Best Of 2008: Top 15 Mixtapes

Previous Midwest Broadcast Best of 2008 Posts:
Non-Hip-Hop Albums

Intro: Hip-hop is as flooded with aspiring rappers as it has ever been. So, consequently, a seemingly endless number of artists dropped mixtapes. Naturally, I did not listen to them all. I even passed up some of the bigger-name mixtape artists of the year (Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, G-Unit, every Lil’ Wayne mixtape, etc.). Still, I think this is a pretty comprehensive list. A good mix of underground, emerging, and established artists dropped superb mixtapes this year. If you have not listened to any of the artists on this list, I encourage you to download their music, as all of these mixtapes are worthy of repeat listens. Artists made the list based on overall quality of the mixtape, originality, topical content, lyrical prowess, production quality, and other various factors. Oh year, and it doesn’t hurt if I don’t have any DJs constantly talking their shit, which seriously disrupts a song’s listenability. Anyway, without further adieu, here are the 15 best mixtapes of 2008.

15. Evidence: The Layover Mixtape
Evidence was really on his grind this year. With his series of self-produced videos, mainly featuring him tirelessly working in the studio, it was clear how dedicated Evidence is to releasing quality music. His work paid off. Now it’s on to 2009 for his sophomore album, Cats and Dogs. Key Tracks: “The Layover,” “Bigger Dreams,” “For Whom The Bell Tolls ft. Phonte, Blu, & Will.I.Am”

14. Jay Electronica: What The Fuck Is A Jay Electronica?
This was actually a compilation mixtape put together by those at We Do It Right. However, it effectively introduced new listeners to Jay Electronica, the elusive and intriguing New Orleans rhymer. This collection of tracks (22 songs in total) accurately showcases Jay Electronica’s eclectic and diverse style. New Jay Electronica music has since been hard to come by — and few people seem to know what he’s really up to, besides barraging us with Twitter updates — so this mixtape will tide us over until his next project drops. Key Tracks: “Something To Hold On To,” “Renaissance Man,” “Bitches and Drugs”

13. 88-Keys: Adam’s Case Files
If you did not catch 88-Keys’ recent studio album, The Death of Adam, then your iTunes library is seriously lacking. It was one of the better albums of the year, and impressively followed one concept throughout: “The power of pussy,” as 88-Keys said himself. However, just as strong as the actual album is, the mixtape that preceded the album, Adam’s Case Files, is also a must-have. It is presumably composed of concept tracks that didn’t make the final cut, yet they’re still pretty great. 88-Keys is a sample wizard, and always finds the right track to mesh with his songs topics. Key Tracks: The mixtape follows a story, so listen to each song sequentially — it will be worth your time.

12. Wafeek: The Aristocrats Mixtape
Originally from St. Louis, Wafeek is a talented rapper who got some recent internet shine for this mixtape. He can destroy a track in multiple ways: swagger raps, up-tempo raps, concepts, metaphors, and more are all featured on different tracks. “Let The Beat Die Backwards” is arguably the year’s best and most creative remix of Weezy’s “Let The Beat Build.” Another positive aspect about Wafeek’s mixtape is that it gets to the point. Many tracks clock in under 2 minutes; there aren’t annoying shit-talk interludes; I didn’t have to sift through 25+ songs to find the good ones. Wafeek kept it short and to the point, only including above average material. Rappers take notice on this formula (It actually works). Key Tracks: “Let The Beat Die Backwards,” “Imma Learn Ya”

11. Royce Da 5’9”: The Bar Exam 2
Detroit had quite a renaissance in 2008. Well, the actual city is fucked, but its hip-hop scene is absolutely dominating right now. Royce Da 5’9” was one of the centerpieces of that resurgence. The Bar Exam 2 had to be one of the most highly anticipated mixtapes of 2008, and it did not disappoint. Royce was blacking out on a regular basis. In fact, perhaps Royce was blacked out when he made the mixtape — he makes a lot of humorous references to his affinity for liquor. But all in all, The Bar Exam 2 was basically composed of Royce straight up taking other rappers to school with his relentless flow. Key Tracks: “I’m Me Freestyle,” “I’m Nice,” “Royal Flush Freestyle ft. Cannibus & Elzhi,” “Ignorant Shit Freestyle”

10. Kid Cudi: A Kid Named Cudi
Cleveland just earned itself an ambassador for the new era of hip-hop. Kid Cudi released A Kid Named Cudi this past summer to quite a bit of fanfare, and he followed through with one of the more original releases of the year. The Kanye-cosigned, G.O.O.D. Music artist proved to be a huge breath of fresh air to hip-hop music. He’s abstract, yet honest: “They can’t comprehend, or even come close to understanding him / I guess if I was born they would love me more,” says Cudi on “Man On The Moon (The Anthem).” Either way, Kid Cudi proved to be one of the more promising artists of 2008. He executes the increasingly popular singing/rapping combo better than nearly anyone. He’s emotional, a Martian, a weed-lover, a drinker, and we look forward to his next moves in the following year. Key Tracks: “Is There Any Love? ft. Wale,” “Man On The Moon (The Anthem),” “Day ‘N Nite,” “Heaven At Nite,” “50 Ways To Make A Record”

9. Muja Messiah: MPLS Massacre
Minneapolis’ has its next rap star. That is, if people start the attention that’s due to Muja Messiah. He’s one of the newer Minnesota rappers with an uncompromising vision. It turns out you don’t have to sound like Atmosphere to be successful in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Muja raps biting tales about politics and street economics, and does it well. And he should be recognized as a trendsetter: Muja remixed M.I.A.’s infectious single, “Paper Planes,” months before seemingly every other rapper in the world took a shot at it. Key Tracks: “Paper Planes ft. M.anifest,” “Oh Silly Me ft. Slug,” “Where’s The Joy ft. I Self Devine,” “Amy Winehouse,” “The Other White Meat”

8. Blueprint: Blueprint vs. Funkadelic
Rhymesayers artists do not often put out mixtapes, so this was an exciting release for me. Furthermore, we hadn’t heard from Blueprint for quite some time until this came out. Blueprint vs. Funkadelic is pretty much what the title implies. Blueprint sampled a bunch of Parliament Funkadelic tracks and rapped over them. The mixtape was a little short, and a little rough at times. But it was mostly just awesome. Key Tracks: “La La La,” “Too Funkadelic”

7. Rhymefest: Man In The Mirror
This mixtape dropped on December 29, 2007, so fuck it, I’m counting it in the Best of 2008 list. Everyone was probably too drunk bringing in the new year to give it a spin until 2008, anyway. Rhymefest and musical genius Mark Ronson put this mixtape together as an ode to Michael Jackson. The beats are all either Michael Jackson or Jackson 5 samples, and Rhymefest does what he does throughout the whole mixtape. This unique mixtape was risky, but successful in cementing his status as one of the illest spitters in hip-hop. In fact, I’d call it the best “dedication” mixtape of the year (No Lil’ Wayne). Key Tracks: “Can’t Make It,” Get Up ft. Wale,” “Never Can Say Goodbye ft. Talib Kweli,” “No Sunshine”

6. The Cool Kids: That’s Stupid: The Mixtape
If every mixtape could be as straightforward as this, I would be a happy man. Chuck English and Mikkey Rocks released a six-track compilation of all new songs. There is no filler. Short and sweet. Enough said. Key Tracks: The mixtape is only six tracks long, so just bump the whole thing!

5. Omer Saar: The Green Album
This was a perfect summertime mixtape for me. Omer Saar of Universoul Productions put out one of the smoothest releases of the year. Inspired from Al Green’s tremendous recent release, Lay It Down, he sampled some of his favorite Al Green songs, made some fresh hip-hop beats, and laid some classic verses on top from the likes of The Pharcyde, Jay-Z, MF Doom, Big L, and more. So chill. Key Tracks: “Stakes is High ft. The Pharcyde, Notorious B.I.G., & De La Soul,” “Woo Haa! ft. Busta Rhymes,” “MVP Interlude ft. Big L,” “Real Hip-Hop ft. Das EFX,” “Passing Me By ft. The Pharcyde”

4. Jay-Z: Live At Glastonbury 2008
I was living in London this past summer, and Jay-Z’s performance at the traditionally rock-based Glastonbury festival was creating quite a bit of controversy. I remember watching the set live on TV, and Hov absolutely delivered. He must have an absolutely unflappable confidence, because he didn’t so much as blink during his set. Focused and determined to prove the skeptics wrong, Hov eliminated any doubt that a rapper does not deserve to headline a rock and roll festival. Thankfully, Hip-Hop Is Read gathered up the audio files from the concert coverage and released a mixtape of Jigga’s whole set. Besides simply being a great live performance to listen to, this mixtape also bring back personal memories, because I caught the next Jay-Z show in London about 4 days after Glastonbury took place.

3. Clipse: Road To Till The Casket Drops
Re-Up Gang’s We Got It For Cheap, Vol. 3 was a mild disappointment, although still relatively solid. Re-Up Gang’s studio album was not even worth a listen. So, I was admittedly a little worried that Clipse’s mixtape wouldn’t be that terrific. Boy was I wrong. This might be the best thing Clipse has ever done, even including Hell Hath No Fury. Pusha T and Malice are some of the cleverest rappers in the game. I don’t understand how they can literally rap about only one thing, and consistently do it so well. They’re also rather articulate, which makes this mixtape a very fun listen. The first three tracks are damn near perfect. I’m officially excited for Till The Casket Drops in 2009. Key tracks: “Intro,” “The Haters’ Wish,” “Big Dreams,” “Numb It Down”

2. Nas: The Nigger Tape
This mixtape was arguably better than Nas’ Untitled. While Untitled is laced with metaphors and thought provoking assessments of racism in America, The Nigger Tape is an unrelenting, uncensored reflection of Nas’ views. This was probably the album Nas wanted to put out, but wasn’t allowed to. Which technically makes sense, but is disappointing evidence of the state of mainstream hip-hop. I admire Nas for still finding a way to voice his opinion, regardless of whether he’s right or wrong. Key Tracks: “Gangsta Rap (Remix),” “Cops Keep Firing,” “Association ft. Stic Man,” “Ghetto (Remix) ft. Joell Ortiz”

1. Wale: The Mixtape About Nothing
I thought the day Seinfeld became hip-hop would be the day hell froze over, but Wale managed to bridge that gap masterfully. Somehow, just like Seinfeld, The Mixtape About Nothing is really about everything. Maybe, if you pay attention, you’ll catch “the undertone of the message,” as Wale proclaims on “The Opening Title Sequence.” Still, as he raps, “If you love substance you’ll love Wale / But most niggas love nothing so I made this tape.” On the mixtape, Wale assesses racism, love, stardom, the state of hip-hop, violence, materialism, and misogyny in rap, and more; those of us that were paying attention caught the best hip-hop mixtape of 2008. Key Tracks: “The Opening Title Sequence,” “The Freestyle (Roc Boys),” “The Kramer,” “The Grown Up,” “The Star”