Being a rap fan in 2012 is often an exercise in trying to swim against an impossible current. It's nearly impossible for us to sort through the flotsam and jetsam that is the rap internet, and it's literally our job to do that. In the past few days a bunch of really good stuff has come out, all for free. Here's most of it, but we probably missed some of it too.
Cassie - The Cassie Trilogy
Cassie's music is great, and one time she and Diddy had sex for 36 hours. Someone realized her music kinda sounds like it inspired The Weeknd, so they took a page from The Weeknd's book and released an unofficial three-disc set of all the good (mostly unreleased) Cassie songs.
Advertisement
Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Powered by DatPiff.comMaster P - UptownVeteran
People who get it understand that Master P is secretly one of the most influential rappers of the past twenty years. He's back, even though he has a gajillion dollars. He's formed a group with Alley Boy and Fat Trel as well called the Louie V Mob, and that's going to be the best.
Riff Raff & Dame Grease - Hologram Panda
The thing about Riff Raff is that even though he's a funny, smart dude with a tight flow, he puts out a lot of bullshit and is yet to anchor a project. Pairing him with Dame Grease—one of the guys who helped build Max B's "Wavy" sound—is actually a great idea. Riff Raff needs sonic cohesion in order to make sense, and the steady hand of Dame Grease makes itself evident pretty much immediate on Hologram Panda. Like any good rapper/producer pairing, Riff Raff and Dame Grease meet each other halfway, stylistically speaking, and the results are way better than any other full-length Riff Raff has ever done. He even kicks a nice Houston-y wave flow on a few songs here.King Louie - Drilluminati
Hailing from Chicago, King Louie's awesomeness is one of the original reasons for the increased media attention paid to Chicago (though he was pretty obviously quickly outpaced by Chief Keef in terms of who's the hottest in the city now). This is his newest tape, and it's a great look at how the city's sound has really progressed into its own, sonically speaking. Be sure to listen to "My Hoes They Do Drugs," which is pretty much the greatest song ever.Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Powered by DatPiff.comYoung Jeezy - Its Tha World (Es El Mundo)
Of all the tapes in this post, this is probably going to end up being the biggest deal unless a bunch of people get really into the Riff Raff/Dame Grease thing. Young Jeezy is one of our favorite rappers, mainly because he's real as shit and has an awesome bellow. This is his newest mixtape, and for some reason he decided to make the title also in Spanish. DJ Drama has particularly good shit-talk on this one. The popular rap blogger Noz was angry that this tape contains a hyphy song.Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Powered by DatPiff.comGunplay - Lock Down
We're a little late on this one, but Gunplay's the best so fuck it we're throwing this in here. This has a bunch of new tracks as well as lots of recent Gunplay classics such as "Bible On The Dash," "Definition Of A Plug," "Drop," as well as the "Same Damn Time" remix where Diddy yells, "You niggas can't multitask!" This one's long, but so is the movie Chinatown. Nobody complains about Chinatown being long, and if you complain about Gunplay's mixtape being long he'll beat you up.
ONE EMAIL. ONE STORY. EVERY WEEK. SIGN UP FOR THE VICE NEWSLETTER.
By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.
Riff Raff & Dame Grease - Hologram Panda