DXclusive: Turna "newWAVES" Mixtape Cover Art, Tracklist & Stream

Turna is fully aware of the weight that the title of his debut solo project holds. newWAVES is his attempt to create his own lane of Hip Hop and, unlike Kanye West, you don’t have to educate the Denver rapper on the origins of the wave movement.

“I just want to be one of the guys to carry on a legacy that the ones before me started,” he says to HipHopDX. “Much love and respect to the Wave God himself, Max B. If it wasn’t for Max B, I don’t think this whole sing-rap genre would be as big as it is today.”

After recording more than 50 records for newWAVES, Turna’s final product is a vibey 11-track mixtape with moody production and features from fellow Mile High rappers Romeo Cash and HLPH and The Fly District leader Supreme Ace.

Turna grew up with Ace and they have been making music together since they were about 13 years old. Both have made their stakes in the Denver Hip Hop scene as Turna started his own blog, The Leakerz, and Ace established TFD, which is also home to Solo Young and Rob4Real and partners with noted blogger and marketing guru Lizzy Brodie.

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“We started TFD and combined the resources I had built through The Leakerz to take notice in this music industry,” Turna explains. “We basically built it all from ground up. We got a couple of our brothers involved and all plotted ideas and plans to take The Fly District further. We started linking up with more people and adding talent to the camp to make it stronger. There are many faces behind the scenes that make The Fly District what it is. Without them, none of us would be able to move as effectively. All of the artists on the team have a different sound and that’s what I think people love most. With us, you kind of get a little bit of everything.”

A standout track on newWAVES is the 808 Mafia-produced “1999,” which serves as a tribute to Prince. At 24 years old, Turna, who also goes as TurnaOneTake, was born after Prince’s heyday, but credits his mother with passing his legacy on to him. He says he recorded the song a few weeks before the Purple One’s death and wasn’t going to release it until the rest of newWAVES came out, but when the legend passed, he knew dropping it early was the right thing to do.

“‘1999’ was always my favorite Prince record,” Turna says of the inspiration for the track. “This was actually the very first song I recorded for newWAVES. When I heard the beat I just kept hearing Prince’s song in my head for some reason. I decided to sing the ‘1999’ hook onto the beat but, in my own way. After that, I wrote the verses and that’s how that song came about.”

Turna, born DeVante’ Turner, says his other influences include 50 Cent, Eminem, Tupac, Ice Cube and Phil Collins. He attributes much of the vision for his music to Lil Wayne and Drake.

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“These guys opened the door for my style of music I feel like,” he says. “I always wanted to be like them in high school.”

He emphasizes that the purpose of his music is not to make a profound statement or to compete bar-for-bar with anybody, but to provide people a refuge or escape from the real world.

“I don’t make music to be political, or to be the best lyricist,” Turna says. “My reason for making music is to make people feel good. When people hear this project I want them to let go of their problems and their stress for the moment and enjoy the music. If I start doing the political/conscience rap, I feel like I will just be reminding people of all the drama this world holds. That type of music is definitely important, but my goal is to take people’s minds away from everyday stresses of the world.”

Check out Turna’s newWAVES mixtape cover art, tracklist and stream below:

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