Avoid the middle man at all costs. That includes signing with a major record label. They are essentially middle men at this point. And they are becoming obsolete.

You think that major will get your record on the radio and get you on TV and they might but that doesn’t mean you will be a success.  That’s old world media that major label access used to control.  Its manufactured hype that used to sell over priced CDS.  You remember or at least the real fans do. Chew and I were copping bootlegs like everyone else but I still got the CD. The same way cats brag about getting those J’s first, that’s how a true fan feels when you’re the first one with the latest album.

See the middle man saw an opportunity to make some money. They will do everything for an artist all while taking the lions share of the profit. They preyed on the lazy artist under the guise of “we’ll let you be the creative artist and handle the business for you”. You can’t be successful this way. Or rather you won’t enjoy the ultimate success.

You have to do all the work when you’re starting out. Creating, distributing, building relationships. Then if you’re music is good enough and as you build a fan base you can then build you’re team. A manager, a tech person, people with experience in the music industry that understand the old model is dead and people who understand how the internet works. Its a long process, it changes year to year, month to month you have to adapt and be able to change…all while creating good music.

If you think you need a middle man just look to the mixtape game. There’s a few factors that contributed to its demise. The death of the CD format, internet downloads/connections ect. But really it was the middle man. It was distributors that sucked the life out the game. They are what the major record labels are today. They controlled distribution. They had the connections to stores online and off. They were willing to put in the work to ship CDs and deal with collecting and tracking down the money for the CDs. This was/is part of the mixtape game that broke many a DJ. The middle man came at a price tho and eventually the middle man was making more money then the DJ. Sound familiar? They helped squeeze every last cent out of the Mix CD to the point it wasn’t even worth the trouble. We should know, Mixtapekings was one of those middlemen. We offered national distribution for Dj’s who were sick of being local. And how I’d the Dj combat the long reach of the website? They started pushing their product for $.75 - $1.25! Now artists are signing and taking 360 deals.

The future has no middle man. Its you, your team and your fans. In the immortal words of KRS-ONE, “That’s it, that’s all, solo, single, no more, no less”.

Why SOPA is a bad idea

Back when Dimez and I owned Da Spot records Dimez dropped his own mixtapes. I think we did about 5 or 6 tapes (I was the enginer, lol). Crills And Bills dropped sometime in 1998. Obviously this wasn’t the cover we used and I don’t remember what the cover was because it was on tape as all the joints Dimez put out were on casette. Around this time Dimez was getting a ton of bootleg white label records as you can see by some of the cuts on the track list. The Jay-Z and Sauce money freestyle, the Mobb Deep and Noreaga bootlegs. We had a lot of “exclusives” and Dimez was getting them around the same time as most other mixtape DJs at the time. Its one of the reasons why Dimez’ mixtapes used to sell in our shop.

In ‘98 we also cop’d a Marantz CD maker. Basically a stand alone CD player/burner where you could record audio onto it, track it live and burn a master CD. This download is from the one CD we made. The audio was taken off tape tho so you hear the air and some of the cuts clip and sound pans on a few tracks. This was a time where mix CDs were fairly rare and just starting out. It was expensive as hell to press up CDs at this time and its why most whosale CDs could go for anwhere between $6 to $10 per CD. We sold mix CDs at this time for $20-$25 or two for $30-$40.

If you don’t like DJs talking on mixtapes this might not be for you, lol. We recorded all Dimez’ mixtapes in the kitchen of the appartment we rented back then. Sufice it to say much alcohol and weed was consumed and if you know Dimez he gets a little chatty when the booze is flowing. Hahaha.

Track List:

1. Intro
2. Inspectah Deck - R.E.C Room
3. E-Money Bags, Nature & Kool G. Rap - Friend Of Ours
4. Jay-Z Freestyle
5. Cam’ron ft. Charlie Baltimore - R.I.T.Z
6. Deadly Venoms ft. Wu Tang - One More To Go
7. Mobb Deep ft. Big Noyd - Shiesty
8. Kool G. Rap - On The Run ‘98 Blend
9. Nas ft. Noreaga - Triple Threat a.k.a Queens Style
10. The Lox - The Rawness
11.  Mobb Deep ft. Onyz - QB Meets South Suicide
12. Nature ft. Noreaga - Magic & Bird
13. 16 Bars Freestyle
14. Mobb Deep - Perfect Plot
15. Lauryn Hill & Faith - Lost One’s Blend / Love Like This Before Blend (Side b)
16. Tyrese - Nobody Else
17. Andrea Martin - Nobody Else
18. Keith Sweat ft. Eric Sermon & Too Short - Love Jones
19. Nicole Wray ft. Missy & Mocha - In Da Street
20. Mobb Deep ft. Big Noyd - Where Do We Go From Here
21. Mac 10 ft. Fat Joe & Big Pun - Let The Games Begin
22. Shaq ft. Fat Joe & Big Pun - Shaq Crack & Pun
23. Slick Rick - Why U Doing That?
24. Sauce Money Freestyle
25. Method Man ft. Street Life - Dangerous Ground

Download Below:
http://www.mediafire.com/?qx2qtjctdp53w62

Dinner For Two

If you don’t already know Dimez and myself used to own a Record Store called Da Spot Records. It was open from 1996-2000 and it was our education in the mixtape game. I found these pics digging thru some old boxes. Hopefully I can find the pics of the front of store and some of the DJ Booth which was just below the second picture. On Fridays we would shut down the store about 7PM and Dimez would get on the turntables and we would pass the mic around on some open cipher type shit. Good times. The store had one of those trap door things in the floor which lead to the basement were we would shoot dice and smoke blunts. Eventually we built a studio down there and cats would come and record.

The below pics are from our first flier we made. We had a cat who sold techno music which was big in our area around that time too. Pretty sure he made this flier. He sold vinyl and some mixers ect. We were kind of naive because you really shouldn’t be putting two lesbians on the back of your flier all while passing these out to the public. You live and you learn. At the time these pics were taken (Dec ‘96) the first pic is what you saw when you walked in and on the opposite wall were all the mixtapes and CDs. Then the wall after that had t-shirts and vinyl. Under the second pic is where we had two turntables, a mixer and a mic. Eventually we sold and serviced pagers too. Gotta love the 90s.

I’m sure many of you read Pills rant on twitter last week. This dude is moron and is the exact opposite of how you wanna be rappers wanna be.  Supposedly now his rant had to do with his disgust of how Warner Bros is handling him as an “artist” and nothing to do with MMG. Sounds about right considering MMG artist at the very least actually “work” i.e tour and release somewhat decent music.

 Let’s break down the absurdities of his rant shall we.

“No TV and No Radio.. U do the math. I bet u can name you favorite artist and the turn on the tv and see the video and hear it on the radio. It’s not rocket science. Radio and TV b4 I had a deal, none after and u ask why Pill ain’t blew all the way up,”

So this ass clown thinks he needs TV and Radio and he will be “blew all the way up”.  Typically major label record deal ass thinking right there. This dude is a street rapper. He should be releasing consistent street music all while touring as much as possible. Kinda like 2Chainz is doing at this very second but wait that would actually entail having to put in some kind of effort. All Pill wants is a fucking hand out from his record label. I’m not a Lil B fan and I’m not saying you have to put that much product in the street, but other than the BET Cipher, when is the last time you took Pill seriously?

“Artist sign deals, label doesnt do shit for them or don’t even know to work the artist. time wasted.”

Case in point. Another delusional rapper with his hand out expecting the label to “work” him. Sounds like a ho waiting to be pimped. Ahh how the tables turn. I thought this was “Generation Hustle”? Quit complaining and get your ass out there and hustle. Dudes are always talking that trap shit. You can’t possibly be trapping while you’re standing on the doorstep of the label with a tin fucking cup!

“Mind you, whn I signed I had one of the biggest records in 09′ “Trap Goin Ham” never touched TV never touched radio,” Pill added. “Now go back and do your research and see what unsigned artist was neck n neck with Drake’s So Far Gone in 09′ Pill 4180: The Prescription. If I remember tht list correctly. It was Nicki Minaj, Drake, Pill, Wayne, Jeezy. Nw what the hell ws a new cumber like me doin on that list? Because IM DOPE!! “

I loved “Trap Goin Ham”. Shit was a banger. This was the song that put him on. He just failed to use it to sping board to the next level. He expected the label to do it all. He got his lil advance and he hit the studio and did little else. Plus he’s talking about 2009. 2009? That shit might as well be 1979. These drive thru ass microwave hip hop fans don’t remember 2009. “Trap Goin Ham” is old school to some of these kids. I’m not even gonna touch the whole “new cumber” line. That shit is just sad. You can still be articulate and keep it in the hood homie, but please at least sound “edumacated” (lol) when you decide to go at heads!

“That’s why, u ain’t gotta believe it but I know it and won’t ever stop until I get that spot I deserve. Peace. Thanx.”

I hope dude gets everything he desires, I really do. But the spot he deserves is exactly where he’s at…nowhere with a waning fan base and no good music to speak of in the last 30 days. Wait a minute I’m going to start calling this the “Charles Hamilton” disease. Does anyone remember that dude? I bet you remember Mary J. Bilge daughter slapping the gadzookie put off his ass?

This is arguably one of my most prized mixtapes of all time. I don’t even listen to the original. I listen to a burnt copy in my ride. I’ve listened to this mixtape so much my 11 year old daughter can recite it word for word with perfect timing. In my opinion the greatest reggae mixtape ever made. Classic after classic. I know every little nuance of this mix. I could recite it in my sleep. That’s what you don’t get now a days. Where you know the music as you hear it in the mix. The same way you knew the music with DJ Clue’s drops in it. I miss that but thank god we still have timeless classics like this mixtape.

Download Below:

http://www.mediafire.com/?on4u4ujjunyhe9x

I’m not much of a reggae fan unless you’re talking the classics, however this CD right here is fire. I’m thinking this dropped around 2006. Its 71 tracks of perfect timing, blends, remixes and hot shit for the time period. I can’t say I ever listened to another Black Chiney CD but without a doubt Willy Chin Again is a classic.

Download Below:

http://www.mediafire.com/?fkdqb1hwzrnn5aw

Rondevu is easily top 5 mixtape DJs of all time for me. Nas is my favorite MC so I had to post this joint. Not only is the intro something to be hold the mix is a lesson in proper timing. Not a super rare CD but must download none the less.

Download Below:

http://www.mediafire.com/?8beo7cz16e6wb26

And we’re back! No fancy words or a need to get brolic up in here. We know what we do and so do the people that matter. This download right here tho? This is another joint I cop’d from classicmixtapes.com back in 2000.

Chill Will is a true mixtape legend. Put in work for years and even did a bid behind this mixtape game. Get fruity one more again and see what you missed out on in that 90s golden mixtape era.

Intro
Stay With Me (Chill Will Mix)
Don’t Front / What’s the 411 (Chill Will Mix)
Back & Forth / 90s Girl ( Chill Will Mix)   
It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Chill Will Mix)
Crooklyn (Chill Will Mix)
Nuttin But Love (Chill Will Mix)
Props Over Here (Chill Will Mix)
Hip Hop Vs Rap (Chill Will Mix)
Something In The Way (Chill Will Mix)
Take it Easy (Chill Will Mix)
No Guns No Murder / Reggae (Chill Will Mix)
Flava In Your Ear (Chill Will Mix)
Dreams: I’m Just Playin’ (R&B Bitch)
Oh My God (Chill Will Mix)
Juicy (Chill Will Mix)
Code of the Streets
Nappy Heads (Chill Will Mix)
Statik (Chill Will Mix)
One Two One Two (Chill Will Mix)
B Side Intro
Money Is Everything
Fruit Flava Fam
Fruit Flava Fam pt. 2
Fruit Flava Fam pt. 3
Fruit Flava Fam pt. 4
Fruit Flava Fam pt. 5
Fruit Flava Fam pt. 6
Fruit Flava Fam pt. 7
Funkdafied
Can It Be So Simple
Get Up, Get Out
Gunz & Roses
Diary of A Madman
Represent
Mostly The Voice
Dreadknoks
Word Is Bond
All For The Money Remix
Southernplayalistic Remix
Unbelievable
Flippin’ It   
Krunchtime
M.O.P

Download Below:
http://www.mediafire.com/?laqt71mk37vv9hc