Ayentee: Mos Common Thought [Mixtape]

Here is the first installment in a series of albums I’m calling 'Frankensteined.' The goal of this project is to take a bunch of verses from different artists and try to craft an album as if they were all in the studio working together. I really wanted to create a brand new listening experience and try to redefine the potential of the remix.

Volume One focuses in on Mos Def, Common and Black Thought, 3 legendary emcees from Brooklyn, Chicago, and Philadelphia respectively.

Ayentee is a San Francisco Bay Area emcee/producer of 12 years. As an artist that has always tried to think outside of the box, Ayentee has trailblazed the free music movement by making all of his past and future releases free to download starting in 2004. He also spent 11 weeks crafting 'Curiosity Saved The Mouse', an online evolving album that grew by 1 track each tuesday until its completion in late 2009. His 4 solo albums and 1 group collaboration with Secluded Journalists can be found online at ayentee.com free to download.

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Q-Tip: Throwback At Noon [Mixtape]

Although we skipped Mister Cee's tribute to Big Pun, we could not pass on the Abstract.

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Cris Cab: Foreward [Mixtape]

Admittedly, we are WAY late on this post. Cris Cab, who took the mixtape world by storm last year with Foreward, is gearing up for his next release, The Echo Boom Mixtape, which drops tomorrow. He melds mellow with moody, moving away from the sound typically associated with Miami artists and opting instead for a more relaxed approach.

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Def Sound & Devjop: look.what.iMade.4.you.Vol.Yes! [Mixtape]

As Illav8r puts it - a smooth soiree for the holiday season.

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DJ Soulscape: The Sound of Seoul [Mixtape]

Back in 2005, Ian Condry wrote a book entitled Hip-Hop Japan, which detailed his introduction to the culture surrounding Japanese hip-hop. Given that we have never had the opportunity to visit the Far East, his words provided great insight into a scene parrallel to our own, but also unique in so many ways. The Sound of Seoul is reminiscent of the audio descriptions noted by Condry, and although some require a re-tuning of the ear, they are advanced enough to draw any true head in to listen closer. Since this is the first DJ Soulscape project we have featured, hit us in the comments to let us know what you think.

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Exile: Intro To The Outro [Mixtape]

We scooped a free hard copy of this project at Rock The Bells this past Saturday, and although we heard a few of the tracks, including Co$$' Leimert Park prior to, we had no idea just how many tracks (and artists) were featured on the project. Twenty-five tracks in total, plus verses from Blu, Mobb Deep, Talib Kweli, MED, Pharoahe Monch, MF Doom and more, this mixtape reads (and sounds) more like an album.

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C. Ray Walz: All Black Everything (The Prelude) [Mixtape]

C. Ray Walz returns, apparently armed with a cache of tracks the size of Texas, ready to offer up the majority of it all for free. He describes the projects as a skin-shedding of sorts, explaining that the title reflects his reintroduction. Shouts to Lexzyne for the look.

DOWNLOAD All Black Everything (The Prelude)

DJ Cuzzin B: Average White Mixtape

Unfamiliar with DJ Cuzzin B, we were prompted to give this project a listen based on past project from the Point Blank DJs and our love of AWB. It was announced yesterday that there will be a second installment in the AWB series, but before we get to that it's only right to hear the first. Take some time to tune out with this mix until the next arrives.

DOWNLOAD Average White Mixtape (Volume 1)