Drum Squad/ Welcome To My City As Grammy-nominated producer Drumma Boy makes his transition from beatmaker to rapper, he brings along his team, Drum Squad, for this Welcome To My City mixtape. Drumma Boy’s production on here shows that he is probably better off sticking to just producing, but the Drum Squad (which includes former Three 6 Mafia member Gangsta Boo), managed to put together a solid mixtape that also features Lil Scrappy, Pastor Troy, J Money, Yo Gotti, Young Buck and 8Ball & MJG, and represents the city of Memphis well. - Randy Roper
Gucci Mane & DJ Holiday/Writing On The Wall Gucci Mane’s first official mixtape since being released from prison had a bigger anticipation than most albums that have been released this year. Writing On The Wall has numerous songs, like “First Day Out,”“Wasted” featuring Plies, and “Gorgeous,” that are automatic hood classics. The mixtape would have been better with less shout outs from DJ Holiday, and some Gucci Mane verses make it difficult to understand what draws so many fans in, but Writing On The Wall does nothing but add fuel to the blazing fire Gucci has burning throughout the game. - Randy Roper
211/The Bizness CTE artist 211 starts off hard on The Bizness, as tracks like “Back At Em,”“Red Paint” featuring Mack 10, “So Fly,” and “Real Talk” are all certified bangers. But as the mixtape continues, freestyles over T.I.’s “I’m Illy,” M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” and Shawty Lo’s “Foolish” are a lot less intriguing. It seems as if the first half of this mixtape has the majority of the hits, while the second half, he run out of heat, or just decided to drop in a few fillers. Still, The Bizness has notable songs that clearly show 211’s potential. - Randy Roper
Playboy Tre/Liquor Store Mascot Coming off the reels of his popular Goodbye America mixtape, Playboy Tre has been spending the last year plotting a worthy follow-up. Liquor Store Mascot will definitely keep his fanbase growing as Tre displays a grown man approach to rap, never wasting a word. Sonically, Tre deviates from the sample-heavy production that fans loved on Goodbye America, but the risk pays off as it allows Tre to show that flow and content can fit onto any kind of beat. Using both comedy and tragedy to get his points across, Tre uses a drunken flow to give the listeners a sober look at life’s realities in every song. - Maurice G. Garland
Glasses Malone x Greg Street/2010 Promoting this mixtape as something to hold people over until Detox, Glasses Malone and Greg Street figured the best way to do that is to let G. Malone wreck a gang of old Dre beats. This formula does work on songs like his rendition of “Little Ghetto Boy” and the threatening “This Is A Warning,” where he offers consequences for any ill will towards Obama over the “Big Ego” beat. But the decision to only bust on old Dre beats doesn’t do much to garner interest in any kind of “new west” movement. As for Glasses’ performances, his “realer than thou” style is very polarizing. You either love or hate it. Either way, there is no denying that you can hear LA in his voice every time he speaks. - Maurice G. Garland
Travis Porter & DJ Teknikz/I’m a Differenter One of the newest groups buzzing in Atlanta is the trio Travis Porter (not to be confessed with a kid you went to high school with), and on their DJ Teknikz assisted mixtape, they try to define what makes them “different(er).”“Uh Huh” featuring J Money, “Black Boy, White Boy,” “Stupid Adlibs” and “Baddest Bitch” are all entertaining listens that showcase the group’s carefree style of rapping and singlaong hooks, while other cuts like their All-American Rejects cover of “Gives You Hell” are downright annoying. This mixtape is cool for what it is, but it doesn’t sound like anything “different(er)” than “futuristic swag” songs made by a group of young aspiring rappers with a lot of time on their hands. - Randy Roper
OZONE MAG // 81