This year, it became increasingly difficult to discern the difference between mixtapes and albums. When the year's bestselling rap release (Drake's If You're Reading This, It's Too Late) was announced as a "mixtape" but was immediately sold on iTunes, the waters become a little murky for everyone. Three more releases that were, for some reason or another, touted as tapes but sold as albums (Drake and Future's WATTBA, Young Thug's Barter 6, and Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's SURF), were on our initial best mixtapes list, but then, due to the lack of availability in our "mixtapes" section, decided to count them all as albums. For the record, all of them made that year-end list.
As a result, our mixtapes list skews closer to the off-the-cuff, less serious type of release that originally encapsulated the definition. You might think that means more up and comers, but don't be so sure-- there are plenty of veterans who want to kick back and have a blast without the commercial concerns of an album. Beyond that, there are even some insanely well-curated EP-length tapes that make the argument for mixtapes as more bitesize (and even, in some cases, consistent) offerings than albums. Who knows if we'll even be talking about the format in the same way in twelve months.
Towkio: ".wav theory"
Coming up in the shadow of Vic Mensa in Chicago’s SAVEMONEY crew, Towkio really broke out with the electronic-influenced .wav theory tape. He enlisted help from Chicago friends Chance The Rapper, Vic, Donnie Trumpet, Leather Corduroys, and Montreal production wiz Kaytranada, but still managed to keep things very unique with his blunted delivery and varied palette of sounds. It was, for the most part, a fun ride, but Towkio showed us that there’s more going on behind his seemingly-eternal smile, battling weighty themes on “Addicted. ” Especially on the Chance and Donnie-assisted “Heaven Only Knows,” a skillful rewrite of a John Legend gem, he epitomized the effortlessness with which the new class of young Chicago artists blend genres as disparate as soul and footwork.
Juicy J: "Blue Dream & Lean 2"
Along with Rubba Band Business, the original Blue Dream & Lean was where the former Three 6 Mafia rapper updated his sound and began a total career reinvigoration, which culminated with his signing to Taylor Gang. Since then, he’s basically been coasting, but in rare form. BD&L2 offers nothing much more than a few forward-thinking beats (“I’m Sicka,” “Denna Bitch,” etc.) in terms of progression, but who are we kidding— we’re not listening to Juicy J in 2015 to hear mind-blowingly fresh content. Instead, we bask in the glory of hearing him continue his seemingly endless chemistry with Project Pat, add new chapters to his auditory stoner buddy comedy with Wiz Khalifa, link up with eager young stars like K Camp and Rae Sremmurd, and again again remind us that he’s the father of so, so many flows in Southern rap.
2 Chainz: "Trapavelli Tre"
Don’t let anyone tell you 2 Chainz is falling off. Although none of his studio albums have done much damage, commercially or critically speaking, and he’ll probably never fully recapture the spotlight of his huge year in 2012, he’s still a force to be reckoned with when it’s mixtape time. Trapavelli Tre found him combining more styles than ever, with the successful formula of minimal, piano-led hits like “Watch Out” brushing shoulders with more expansive compositions such as “GOAT,” the smooth jazz of “Blue Dolphin," and a weird-as-fuck experiment called “Halo Letter From My Unborn Son.” Similarly to Juicy J on Blue Dream & Lean 2, Tity Boi now seems like he’s in a position where he can and will do anything he wants to when he has the opportunity to do so, and thusly he’s at his best when unbound by label expectations.
iLoveMakonnen: "Drink More Water 5"
After pairing up with some of the biggest producers in Atlanta for last year’s DMW4 and the iLoveMakonnen EP, Makonnen took a very different route on both of his releases this year, self-producing like he used to, or else getting smaller names to handle the work. DMW5 mixed these with a few excellent remixes (“Whip It” and “Dodging 12”) to great effect. Here, the unique ATL crooner was allowed to show off all aspects of his personality, from drug-addled egotist (“Drink More Water 5 Freestyle”), to your likable, relatable neighborhood trapper (“No Ma’am”) to lovelorn balladeer (the last couple tracks). He’d further tighten things up on his second self-titled EP, but I dare you to find a more fun collection of songs than DMW5 in 2015.
Chance The Rapper & Lil B: "Free Based Freestyles"
Speaking of fun, what’s more whimsical than two formerly-unlinked artists finally meeting each other, and deciding to record a tape on the spot? Chance The Rapper and Lil B may not be the most immediately obvious peers, but one listen to Free Based Freestyles was all you needed to recognize the similar threads that run through their approaches to music. The novel making-of story was definitely a unique one in hip hop, but even more revolutionary was the approach they took: all one-take freestyles, no edits. Based God has been doing this on his own for years, but in Chance he found someone who could connect on his level of based wisdom, stun with his off-the-top bars, and be self-aware enough to not let a fucked up line or two derail the persistently gleeful mood.
Rich Homie Quan: "If You Ever Think I Will Ever Stop Going In, Ask Royal Rich"
If Rich Homie Quan Ever Fails To Include The Phrase “Goin In” In The Title Of A Mixtape, Sue Him. After getting past the ridiculous title, as well as Quan’s questionable lyrics on other leaked tracks, Royal Rich (we’ll abbreviate it to that) is the most natural progression of his sound that we could have imagined. He showed that he had much more to offer outside of the undeniable hit “Flex,” building upon the sugary-sweet melodic impulses he picked up on Tha Tour Pt. 1 more so than the shout-rapping of I Promise I Will Never Stop Going In, and taking it to a wide variety of places over the course of the lengthy tape. On many of the tracks, he showed his true colors, being perhaps the only trap star who’d also fit in with a ‘90s R&B group.
Lil Uzi Vert: "Luv Is Rage"
Getting a huge look on DJ Carnage’s “WDYW” earlier in the year, Philadelphia native Lil Uzi Vert made good on his inescapable hype on the 16-track tape Luv Is Rage. Like his Metallica-inspired logo implies, Uzi’s default mode is is energetic turn-up, but also like the James Hetfeild-led group, has a deep understanding of melody. The music on here is a definite offspring of rappers like Young Thug, Chief Keef, and Rich Homie Quan, who all have turned trap into a bright, hyper-melodic playground that no one could’ve imagined in the ‘90s, but not without personality of its own. Luv Is Rage shows that, no matter if he’s rapping over beats from Chicago, ATL, or his hometown, Uzi has his own very vibrant swag.
Jazz Cartier: "Marauding In Paradise"
One of the few Toronto rappers who doesn’t necessarily sound like a Toronto rapper, Jazz Cartier crafted something that was wholly his own on Marauding In Paradise. Tied to the South insome of its sounds, this carefully-crafted full-length covers new territory in its blend of aggression, indie impulses, and cool urban psychedelia. No two tracks sound the same, thanks to producer Lantz’s impressive range of abilities, and although it’s sleek and modern, it’s refreshing in its seeming lack of trend-chasing.
Boogie: "The Reach"
Let’s get this out of the way: “Oh My” is an incredible, huge, majorly catchy track, but it’s not at all indicative of The Reach, a deep, methodical listen as a whole. Expanding on the vivid picture Boogie painted on last year’s Thirst 48, The Reach is a movie from start (the epic Mike Zombie and Keyel-produced title track) to finish (the somber, plodding march of “Change”). This is real person problems music-- no frills, fantasies, or delusion-- with Boogie focusing on the world he knows with the sort of attention to detail that can only come from experience and maturation. His rapping and choice of production markedly improved since his last release, and with his recent signing to Interscope, we can only expect more to follow.
Big KRIT: "It's Better This Way"
The perfect blend of KRIT Wuz Here’s soulful Southernness and Cadillactica’s widescreen ambition, It’s Better This Way felt like the purest artistic statement yet from Mississippi’s finest. What’s more, he increased the live instrumentation and surprisingly non-derivative nods to golden age rap, making for a sound that’s the closest to timeless we heard this year. Unbound by genre and regional restrictions, KRIT created a world where Eazy E baselines, Tribe Called Quest jazz, harmonized Outkast hooks, trap hi hats, and Kanye-style baroque flourishes could exist together in harmony, and that’s a truly impressive feat. Add a supporting cast that represents the ‘90s (Warren G), ‘00s (Ludacris and DJ Drama), and now (BJ The Chicago Kid, Young Dolph, K Camp), and we’ve got arguably the best work of KRIT’s career.
Young Thug: "Slime Season"
More wildly varied than its almost immediate follow-up, SS2, the first Slime Season dispenses with any hope for overall coherence in favor of Thug’s ability to take any sort of beat in the trap spectrum and make it unmistakably his own. This tape may have felt too much like the massive leak of random Thug tracks that surfaced earlier this year, but if anything, it showed us how consistently thrilling he could be with his neverending reserve of flows, melodies, and wordplay. Some half-baked finished products made the cut, seeming more like sketches than fully thought-out songs, but whether via infectious ad-libs, hilarious bars that speed past until you give a few listens, or baffling non-sequiturs, Thugger even packed these with enough replay value to match his peers' more fully-formed statements. Definitely not a definitive collection, but able to be boiled down to a very, very strong ten song set, depending on which ones you prefer.
Cousin Stizz: "Suffolk County"
Achieving the difficult task of following a buzzy (and Drake-cosigned) single, “Shoutout,” with a tape that’s captivating for its full runtime, Cousin Stizz had himself a hell of a year off the strength of Suffolk County. What’s more, he did it from a notoriously barren hip hop city: Boston. With effortlessly catchy hooks, fluid verses, and a very impressive set of beats from a mostly local roster of producers, the tape was one of most fully-formed statements we’ve heard that was also an artist’s HNHH debut. This guy has vision on vision, charisma on charisma, and he did a bang-up job of sharing that with a new audience on this tape.
Tinashe: "Amethyst"
Tinashe pulled the extremely risky move of recording the follow-up to her major label debut in her bedroom in her parents’ house, and thankfully Amethyst succeeds in the only way it could: by reminding us why we liked Tinashe in the first place, before all of the “2 On” fame and big collaborations. This time, she obviously has access to better producers (Ryan Hemsworth, Iamsu!, Nez & Rio), and a little more experience, but she gets to wield those with a little more playfulness than she did on Aquarius, giving us a brief tape that feels off-the-cuff but well-curated— no small feat. She shows herself to be a great fit on so many different sounds that it’s anyone’s guess where she’ll go next.
G Herbo: "Ballin Like I'm Kobe"
Herbo (formerly Lil Herb) has sounded wise beyond his years ever since he came out of the gate, but his 2015 tape is where he truly seemed “19 years going on 39.” Over tracks that varied in mood and style, but never vigor, he further honed the bleak but carefully crafted vision he showed on last year’s excellent Welcome To Fazoland, sounding more honest than any rapper from his city. Kobe wasn’t without its blunt moments— namely “Rollin” and “Gang”— but its plaintive soundscapes and thoughtful lyrical content made Herb’s recent signing with Cinematic a little less perplexing. For a few years there, it seemed like “drill” rappers couldn’t safely stray from the norm, but with his newfound freedom, Herbo’s gradually becoming one of the more exciting rappers in the game.
Tory Lanez: "Cruel Intentions"
Tory released quite a bit of material this year, most recently two tapes on Christmas, but his most impressive was the one where he took the biggest risk. Cruel Intentions paired him with the L.A.-based WeDidIt electronic collective, which was founded by onetime Jeremih collaborator Shlohmo, and over the course of five sublime tracks, covered ground he never had in his prolific career. From the minimal breathiness of opener “Acting Like” to the warm, vintage keys of “Honda Civic,” Tory inhabits these beats with a skill that’s truly rare, even among his peers in the sing/rapping arena. He switches between deliveries, octaves, and flows like he’s following an instruction manual, but the impressive part is that he’s making it up as he goes along.
Rick Ross: "Black Dollar"
After Rick Ross made his last album a bloated, bombastic beast that included lead singles “Neighborhood Drug Dealer” and “Coke Like The 80s,” no one could have ever expected his next move: a step back into slightly more dignified territory. The fact that Black Dollar’s first drop was called “Foreclosures” was indicative of this change, which involved less fantasy and exaggeration than ever. Backing this up with more stately production and cameos from grown ass man singers Anthony Hamilton and The-Dream, Ross opened a new chapter of his career that continued on the album Black Market.
Diddy: "MMM"
Alright, I may have underrated this tape upon its arrival, but I admit it, I forgot who I was dealing with. Diddy has certainly had a weird artistic trajectory, but after going back and listening to Last Train To Paris a few times, MMM is a great next step for the mogul. He delivers similarly retro-futuristic beats, drawing from past eras of R&B just as much as current experimental electronic scenes, he brought together some of hip hop’s elite on some of the years hardest, weirdest beats, and that’s a major feat in and of itself. In contrast to another man with a similarly awesome rolodex, DJ Khaled, Diddy’s never stagnant, never purely reliant on the names on the tracklist. He may only give us a new offering every five years or so, but if it’s a choice between that or five albums of the same, personality-less “bangers” that make our favorite rappers seem disappointingly boring, we’ll take the former any day.
Future: "Beast Mode"
Arriving just a few days into 2015, this gleeful-sounding collar tape between Future and trap minister Zaytoven instantly brightened up the winter months. With the veteran producer cooking up some of his finest piano riffs yet (recalling Billy Joel and Elton John more than any hip hop predecessors) and Hendrix bringing the melodic sensibility he’d honed on Honest to a more hard-nosed place, it was the first of two EP-length collaborations by the rapper that felt like perfect marriages between MC and producer. Although celebratory cuts like “Ooooh” and “Aintchu” seemed to set the stage for a 180 from the dark Monster, Future’s downtrodden emotional state persisted on the deceptively bright “Just Like Bruddas” as well as the meditative late cuts “Where I Came From” and “Forever Eva.” Unlike the rest of the Atlanta star’s 2015, he wasn’t covering new ground here, but rather taking one of his city’s most unmistakeable sounds and showing that he could do it better than anyone else.
Young Thug: "Slime Season 2"
Tally this up right next to Future’s Dirty Sprite 2 as sequels that were far better than the original. The crazy thing about Slime Season 2, though, is that it arrived mere weeks after its predecessor. Still wild, unhinged, and unpredictable, this tape offered the well-curated antidote to SS1’s scattered nature that all of us were craving. Goose, Wheezy, London On Da Track, Isaac Flame and weirdly enough, Treasure Fingers, all tap into the same eerie, late night vibe despite how unlikely it is that any of them were in the same room when making these beats; for that, credit engineer Alex Tumay’s sequencing and mixing— having one person handle all of that for one tape is a rarity in Thug’s career thus far. Delivering ear-worming hooks (“Pull Up On A Kid”), his best one liner to date (“I look good as your dad on a Friday”), and love songs even more gorgeous than the ones on Rich Gang’s Tha Tour Pt. 1 (basically half the tracks on here), Thugger gave us something wildly different than Barter 6 that equalled its understated quality.
Future: "56 Nights"
I’ve already said most of what I can say about the genius of 56 Nights, which is technically credited to DJ Esco (out of respect for what he went through, I’d guess), so all I can really add at this point is that it’s stuck around in a big way for almost ten months. “March Madness” and “Trap N*ggas” have shown up on just about every year-end songs list (including ours), 808 Mafia have become more prolific in its wake than they’ve been since Lex Luger’s departure, and the legendary status of Future’s 2015 run has been cemented. DS2 was our number two album of the year, but pound-for-pound, this tape might be stronger. Its brief, exhilarating runtime contrasts heavily with the album’s pace, which sags towards the end not due to any one weak track, but rather a pristine consistency in sound. 56 Nights’ songs, on the other hand, are all cut from the same dark, futuristic cloth, but display their jagged edges in very different forms. One for the ages, 56 Nights will be remembered even more for its music than the attention-grabbing story that birthed it.