There was a time when the 'best' DJs actually remixed music. Say, 90% of their shit was remix, 10% new shit. Back then, it wasn't such a big deal if you didn't come 'first' with a track. The exclusives mattered much less than the remixes.

Lately - especially the last year or two - the DJs that are generally 'big name' are doing less and less remixing and acting more and more like ... almost like mini-record labels. What that means is that, if you aren't dropping shit first, then what's the point of the fucking mixtape?

Case in point: Half these tracks have already been released on White Owl. Another half have already been released on a bunch of smaller more regional mixtape shits. White Owl in particular seems to have the game on lock lately. Don't know how the fuck he's doing it, but (particularly for east coast shit) he seems to be a fucking record label, dropping every week. Did he win the lottery?

Anyway, note, I'm not saying that I like the way things are headed. I don't - I think DJs are losing their creativity by becoming 'street' record labels, and forgetting the whole point of this mixtape shit. I blame a lot of it on a few cats: 50 Cent, who flipped the script on the mixtape game, making it more of an artist centric product and less of a DJ centric product; DJ Green Lantern, for popularizing this 'exclusive' bullshit in the early 2000s, particularly when the Shady / Ja and Shady / Benzino beefs were going on; Mike, Khaled, Scope, and White Owl for not having the balls (on the east coast) to say "No" to this shit-tastic trend.

There are still a few DJs out there who actually make amazing mixtapes the way they are supposed to be made. The first one that pops in my minds is DJ Vlad (the Butcher). But he drops like ... once every 12 months - he's the opposite of White Owl, who shits these tapes out on a weekly basis. Apparently, the more you drop, the more you fuck up the industry these days.

Peace

I think you pretty much said all there is to say. @ Laz.

i think you missed a whole bunch of shit... these "cats" that you choose to blame. r the leaders in turning the mixtape world into an entire industry. and its all for the money.... now you pay for your internet to wirte these msgs. so you have to make money to pay the bills. now y not make as much as you can?. if you can drop a mixtape a week and bring out the newest hits, why not? now i do agree with you of the effort being put into these tapes. but bills do need to get paid, and why should it bother u? they bring out the hottest shit on the streets that ppl want to hear. which pays my bills. so if these "dj's" bother you so much.... get the fuck off the website. cuz u'r clearly downloading the music that u choose to slader/

"R u kidding me":

It's pretty sad when we tell someone who's critical of an art form or a movement within that art to either 'get in line and suck it up' or 'get the fuck out'. Which is pretty much the gist of your post. That, and "and they're making money and I'm making money so all is good." Who's the fan of hip-hop: the nigga who cares enough to question what the fuck is going on these days, or the one who sits on his ass, looks at the green in his pocket and shrugs his shoulders 'meh, I'm making money, who gives a fuck"

All is not good: this supposed industry that they're making is increasingly becoming a target for the majors. What that equates to is a few people will get wealthy, the mixtape industry will get bought up and commercialized, and mixtapes - the creative foundation of hip-hop music that played a big part in the rise of rap as part of American culture in the 80s - will die a slow death.

Your attitude is disappointing, as is your insecurity over having the product that is pushed openly questioned. But that's cool doogie: pay your bills and smoke the ashes of hip-hop.