, Dj Quik. Not convinced yet? No idea what will then. This was one of the most diverse and entertaining listens all year.
2. Mick Boogie & Terry Urban Presents: Jay-z & Coldplay: Viva La Hova
Bringing some dopeness to 2008 was Mick Boogie and Terry Urban. After their successful Can I Kick It Obama mixtape, this dropped right after. Blending Jay-Z vocals with Coldplay beats, but loaded with talented producers (9th Wonder, Remot, Cookin’ Soul) that turned out the original beats into something different. Approval from Coldplay and Jay-Z themselves cemented this as something special.
1. Wale: The Mixtape About Nothing
It will be interesting to see what Wale can do with a whole LP, but the fact is, this mixtape was ingenious. As a huge Seinfeld fan myself, I only loved this concept more and Wale didn’t hold back with references and themes. Better yet, he took plenty of the philosophical themes from Seinfeld (knowingly or not) and made them into some great tracks. This is a huge reason why he’s an artist to watch out for in 2009.
Honorable Mentions
- Asher Roth: The Greenhouse Effect
- Clipse: The Road ‘Til the Casket Drops
- Lil’ Wayne: Dedication 3
- Joe Budden: Mood Muzik 3 (The “Album,” that’s still a mixtape)
- DJ Benzi & 10 Deep: The New Deal
Related posts:
- Top 10 Most Anticipated Albums for 2008
- Top 10 Trends/Phases in 2008
- Top 12 Most Anticipated Albums of the Summer
- Top 12 Most Anticipated Albums for 4th Qtr ’08
- DJ Dutchmaster & M-Phazes: The Official 2008 CMJ Mixtape
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