We are approaching the end of the #HOTNEW14 roll out and year-end round up. Mixtapes are an essential part of the rap game and the mixtape game is stronger than ever, thanks to the accessibility the internet provides, as well as rappers giving zero fucks when it comes to industry politics, and putting out some of their best work for free. We can't shake our heads at that. Instead we hit the download button.
This year we had a lot of big mixtapes impact HNHH, however, we've rounded up 20 of the most successful and the most dope for our Hottest Mixtapes of 2014. As per usual with our Hottest lists, it's a mixture of how popular the tapes were as well as the overall quality of the project-- you'll notice some might have not been up there in terms of download numbers, but they nonetheless were pure dopeness so we gave them a shoutout.
What was your favorite mixtape of 2014? Shout it out in the comments. Stay tuned for our Hottest Albums of 2014 dropping tomorrow, and catch up on all the #HOTNEW14 content right here.
Rome Fortune- Beautiful Pimp 2
Rome Fortune gave us no lack of free music in 2014, whether it was loosies or album-quality mixtapes and EPs. Nonetheless, the one that takes the cake is definitely Beautiful Pimp 2, a follow up to 2013’s Beautiful Pimp. While it was his hottest, it was also easily one of the most underrated projects. The mixtape was a blend of hypnotic and internet-y production from Atlanta beatsmith Cito on the Beat, which undoubtedly led to the cohesive sound the mixtape carried, tied together by Rome’s constant reiteration: "I said…" He says a lot. From questioning his relations with a lady (“do she love me or wanna be famous?”) to his turnt-up contemplations (“my vision straight blurred, I’m outside, I dunno what happened but I’m snappin’ on everything and it’s probably ‘cause I’m so high”) to his rap game climb (“you know where I’m headed, I need my cheese breaded”). Cito on the Beat takes you on a mental vacation with his melodic beats, all of which have some sort of unique element, like the accordion sounds found on “I was on one, I can’t lie,” to the xylophone sounds incorporated into “One Day.” As Rome himself said: damn good, damn different.
DeJ Loaf- Sell Sole
DeJ Loaf broke on to the scene with “Try Me,” which came shortly before she dropped off the mixtape she was working on, Sell Sole. While it was not DeJ’s debut mixtape, for most, it was their first proper introduction to little Detroit spitter with a pipsqueak voice but g’d up rhymes. The contrast of her voice and her rhymes was stark, while her style put her no-fucks-given attitude on full display— she is not one of those female rappers who puts their sexuality at the forefront (both in rhymes and in appearance), but that’s not to say you can’t catch a few sex-fueled rhymes from DeJ (“open up your mouth, you gotta talk to this pussy…so what, I make them gargle this pussy”). The mixtape started off strong with DDS-produced “Bird Call,” a tumbling record that found DeJ barely taking a minute to catch her breath as she rhymed sans-hook. From there, we fell further into DeJ Loaf’s Detroit world, not only because of her IBGM features and producers, but because of her bars about her come-up grind, trap life and every now and then, love. With DDS handling most of the production, we got a pretty solid backdrop throughout.
Boogie- Thirst 48
Boogie accomplished something not many new-new rappers can do: put out an absolutely dope debut mixtape. Often, if you’re new to this game, you stumble at the beginning, trying to find your footing and your own "sound." You might sound too much like your favorite rapper when you start out, before you’ve really grown into yourself. Maybe Boogie has been practising for years quietly in his home, because this was definitely not the case. Boogie sounds like Boogie. While he did earn comparisons to Chance The Rapper when he first surfaced, after you fully digest Thirst 48 you realize how completely different these two are. Boogie is a laid-back, West Coast spirit, a single dad, who lays it all out for us on his rhymes. He sounds like he’s just talking to you when he’s spitting his bars, making the experience pretty personal. In addition to his relatable bars, he’s got production on point, handled by DK The Punisher, Caleb Stone and more— each creates something extra smooth for Boogie. The majority of the project is calm which makes for peaceful and easy listening. You may not want to blast this on your Friday night turn-up routine, but it will surely do the trick for your come-down Saturday afternoon smoke session.
Ty Dolla- Sign Lanuage
Ty Dolla $ign has a pretty strong reputation when it comes to the mixtape circuit, so expectations were set quite high when it came to his Sign Language mixtape. Although the mixtape may have been oversaturated a tad with features, Ty only chose top-tier artists for those spots, so fans couldn’t really complain. As with any Ty Dolla project, you get many catchy and melodic hooks from the crooner, and many jams you can smash too, or at least play for your woman in hopes of smashing. In addition to the bedroom records, he had some for those turnt-up/strip club nights with the stand-out “Drank N Cranberry” and “Dead Presidents.” Ty has a penchant to create records both women and men enjoy, even if the records are about stretching that pussy out. There was nothing surprising here when it came to production, as it was Ty’s usual suspects, but it did the trick: his D.R.U.G.S. collective, DJ Mustard, FKi and more contributed. It served as the perfect appetizer and warm-up for Ty’s anticipated debut album, Free TC.
ASAP Ferg- Ferg Forever
If any Mob member will be able make it big following the overnight success of their generally agreed upon leader A$AP Rocky, it would be Ferg— we made an argument for this exact case a few weeks ago even. When the leader of a crew breaks, like Rocky did for A$AP Mob, everyone else trying to come up out of said crew has it doubly hard to prove themselves. For some reason, it’s often the case that affiliates/friends of a rapper are just that-- friends who can’t really rap, but by association, want too. Ferg isn’t this case, he’s proved himself with singles like “Hood Pope,” and in order to keep the momentum for him alive following Trap Lord, he dropped Ferg Forever. These days, fans expect nothing less than an album-quality mixtape, which rings true here. The original production has Ferg’s unique approach on trap, which ranges from ‘cloud trap’ to ‘reggae trap’ (if you will), and often incorporates more instrumentation than the average Atlanta trap banger. These records are weaved together by Ferg’s story-telling, from detailing his youth on the f-you anthem “Uncle” to his vicious Harlem way of life on “Reloaded Let It Go 2.”
Lil Herb- Welcome to Fazoland
Lil Herb is one of the new wave of Chicago spitters, who came up alongside Lil Bibby, with starkly different content from fellow Chi-town rappers like Chance The Rapper. Nonetheless Herbo only spits what he knows, which is the general approach he took for his debut mixtape, Welcome To Fazoland. It’s the perfect introduction to Lil Herb and the streets he hails from. The gritty rapper often spits over hardened production which counters his powerful voice. While it is possible to group Herb into the drill rap category, he can’t be entirely enclosed in that box. Lil Herb details the often brutal reality he encounters in daily life, but he’s not necessarily glorifying it— he understands it might not be the best way of life, but it’s the only way where he comes from. We get this sense of harsh reality on records like “Fight or Flight” ("I'm just giving you the real/Cause I don't come from Hollywood or Beverly Hills/I'm from where mothers don't care and babies get killed/Where you gotta rob and go steal for stomachs to fill/And it's hard for a young, black nigga like myself/Where the police compare oneself with everybody") as well as “Mamma I’m Sorry” ("As a youngin' you always told me I won't need for nothin'/I just never settled for less cause I can't see you strugglin'/That's why I got it on my own and I stayed away from home/Cause I ain't want my sister growin' up watching me doing wrong/And at the end of the day, it's my life/I gotta learn from my mistakes"). Welcome to Fazoland.
Future- Monster
After giving us his debut album Honest in April of 2014, we didn’t hear from Future for a minute. While there were reports on multiple different mixtapes/albums in the works, we finally got something tangible with his Halloween-themed release Monster. It was an all-original product with production from the usual Atlanta collaborators, including Metro Boomin, Southside, DJ Spinz, TM 88 and more. The fact that Future often uses familiar producers keeps his sound distinct and uniform, so there are no surprises here when it comes to these warm trap beats. Future maintains a slurred, raspy and auto-tuned flow which is ultimately much more audible than his sons Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. Monster is a 16-track project that flows well together, from “Monster” to “Fuck Up Some Commas” to fan-favorite “After That,” and “Hardly,” (and basically every other song on the project) Future proves he’s still got hooks on lock even if Thugga might be catching up to him. If you like Future, then there’s really nothing not to like about Monster.
Jeremih & Shlohmo- No More EP
This surprise free EP arrived on Jeremih’s birthday this past summer, but it was the fans who really received a gift. Shlohmo & Jeremih connected for the first time with the song “Bo Peep (Do U Right)” (which coincidentally made it on to last year’s list of Hottest Songs), and it quickly became a fan-favorite. The chemistry between the producer and singer pair was proved once more with the leak “No More,” which eventually became the title track for their EP. The EP was in the works quite some time before Jeremih finally decided to let us hear it— and despite containing three previously-released records (including “No More” and “Bo Peep”), it was still worth the wait. Jeremih sounded right at home in the current era of alt/internet-r’n’b, thanks to the electronic-tinged-r’n’b production from Shlohmo. The one feature from Chance The Rapper was placed on the most experimental record found on the EP, “The End,” a fitting conclusion to the six-track offering. Yes, we would have loved this tape even more (and perhaps placed it higher) if there were more new records on it, but, now we just have to hope these two connect in the future, for a full-length album.
Ace Hood- Starvation 3
If there is one thing Ace Hood does extremely well, it’s mixtapes. The We The Best rapper has never fully realized mainstream success, but he’s got a strong fanbase who anticipate every one of his mixtape releases, and big up his lyrical onslaught that follows, even if he’s stuck in some sort of rap middle ground. Starvation 3 was another successful notch in the Starvation series, and there was no slow moment on this tape. From the rise & grind anthem “Everyday” that kicks off the ferocious mixtape, to “FYFR”, Ace only slows down towards the end of the mixtape, with the heartfelt “Tears,” as well as the emotional “Save Us” with Betty Wright, proving he’s more than just a one-trick high-energy pony. Nonetheless, it’s cuts like “Jamaica,” with production from go-to Beat Bully that really define Ace Hood’s sound and this mixtape. This mixtape dropped right at the beginning of 2014, and it’s accumulated over 123k downloads within that time. Almost a year later and it still resonates with us, hence its placement on this list. Will Ace finally get his deserved shine in 2015?
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#11. Mike WiLL Made It- Ransom
After a sufficient waiting period, Mike WiLL Made It released his compilation Ransom at the tail end of 2014. In time for your holiday, and this list, the project did not lack records, although many may have hit the net prior to the mixtape’s release. At 20 tracks strong though, there was definitely a good amount of records we had yet to hear. Mike WiLL Made It handled all the dark, trap production with assistance here and there from co-producers. It was definitely an all-Atlanta affair, from the features, which included a handful of underground artists as well as some more established dudes, to the production. While Mike WiLL Made It can obviously do lighter, more pop-driven beats (see: Miley Cyrus), this was absolutely not that. Hi-hats and heavy bass abounded throughout the project. “Someone to Love” had a slight “Move That Dope” aura to it, while the piano-key-riddled “Stop Start” sounded like a bleaker, trap-ier version of “Lemonade.” We also got a chopped up and strange beat on “Choppin Blades,” and then there was Juicy J on the dramatic (bass-heavy) strip club joint “Don’t Trust.” Although compilations can sometimes be tough to keep cohesive given the array of rappers and artists, Mike WiLL did a fantastic job of catering to each rapper and still keeping his own sound alive, summed rather nicely by the equally-dark sounding word that is: Ransom.
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#10. Lil Boosie Badazz- Life after Deathrow
Lil Boosie, or rather Boosie Badazz, could have very well experienced a stalled rap career after getting locked up for a lengthy period of time. In the end, it actually worked to his advantage, as fans seemed to come out of the woodwork (which in turn got his Day 1s a bit peeved), as we steadily awaited the Baton Rouge rapper’s release this past year. Once we could finally use the #BOOSIEFREE hashtag, the anticipation for what he would do next was at an all-time high. After dropping off a few lose cuts, Boosie came through with his first official project since being a free man, Life After Deathrow, a sort of warm-up to his Touchdown 2 Cause Hell album. Boosie sounded like he had never left; whereas we saw Shyne’s voice experience quite the beating after his prison stint, Boosie’s voice sounded exactly the same— the high-pitched, slightly squeaky aspect that makes him so identifiable was still present, and happened to fit in quite nicely with current rap trends of voice manipulation. The rapper gave us Southern-flavored street anthems, which as it were, was just what the streets wanted, or at least the 454,118 of you who listened to the tape. While some rappers go through clashes of conscious (cough, No Malice) Boosie was back to his usual topics on tracks like “Trouble” but he also caught up with the current generation on tracks like “FaceTime,” and he gave us a bit more substance on cuts like “I Feel Ya.”
King Los- Zero Gravity II
King Los is an HNHH favorite, so of course we had to show him some love with his lyrically-dense mixtape Zero Gravity II. The rapper’s had a pretty tumultuous career without even really getting it off the ground yet, from signing with Bad Boy, to leaving Bad Boy and signing with RCA. While he’s got the necessary backing, he’s yet to really have that ‘big break’ he needs, to launch him into another rap stratosphere. Nonetheless, he’s persistent, and so let’s hope that break comes soon. For now we get free mixtapes like Zero Gravity II, which show off his penchant to drop jam-packed bars, the kind you need to reply at least two times to fully grasp what he’s saying. The Baltimore native intertwined his mixtape with news clips, as he tackled just about every style and topic we could ask for. With 19 tracks it was hard not too. From harsh tales of reality on “Don’t Get In My Way” to the smooth hashtag-worthy and female-centric record “But You Playin’” to the more radio-friendly and club-ready “Me Too,” it’s hard to know what exact direction Los’ career will take, simply because he handles so many styles.
ILoveMakonnen- ILoveMakonnen EP
Before Drake made “Tuesday,” and by extension, iLoveMakonnen, the next big thing, the warble-singer dropped off his self-titled free EP (later re-released with a different tracklist by OVO). It wasn’t his first project, but it was the most polished, the most distinct in terms of Makonnen’s sound, and obviously, it spread the furthest. Thus it helped launch his career to another level, albeit not before Drake did a remix for the underground-buzzing record “Tuesday.” Drake co-sign = instant fame. Makonnen is different in as many ways as possible, all of which endeared him to his fanbase. His voice is not what you’d expect from the average r’n’b singer or pop star, in fact, if Makonnen had been truly "groomed" for stardom, he probably would have been told to avoid his penchant for high falsetto. His vocals are usually wobbly, going way up and way down within the span of a few bars. Without any backing production, his vocals may not have the same effect as they do. However, Makonnen had all the right production on this EP-- with assistance from Sonny Digital, Metro Boomin’ and FKi he created something so Atlanta yet not Atlanta at all. He steered away from auto-tune, even if that may have refined his vocals slightly and is the tool-of-the-moment. His subject matter focused on love stories (“Sarah,” “Meant To Be” and “Exclusive,”) and drug deals (“I Don’t Sell Molly No More”), and his hooks were stuck in our head for days.
Childish Gambino- STN MTN
Childish Gambino gave us a joint mixtape/EP effort with STN MTN/KAUAI. While KAUAI may have been a tad more mastered, it was also the portion you had to pay for. STN MTN, on the other hand, was available for free, and showed off Gambino’s more ignant, or at least more fun, side. The rapper takes us into a dream, which acts as the concept stringing together STN MTN, starting off with “Dream Southern/Hospitality/Partna Dem.” There’s nothing too serious going on the 11-track EP, but it is definitely enjoyable, from Gambino’s take on “Move That Dope” to the funky “Go DJ,” it was ready-made for turning up, while KAUAI was made for what follows: the come down. Gambino hails from Stone Mountain, although he’s definitely not a face we would typically group with the other buzzing Atlanta rappers, but nevertheless on STN MTN, Gambino brought out that ATL steez. The fans gobbled it up too, earning him close to 1 million views with 803,761.
Migos- Rich Nigga Timeline
Migos gave fans two mixtape projects in 2014, one at the beginning of the year, No Label II, and one in the last quarter with Rich Nigga Timeline, which is what started all The Beatles comparisons. The Beatles comparisons aside, Migos don’t appear to be going anywhere after the uber hit “Versace,” which could have easily written them off as one-hit wonders. Nonetheless they came back as hard as ever, with their trademark jumpy flow and production handled mainly handled by Zaytoven, Murda Beatz and Cheeze Beatz, to create a very balanced sound. The mixtape doesn’t break the Migos mold, rather, it is the Migos mold: it’s everything they’re good at, bouncy trap bangers and energetic-yet-basic hooks (“Hit Em”, “Rich Nigga Timeline” etc), all of which detailed a Rich Nigga Timeline, whether that’s rich off rap or rich off trap—these were the main points of discussion throughout the 18-track mixtape. We’re not blasting Rich Nigga Timeline in order to have some sort of philosophical realization; we’re blasting it to get away from just that, so yes it might be a bit mindless, but it’s in the best way possible.
Mick Jenkins- The Water[s]
Mick Jenkins may still be an underground commodity, but his mixtape The Water[s] was undeniably one of the best of 2014. And we’re not just saying that ‘cause we premiered it. The Chicago native is different from his Chicago peers, whereas you have the funky, experimental artists that include the Save Money collective and rappers like Alex Wiley, you also have the harder, street-oriented MCs like Lil Bibby and Herb. Where does Mick lie? Somewhere in between…or not at all. The rapper has a philosophical and often metaphorical approach when it comes to his bars, with production that is soothing and verges on indie-hip-hop, but it’s not so unapproachable that a mainstream hip-hop fan wouldn’t start head-nodding. The metaphorical approach encompassed this entire project- from title- to cohesive theme- to individual songs like the title track “The Waters”, “Dehydration”, among others. In addition to Mick’s often thought-provoking rhymes, the producers deserve a mention: DJ Dahi came through on the aforementioned “Dehydration,” but we also had some of Mick’s favorites like OnGaud, THC, High Klassified and Statik Selektah create a truly dope backdrop for the rapper. This was definitely his biggest release to date, clocking in with over 276k views.
Kevin Gates- By Any Means
Kevin Gates is consistent as fuck. Consistency is a necessary factor to broaden a fanbase and generally grow as an artist, not to mention gain critical/blogosphere support. Gates has these factors in place, so it’s not so unlikely that he will take over 2015, reaching everyone from gangster rap fans to hipsters—he’s one of those rappers that appeals to a wide array of fans. In addition to consistency, the rapper is also very generous. He put out two album-quality mixtapes in 2014, both of which were available for free and on iTunes for those who could dish out the $9.99. Either could have made this list, easily, however we’re going with By Any Means, the first of the two (the second being the very recent Luca Brasi 2). Gates knows what sound works for him, and he rarely strays from it, which could be the answer to why he’s so consistent. His vocal flexibility and inventive flows keep the listener interested (and will likely have them repeating it), while his portrayal of Baton Rouge life is honest (“Can’t Make This Up”), perhaps too much so. Gates is a gangsta, to be sure, and so the braggadocio rhymes come easily (“Don’t Know”), but he can also do heartfelt love (or anti-love) songs, laying out his feelings on wax with raw intensity you don’t often hear from street-raised MCs (“Posed To Be Love”). Did we mention he’s also got story-telling skills (“Movie”)?
Rich Gang- Tha Tour Part 1
Without any sort of official contract (at least, not that we’re aware of), Birdman took two buzzing ATLiens under his wing over the past year or two, Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. The two were already collaborators, and with direction from Baby they formed Rich Gang. Well, actually, Birdman formed Rich Gang and just put whoever he wanted in it (and it’s still not all to clear what or who Rich Gang is). Nonetheless, under said name, the trio released Tha Tour Part 1 mixtape this year. It had minimal verses from Birdman, but nonetheless the Cash Money boss tied everything together with his top-notch intros, outros and ad-libs. Young Thug and Rich Homie are who really carried the project, with their almost identical mumble rap/slur, it might be hard to know what they’re saying in any of the songs, but it sure does sound good. Of course the beats were key, and London on Da Track played a huge part in this, with smooth trap-tingly bangers like “Imma Ride” and “730,” which accurately sum up the sound of the entire mixtape. With twenty tracks total, the crew did not skimp out on us.
Mac Miller- Faces
Mac Miller didn’t release very much music in 2014, but we did get his jam-packed Faces mixtape, so we can’t really complain. The tape has enough content to keep any fan satisfied for a while. That was actually the main criticism about the mixtape- there was TOO much on it. The rapper has gone through a very public evolution when it comes to his music (and perhaps his appearance too). What started out as a college rap-friendly young kid ("shit’s changed, ain’t little Malcolm with the baby face") turned into a grown, drug-loving adult with a penchant for weirdness. This is what was embodied on Faces: all of Mac’s eccentricities, whether it came in the form of experimental or jazzy production, or whether it came in the form of honest-yet-sad bars on “Happy Birthday.” There was a bit of everything stuffed into the 24 tracks, the only thing there wasn’t was, was a Drake feature, which Mac would happily tell us. In terms of a free project, it doesn’t get much better, and it did the trick of whetting our appetite for the next stage or step in Mac’s ever-changing rap career. Where will he go next? He may not even know yet.
Travi$ Scott- Days Before Rodeo
After a somewhat mediocre debut with Owl Pharoah, Travi$ Scott proved all the naysayers wrong with his follow-up free album (he refused to call it a mixtape, because, it’s not) Days Before Rodeo. Unfortunately, much of Travi$' Scott's career has rested on hype—the fact that Kanye signed him, that he was jointly signed to Hustle Gang/Epic didn’t hurt. Amid all the hype, we wondered if Travi$ was for real. Days Before Rodeo let us know that this rapper-slash-producer isn't playing around. There’s an obvious Kanye West influence on the mixtape, but one that’s been manipulated into Travi$’s own style: a blend of H-town and the ATL, a blend of trap and melodic cloud rap, with lean-covered, slurred lyrics and an overall sense of darkness. The project is the kind that you can listen to front-to-back, every song has its place yet they all blend into each other smoothly. It’s not too long, either, with 12 tracks, that’s about the perfect size for one listening session. Opening up with the ominous and foreshadowing “Days Before Rodeo Prayer,” we soon spiral further and further into Travi$’s drug-muddled realm, bringing back fuzzy memories that might be ours or they might be Travi$'s. It’s hard to tell at this point, especially if you’ve lighted a blunt for the ride. Things get even darker as we head into “Skyfall,” but the light at the end of the tunnel comes with easier-going (not necessarily 'easy', but easier) records like “Backyard,” and “Grey.”