In the advent of a new mixtape era where promotional materials transformed into free albums, many music executives and artists worried that their true money makers and litmus tests, retail albums, would suffer as a result. For better or for worse, HipHopDX’s Top Mixtapes of 2012 list confirms those fears even more than other recent years. Inclusions from this year’s roster of top mixtapes did their duties of showcasing talent and getting fans talking, but many of the artists had trouble using that momentum as a launch pad for further success on their retail efforts. They built trust with their fans, but the romanticized vision of tapes being portals into their “real” albums was debunked. Mississippi rapper/producer Big K.R.I.T. had outproduced many of Rap’s elite with his three universally acclaimed three projects, but reviews of his Def Jam debut weren’t as enthusiastic. Rich Forever secured Rick Ross the crown of MTV’s Hottest MC, but even a press conference with Lyor Cohen couldn’t give his God Forgives, I Don’t album life beyond the summer.
Their careers are still likely intact, but the concept of the retail album as an event is quickly becoming as archaic as the idea of going to a physical store to buy them. The only acts from this year’s collection of Top Mixtapes who didn’t suffer losses were Joey Bada$$ and Showbiz & A.G.: acts whose ages and tactics shield them from immediate repercussions. Bada$$’s debut 1999 sees him paying homage to the era that came before him, while Showbiz & A.G.’s Preloaded sees them adding a free price tag to the same formula they’ve honed for years. Something both acts have in common is willingness to stick to their guns and pace themselves, instead of chasing to keep up with rap’s Joneses. As usual, the fans win either way: they get free, high quality music to fill their iPhones and laptops to score their daily lives. But what’s a victory or two without a championship ring?
Joey Bada$$ – 1999
Many pretentious teenagers and disgruntled old heads use message boards and comments sections to cry about a lack of “real Hip Hop,” but Joey Bada$$ demonstrates it where it counts: the music. The 17-year-old pairs beats from his Pro Era crew with resurrected instrumentals by legends like J Dilla, MF DOOM and Lord Finesse to recreate the feel of Rap’s “golden era” more successfully on 1999 than some old timers who were actually there. The aura doesn’t stop with the soundbeds, though: songs like his viral breakthrough “Survival Tactics” showcase a unique flow, detailed rhyme schemes and an ability to articulate his ideas that goes beyond his years. Even rap legend Showbiz gave Joey Bada$$ his cosign in a September interview with HipHopDX. The world got an glimpse of him in the BET Hip-Hop Awards Cyphers, and he looks to have a promising career ahead of him.
Big K.R.I.T. – 4Eva N a Day
With K.R.I.T. Wuz Here and Return of 4Eva serving as highlights of 2010 and 2011, 4Eva N a Day was a fitting addition to Big K.R.I.T.’s trilogy of prodigious free releases. In a loosely conceptual disc, the Mississippi youngster continues to revere the legends, culture and home state that raised him while staking his own claim as one of the future’s brightest voices. He enlists live musicians to enhance his soul-drenched backdrops, which back some of his most seasoned lyricism to date on songs like “Handwriting” and “Insomnia,” two of the disc’s many artistic triumphs. He channels legends like Pimp C for slinky odes to poon and candy paint (“Temptation”), and infuses bounce into energetic numbers like “1986” and “4EvaNaDay Theme.” Rap hasn’t been this balanced as a genre in years, but K.R.I.T. does the job as a one-man act.
Rick Ross – Rich Forever
Before God Forgives, I Don’t and The Black Bar Mitzvah exposed chinks in his armor, Rich Forever displayed Rick Ross as the infallible bawse who ran Rap. Raucous bangers (“High Definition”), scathing hater dismissals like (“Holy Ghost”), and triumphant crew anthems (“MMG The World Is Ours”) made Rich Forever one of the most whip-ready discs of the year. Don’t forget the abundant star power: Diddy, cockier than ever, uses the intro and the album’s halftime mark to pop shit, while Nas reminisced days as an incapable drug dealer on “Triple Beam Dreams.” On “Stay Schemin,” Drake unleashed an alimony-thrashing one-liner that instantly permeated Twitter timelines and memes. Fans wondered how the Maybach Music sultan could afford to give away so many gems on a free download when he had a retail disc on the brink, and surely enough, GFID kept two of Rich Forever’s highlights as bonus tracks.
Showbiz & A.G. – Preloaded
Regardless of its legends’ revered catalogs and influential career trajectories, Hip Hop is a “what have you done for me lately” type of game; great records from past decades are worthless if your last album sucked. With Preloaded, Showbiz & A.G. show that they’re just as potent as they were during their heyday of running New York in the ’90s. “That Nigga Crazy” tackles self-hate and bad influences that plague the inner cities, “Wolves” enlists fellow D.I.T.C. member O.C. for conceptual wordplay, and DJ Premier contributes his signature scratches to the aptly-titled “South Bronx Shit.” The duo celebrates friendship and success and “Berri Love,” and cements their partnership with “The Bond,” which ends the disc. A.G.’s pragmatic rhymes and Show’s crate-digging are two decades in, and they haven’t lost a step.
Meek Mill – Dreamchasers 2
With hits like “I’m A Boss,” “Tupac Back” and “House Party” permeating dance floors and radio waves, Meek Mill’s buzz was at a fever pitch: his DJ Drama-hosted Dreamchasers 2 mixtape crashed DatPiff’s servers, netting nearly two million downloads within 24 hours. On DC2, Meek kept the hits coming: “Amen” saw him and Drake spitting blasphemous bars between one of the year’s catchiest hooks, while “Lean Wit It” and “Flexing” continued his winning streak of club bangers. He also showed the unfiltered rhyming ability that impressed listeners of his previous mixtape: “Ready Or Not” sees him deftly navigating a Fugees sample, “Burn” teams him with Big Sean for a drill of verbal calisthenics, and “A1 Everything” serves as a playground for him and Kendrick Lamar to experiment varying flows.
How the fuck is Detroit by Big Sean not here? That was an amazing mixtape.
If you like listening to male hairdressers in your ear.
Yeah.
because he is a faggot who raps about spa days
hahaha i havent heard the male hairdresser joke in like a year
thanks
Haha, you gotta be kidding us, seriously. Where’s Freddie Gibb’s BFK mixtape?
Freddie Gibbs’*
Meek would have done far better if he had saved “Amen” and “Burn” for his album, or better yet, made DC2 his debut album instead of a mixtape. Meek, Ross and others have all made the mistake of putting their best records out for free, instead of saving them for the album. I download a few tapes here and there, but it’s disappointing that in most cases, the free mixtape is better than the retail albums released, when it should be the other way around.
freddie mother funkin gibbs. 75% of BFK is legit. 90% of other mixtapes this year were not.
Tef Poe.
where is freddie gibbs? meek mill and rick ross dont belong on this list
Joey… listened to loose quarter so much
So HHDX gives us 5 most important mixtapes of 2012 and they go ahead and put Ross and Meek? Meek maybe but Ross?! Com’n Son!
BFK!
I only agree with the first two, I would add Lil b Godsfather, Freddie Gibbs, and Action Bronson Rare Chandeliers. B, and Bronson were the best to me this year.
50 Cent Says:
“I’m the REASON you handing a nigga a mixtape…..SUCKA!”
So rick Ross and Meek’s mixtapes were important but NOT Bronson’s Blue Chips or Rare Chandeliers? Ok keep giving those maybach music artists passes for shitty releases
I gotta say Blue Chips was my favourite of the year but sheesh why does everyone always get so irate if their favourite doesn’t appear in a list? DEAL WITH IT.
Freddie gibbs should be there too but nice including the legendary show & ag
Seriously Freddie Gibbs should be on here.
smh, this site is a joke. Take HIPHOP out of your site’s url, please. smfh
where the fuck is yelawolf The Heart of Dixie?? SMH loser website
2013 The Year Of B.Hudson
New EP dropping January 1st
bhudsonmusic . com
Show some love and join the movement
bet definitely gonna support….stay focused
Mike WiLL Made It – Est. In 1989 Pt. 2
why do ppl bother with hiphopdx? its there list im sure u have yours…stop arguing
http://www.datpiff.com/JR-Reuche-De-Reuche-Muetel-4-Ever-mixtape.432753.html
Freddie Gibbs BFK shoulda been on here
WHERE THE F IS THE YELLOW ALBUM DOM KENNEDY
WALE – FOLARIN
FAT TREL – NIGHTMARE ON E STREET
you gotta be fucking joking
FREDDIE GIBBS – BFK
JARRON BENTON – FREEBASIN
TRINIDAD JAME$ – DON’T BE SAFE
THIS WEBSITE’S JOURNAL LIST ARE HELPLESSLY BIASED BY BACKGROUND.
where the fuck is Lloyd Banks V6 and Fabulous Soul Tape 2, HHDX is very biased and they suck
Where is Ja Rule? his last mixtape was better than all tupac albums put together
TRUUUUUUUUU
RARE CHANDELIERS
bfk
FABOLOUS SOULTAPE 2!!!!
Good to see Showbiz & A.G. on the list. Too bad everybody ignored their Mugshot Music album. I haven’t seen a ‘real hiphop’website giving that a review…
no Action Bronson/Alchemist? or BFK…y’all are fuckin up.
p.s. Fabolous is a wash-up, no one cares. He’s been making the same exact shit since 2001. He is a mixtape/punchline rapper. that is it.
Honorable mention (no order):
Freddie Gibbs – BFK
Action Bronson – Rare Chandeliers & Blue Chips
Lloyd Banks – V6 The Gift
Joe Buddens – A Loose Quarter
Scrilla – The Demonstration
and dont foregt bout California Republic 🙂
please feel free to add more so i can chack them out, i wasnt really on mixtapes this year since there were lots of great albums…and your opinion on Joung Yeezy and Reakwon mixtapes this year, worth checkin out?
50 Cent – The Lost Tape
Pro Era – The aPROcalypse
Jon Connor – While You Were Sleeping
Don’t forget about Gucci’s shit and Big Sean. I this list could have been alil longer.
BFK??? Soul Tape 2??? What up cuz?
curren$y priest andretti
where is Lil Wayne Dedication 4…..// slaughterhouse On The House… 2 of the best mixtapes of the yr
slaughterhouse On The House was the best mixtape of 2012, we sure cant forget that and Rick ROss’s Rich Forever? Come on now thats Blasphemy!
Wheres Freddie Gibbs – BFK that shit was dope as fuck even in ur review dx said it was like gettin a free album
where is bang em smurf – blacklisted
Are you kidding me? Action Bronson & The Alchemist’s Mixtape is better than Rick Ross’ Mixtape and it isn’t even here. You guys need to re-listen the mixtape and then think about if Rick Ross’ Mixtape needs to be on this list.
Two very important things were left off this list. Joe Budden-A loose quarter and Slaughterhouse-on the house two great mixtapes.
Rick Ross? WTF