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Mixtape Amistad: We Want Free · by Brandon Soderberg
Photograph by Monique Rivera
Prodigy’s Return of the Mac is being called a mixtape, which it sort of is, in the sense that it is a prequel to H.N.I.C 2 but it’s not really a mixtape. It’s available in stores, including two different special editions exclusively available in Best Buy or Target, it’s on a label, and it’s on Billboard at number 32, not bad (or is that not bad for a mixtape?).
At the same time, it is like a mixtape because it lacks any proper credit for the numerous and well-known samples that make-up the production. I assume the lack of credit is the result of being on the below-the-radar KOCH records. Furthermore, in feeling and sequencing, Return of the Mac seems more like an album in that it isn’t a mess, is all handled by one producer, and has limited guests.
Did Jim Jones credit Rasputin’s Stash in the credits for Hustler’s P.O.M.E? Was he forced to do so after “We Fly High” became a mega-hit? Is it different because it’s KOCH/Diplomat Records? Recent news mentions H.N.I.C 2 coming out on KOCH, so how does that make Return of the Mac a mixtape and H.N.I.C 2 an album? No wonder the R.I.A.A got all confused and went knocking on DJ Drama’s door…
Popular rap music is now pop music whether we like it or not. The artists that are discussed on message boards and written about on blogs sometimes end up being the music that fourteen year old girls also enjoy. It’s weird. The mainstream rap album is now nearly synonymous with corporate compromise while the artists involved in this compromise still have a great deal of devotion to their so-called “real fans”, continuing to make mixtapes even after major label deals. When rock groups go from indie to mainstream, many of them just expect their audience to follow along, they don’t make non-corporate mixtapes full of rarities and remixes. The need for say, Nickelback bootlegs or Kelly Clarkson bonus tracks has not spawned a weird, complicated sub-industry.
The mixtape, whether it’s a real one in a slipcase without a barcode, a pseudo-real one like the Gangsta Grillz that randomly pop-up in F.Y.E stores, or a not-really real one like Return of the Mac, all provide levels of freedom most major label releases don’t have or are no longer interested in providing. This is paradoxical in the sense that one would expect a major label release to be a bit more solid or worked-on but with record sales down, every album has to be focused on the bottom line. The result is albums that cater to everybody in hopes of guaranteeing profit, leading to a compromised product that ends up satisfying nobody.
There has been talk that one of the reasons the wildly popular mixtape series Gangsta Grillz is so threatening is because it had the potential to outsell an artists’ actual major label release. Lil Wayne’s “play the game fair” quotation, hinted towards the fact that perhaps Mr. F. Baby was upset because Dedication 2 had a lot more interest than Like Father, Like Son. The real reason people would be more interested in Dedication 2 is because it’s a better and more cohesive album. If the same amount of work had been put into Like Father, Like Son as was put into Dedication 2 there would be two Lil Wayne albums everyone would be babbling about.
DJ Drama seems more interested in quality than the major labels and in some cases, even the artists he works with. Even if the music is not what one enjoys, there’s a sense of quality and consistency that cannot be guaranteed on many major label releases. No doubt his audience is significantly smaller, so he can afford to be more daring but still, there’s a remarkable amount of care put into his mixtapes. Even the ubiquitous gunshot and “Gangsta Grillz ya’ bastards!” drops sprinkled through the tapes seem to have some weird logic to their placement.
DJ Drama represents what the mixtape DJ could be, someone who is economically motivated but within the culture and therefore not a total corporate entity. Drama still has some interest in artistic quality and control and is fairly discerning. Although he made his mark as a Southern trap-rap supporter, he’s made equally impressive mixtapes for Little Brother, Saigon, and Pharrell. This past week, DJ Drama made his first official statement since his arrest. He was appropriately humbled, refusing to call himself a “mixtape martyr” and seeking out compromise with the R.I.A.A even though he probably knows better than any of us how crooked and outdated they seem to be. The cynic in me assumes the worst but if someone like Drama could be integrated into the industry in an appropriate way, the same guy that established some of the rappers that killed hip-hop could lead to its resurrection.
Comments for "Mixtape Amistad: We Want Free"
FIRST!!!! lol…jp..Prodigy is my brother from another mother….great read & great post….ONE!!!
— Crooklyns Classics Apr 11, 02:43 AM
“It’s available in stores, including two different special editions exclusively available in Best Buy or Target…”
Circuit City too has its own exclusive version.
— SacmenFeg Apr 11, 02:56 AM
SacmenFeg-
What’s the exclusive Circuit City version? Or am I getting that mixed up with the Target version? The Best Buy version has 3 bonus track and I believe the Target version has a DVD of the videos.
— brandonsoderberg Apr 11, 03:13 AM
The Circuit City version has the instrumentals for “Stuck On You” and “Mac 10 Handle.” As you mentioned, the Best Buy version has 3 bonus tracks, and the Target version has a bonus DVD.
— SacmenFeg Apr 11, 02:43 PM