Here are two of my favourite tracks from Rick Ross' highly anticipated mixtape, Rich Forever, which the Florida-born rapper let loose on the internet just minutes ago. Never been the biggest fan of Ross' work, but his work ethic is second to none and the quality of this mixtape is clear for all to see (hear). Most rappers would be ecstatic if their albums were on this level. Download HERE, tracklist and the 'Stay Schemin' video are after the jump.
Here is the highly anticipated Happy Birthday FreEP from Tinie Tempah, which features Chipmunk, Soulja Boy, Giggs, Wretch 32, Pusha T and many more, along with production from Wizzy Wow, SX & Stargate. A big mixtape from a guy who has had an incredible 18 months. Download your copy HERE.
Back in 2008, prior to the release of Universal Mind Control, DJ sourMILK and Just-N-Credible hooked up with Common to put together this mixtape, which pays tribute to the Chicago-born rappers incredible career thus far. UMC was a hugely underwhelming album and this mixtape was criminally overlooked, so with the release of his new album 'The Believer' just around the corner, I thought it would be the perfect time to bring this back and remember why he is one of the greatest MCs to ever live. Listen/download below.
Hosted by Charlie Sloth and compiled by Chantelle Fiddy, here is a fresh mixtape inspired by the new Channel 4 drama Top Boy, which will hit our screens on October 31st @ 10pm. Top Boy is the major new TV drama from the award-winning producers of The Last King of Scotland and writer Ronan Bennett, Top Boy is set amidst East London's drug gang underworld and stars a host of music talent including Giggs, Scorcher and Sway. For more infortmation on the programme go HERE and download/listen to the mixtape below.
After seeing Michael Rapaport's incredible documentary, Mick Boogie was inspired by what he saw (as was I) and has decided to put together this special mixtape. As Mick explains: "This is NOT a greatest hits mix. This mix is for the true Tribe fans only... the die-hards who know every lyric and remember every interlude. I thought it would be cool to basically create the "lost" Tribe album... with all the rare songs, demos, limited-edition remixes, and collaborations you may have missed over the years." Thankfully my ATCQ collection has all of these tracks in, but for most people there will be some unheard gems in here. Greatest group of all-time. Stream and download HERE!
YES YES YES! Mick Boogie and Jazzy Jeff are back with a follow up to their critically acclaimed Summertime mixtape that went down a storm last year. Last year was special, but this is even better, in my opinion. Mick is a legend, but Jazzy is one of my favourite producers/DJs of all-time - everything about this is has classic vibes. Jocelyn Brown, to Slum Village, to Tom Browne - what more could you want from a Summer mixtape?! You can get your downloadHERE, and check the tracklist over @ StupidDope.
Here are my two favourite tracks from Chiddy Bang's new mixtape, Peanut Butter & Swelly. I don't think Chiddy is the best rapper in the world, and I don't think Xaphoon is the best producer in the world, but together they definitely work. Xaphoon's production style compliments Chiddy's flow brilliantly, which allows them to create fun music that is easy to listen to. Download the mixtape HERE.
I'm sure many people were sceptical about the ex-Slum Villager taking on one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums of all-time, but I was never in any doubt that this was going to be nothing short of incredible as soon as I had heard 'Detroit State Of Mind'. Elzhi has been one of my favourite MCs for the past 10 years and is lyrically as good as anyone, and I really do mean anyone. The way that him and producer Will Sessions have gone about making this mixtape is flawless - without changing a great deal they have created the perfect tribute to one of the best albums and rappers we have ever heard. This will be the best mixtape of 2011, and I wouldn't be surprised if this is better than any Hip-Hop you will hear this year. Download HERE. Elzhi the greatest.
Many people believe that KanYe's performance at Coachella was his greatest of all-time. For me I'm not sure anything will ever beat Jay joining him twice and the Manchester Apollo gig when College Dropout had just been released, but this was absolutely incredible, and you can download the MP3s HERE. A must for any KanYe fan. I still love him.
Here is my favourite track from Akira The Don’s new mixtape ATD25. Lyrically this is brilliant, and the beat is sick. He is a top guy, extremely talented and has a incredibly dope blog. You can go and get the mixtape from HERE and follow him on twitter HERE.
It was a different word, 2004. No Youtube. No Myspace even. You got mixtapes from barber shops and through the mail back then. There were no free mixtapes online. There were no rappers with blogs posting free mixtapes on them. There was just me, and my complete lack of technical ability, not one clue what I was doing other than it was what I had always wanted to do, and it made me happy to do it.
It took over an hour to render, and about three hours to force its way up the pipes.
PING!
The internets went nuts. To my utter joy and amazement it was a huge success. Over 100,000 downloads in under a month! But like I said, providing an hour of musicfor people to listen to, at no charge, was a novelty in 2004. I had the market cornered. I was the market.
Now look! A billion blogs, all churning out hours of free music every second of the day. A mixtape every minute. Some days it seems the inerenet is wholly comprised of free mixtapes.
But none of them are like mine.
See, I work hard at this. And I have been getting better and better, over the years, pushing myself further and harder with each release, making sure that every time I put together a block of music, I learn something new, and do something I haven’t done before.
And now, with nearly seven years of hard lessons learned, I am proud to present to you my most accomplished home grown project yet:
ATD25 For The Ultimate Victory!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
This great landmark, my quarter century, silver anniversary mixtape was recorded between November 2010 and April 2011 with my excellent friends and the skills I’ve assessed in the past decade, and it was mixed by myself and DJ Jack Nimble right here in Don Studios, LAST NIGHT, with the aid of NO WEED and a small bottle of Jack Daniels.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to this, and all the ATD mixtapes, past, present and future.
THANK YOU!
OK. Click the individual track titles below to read additional information, click the links below to download, and most importantly, ENJOY IT. It is my gift to you.
Oh, and look out for the very exciting announcement at the end.
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 8:29PM 
