The Mixtape Makes The Artist

The Mixtape. In today's hip-hop generation, it's pretty hard for an artist to survive without having a mixtape or slew of mixtapes for fans to listen, critique, analyze, and compare. Years ago, mixtapes were popular by famous DJs such as Kid Capri and Red Alert then it came to DJs such as DJ Clue, Greenlatern, and Enuff. Today's popular choices consist of DJ Drama, DJing Duo Ill Will & Rockstar, and DJ Khaled. Before they started off as "Blends" of popular R&B and Hip-Hop tracks over other beats to exclusive freestyles and original tracks to today's mixtapes being a mixture of the previously mentioned types as well as all original tracks. Today some of the more popular artists and mixtapes came from Fabolous' "There Is No Competition" Parts 1 & 2 and "The Soul Tape", Big K.R.I.T.'s "K.R.I.T. Wuz Here" and "Return Of 4Eva", J. Cole's "Friday Night Lights", Wale "More About Nothing", Young Jeezy's "The Real Is Back" Parts 1 & 2, and Wiz Khalifa's "Kush & OJ" and "Cabin Fever". For artist these days Mixtapes = Consistency & Relevancy. Even R&B artists like Trey Songz, Chris Brown, The-Dream, Ne-Yo and newcomer The Weeknd have adapted the "mixtape" strategy to stay relevant. New artists such as Drake, Wiz Khalifa, and J. Cole have used their mixtape releases as the "actual album-before-the-album, one that could spawn chart-topping singles"as well as gain them record deals and successful selling albums (Mixtape Economy). In the article "The Economy of Mixtapes" they mention how 

They're offered on websites like DatPiff.com and LiveMixtapes.com, which have erased CD-peddling bootleggers from city street corners...And where MCs once hijacked beats from others to serve as the sonic quilt for their release, mixtapes have become a creative survival of the fittest. Rappers who dropped freestyle mixtapes can no longer show-and-prove through lyrics alone-original beat selection, artwork and overall artistry determine worthiness.The philosophy is often described this way: As a reward for artists remaining loyal to them (by giving away original music), fans return the favor by buying concert tickets, merchandise and "real" albums from record labels. The result is a give-and-take relationship that keeps rappers in control of their brand and marketing, and iTunes playlists full of free albums disguised as "mixtapes." The payoff is an active fan base, which labels and management hope stimulates retail purchases.

For myself as a fan of Hip-Hop & R&B, I truly believe in the philosophy, I recently bought BOTH the physical and digital versions of Big Sean's "Finally Famous" & J. Cole's "Cole World" The Sideline Story" albums because of my love for their "mixtapes", grind, consistency, and features on some of my favorite records. That's around $40 because I am true fan for these artist and them achieving success like artists like their mentors Kanye West & Jay-Z. I believe this is where the problem still exists because fans will download the "free" mixtapes that artist spent their time and money to create and give out but when it comes to returning that favor for the free music by purchasing the album, many fans would rather illegally download the album than take $10 to buy the album in iTunes or from a record store.

On the other hand, an issue for mixtapes in general because of the growing popularity of mixtapes over the past few years, the RIAA has begun to crack down on DJs such as DJ Drama and Don Cannon, and DJ Big Mike for music piracy. The RIAA and labels don't like that artists are giving out so much free music, they consider it property of the label and the artist. Many labels however are coming around to understanding that this process of giving away free music is the norm, this can be seen by the signing of Wiz Khalifa to Atlantic Records who gained notoriety off his mixtapes and his endless touring.

With the music business today basically suffering off of the recession and illegal downloading, the "mixtape" helps an Artist survive off hopes that tracks and videos from the free release can garner touring, future radio singles, album deals, top selling albums and just overall money for them. "Indeed, for artists who have constructed careers on a mixtape foundation, signing with a major may not always be the end-goal" but it's a great way to stay relevant and consistent with the fans.