The Mixtape: How 50 Cent Changed It and Lil’ Wayne Solidified it
By Matthew Spence
Mixtapes are an essential cornerstone to building a buzz and getting your name out there as an up-in-coming hip-hop artist. Local to worldwide, in 2019 mixtapes have become a staple for rappers use from Drake to Future, to Wiz Khalifa, to Logic, To Kendrick to J. Cole, many rappers have built their buzz and got the attention from many labels due to the buzz and audience they garnered from their mixtapes. Whether, indie or major, rappers are still dropping mixtapes, whether for creative freedom, building anticipation for their upcoming LP, and then some. But, no matter what formula, every rapper today has to give credit where credit’s due to 50 Cent and Lil Wayne for building these formulas that are used prominently today. Many argue on who really started and popularized the mixtape, and many do often point to Lil Wayne for that, but 50s influence on the mixtape should not be swept under the rug.
50 Cent Part 1: (G-Unit Mixtapes)
Before Power, Get Rich or Die Tryin, Vitamin Water deal, and being everyone favorite Petty Troll, there was a time where Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson was still an unknown rapper from South Jamaica and on the other hand his rival Ja rule, (cause no matter when discussing 50 cent, Ja Rule is bound to get mentioned), was on top. After trials and tribulations, including being shot 9 times, he decided to make the come up and do something that would forever change the mixtape. Prior, to 50, hip hop mixtapes were either recording of live shows, then in time became a nice platform for DJs to get rappers to drop a 16 bar freestyle over other peoples (often time iconic beats). This why 50s impact helped shaped the modern mixtape we have today of the form of the previous mentioned “16 bar over others beat”, 50 Cent hooking up with his DJs such as Sha Money XL and DJ Whoo Kid, they hosted 50s and G-Units mixtapes, but 50 didn’t just a give freestyles, he had crafted and written entirely original songs over other peoples beats.
In a 2017 interview with Billboard on the Evolution, legendary DJ Drama discussed 50s mixtape era and stated: “There was the era from Clue and Doo Wop, when so many rappers came and spit 16s on beats that weren’t theirs, into 50 turning them into his own records. Instead of just spitting a 16, he started to re-do people’s hooks and make his own songs to the point where as DJs we wanted to play his versions in the club.” Then later going on record saying: ”From the 50 era, that’s pretty much when it became a street album. Mixtapes destroyed the demo tape; nobody cared about your demo tape anymore, it was like, “What are you doing with your mixtape, and how are the streets selling it?” I definitely can say that they helped inspire what I went on to do with Gangsta Grillz and the artists that I came up with.” Which is another point that should be acknowledged, 50s new wave of mixtapes, for better or worse, killed the demo tape for rappers and the mixtape is what people, from A&Rs to people on the corner, wanted to hear to decide if you’re legitimate in a musical standpoint.
Lil Wayne Part 2: Tha Drought Series, No Ceilings
The mid-2000s was a unique time in hip hop, to say the least, Ringtone rap, wearing 2XL clothes even though you were a size Small, what a time to be alive. During that time, Lil Wayne decided on making his reign of mixtapes for the world of hip hop a better place. Wayne had his name in the hip-hop fans ear, whether if they were fans of him or not. Constantly dropping mixtape after mixtape, keeping his name in the street (adding to his numerous and I MEAN NUMEROUS AMOUNT OF FEATURES) all the way to him building hype for his Carter III album. These mixtapes would be highly influential when it comes to that platform and would take over the mid-2000s, such as his Dedication mixtapes and Drought mixtapes, making Lil Wayne “the King of Mixtapes” in the eyes of many. All of this will begin to build the bridge for rappers such as Wiz Khalifa (who’s Kush & OJ mixtape sent waves in 2010), Kid Cudi (who’s A Kid Named Cudi mixtape brought his foot in the door ), and his future signee Drake (who’s mixtape Comeback Season got his name in the atmosphere, but So Far Gone made him a Star) .
Whether you believe it was over saturation or not; with the assistance of DJ Drama and Don Cannon, not only did he help establish himself more as an artist, he helped set the blueprint for rappers and mixtapes today to use mixtapes as the official setup to your album and overall as a creative outlet for the streets so to speak.
As of now, mixtapes are basically albums with original production and all. Which shows that mixtapes have come a long way. In lanes of an LP, EP, mixtapes are key in hip hop today for getting your name out there (whether you’re a major artist or not), but like most things in hip-hop; knowing the originators, pioneers, and innovators are just as important. Whoever you feel did it better or had better mixtapes is irrelevant, when we reach the end of it all, 50 and Wayne are equally the true kings of the mixtape.
