J. Futuristic, DJ Drama, & DJ Scream/Mr. Miyagi J. Futuristic adds another themed mixtape to his collection just shortly after releasing his last tape Mr. Futuristic. Definitely an upgrade from his previous effort, Mr. Miyagi is packed with memorable records like “King Kong,”“Deep Cover,” and “This is How We Play.” The features are on point (aside from the “Imma Zoe” remix mishap) and despite the disappointing lack of contribution from Zaytoven, J. includes nearly every sought after producer in Atlanta. Although he’s left behind some of the edge from his Trapper of the Year days, J. Futuristic has picked up some new moves along the way. - Ms. Rivercity
Lil Scrappy, Don Cannon, Tee the Barber, & DJ Infamous/The Shape Up This tape could have easily been trimmed down to a couple of good songs, including “Second Tyme.” A classical Hip Hop instrumental, with down South drums, laced with some of Scrappy’s realest rhymes, “Second Tyme” is one of Scrap’s best offerings. That’s not to say it should be packaged and sent to radio, it just stands out amongst the less-worthy production, and beats that Scrappy’s voice just doesn’t sync with. “Get the Fuck Around Me” is cool too, but other than that, The Shape Up has too much DJ, and not enough bang. — Ms. Rivercity
Brisco/Revenge Energy. That is the word that defines Brisco. From start to finish when you put in this tape and hear his battle cry of “Briissccoooo!” you know what it is. Freshly victimized in a very public robbery, Sco’ is back for revenge on this mixtape. On the title track, a seething 4-minute ode to those who robbed him, cursing their babies’ babies with no remorse, Brisco lets the world feel his anger. With all original production, it’s hard to call this a mixtape, and you will play it longer than most albums. Revenge is his. - Tony Burgous
Willie The Kid, DJ Drama & DJ Head Debiase/The Fly Willie The Kid’s newest Gangsta Grillz mixtape is much like his previous projects: vivid lyrics and smooth flows, over comparable production, with DJ Drama (and DJ Head Debiase) occasionally screaming over his music. Songs like “Aviation,”“Flying Over Ya Hood” and “It’s Your World” are WTK at his best, when his skillful wordplay paints precise pictures. On the negative, you may wish Willie would find others to collaborate with instead of his ever-present brother, LA Tha Dark Man (“Somebody Might Die,” “Life Of a Drug Dealer Freestyle”) and “Comfy Cozy,” a remake of Lil Wayne’s “Comfortable,” seems somewhat out of place. Wishful thinking and mishaps aside, once again WTK released a fly mix, proving he’s one of the most underrated rhymers in the game. - Randy Roper
Bobby Creekwater/The Day It All Made Sense Bobby Creekwater might not be with Shady anymore, but if this 10-track mixtape shows nothing else, it proves the Georgia emcee will be just fine without Aftermath backing him. Although a few tracks are annoyingly auto-tune heavy—“I Want It All,”“Miss Atlanta,”“Everybody Loves Her”—when he’s not “T-Paining too much,” songs like “2 Far Gone,”“Businessman” and “The Day I Got Dropped” are all gems. - Randy Roper
O.Allen & DJ Smallz/King Kong Swag O.Allen’s mixtape has the right title in King Kong Swag because the entire project sounds like one long swag song. “I’m Clean,”“Money,”“Get Fresh” and “There He Go Again” embody the fundamentals of the word “swagger,” but they don’t necessarily make for good records. “Feel It In My Soul,” aside from the bad singing on the hook, is one of the mixtape’s better songs, but “Get Loose,”“One Night Stand,”“Shawty Got Swag,” and “Right Now” balance out the mixtape between songs about swag and songs about girls with swag. But those are the only options here. - Randy Roper
Q6, Drop & DJ Scream/2 Gz: Brutha From Anutha This collaborative effort by Florida rappers Q6 and Drop is at least worth listening to. Q6 and Drop are decent rappers at best, their beats could be better and a good amount of their hooks are awful (see: “I’m Dis, I’m Dat” and “Money So Up”), but the mixtape has 23 tracks, so listeners should be able to find some form of entertainment on Brutha From Anutha. “Twitter Hoe,”“Mouthpiece,” (minus the hook) with Lil Boosie, “Rockin My Chain” featuring Pappaduck, “She Don’t Like Me” featuring Trina are standout amongst the majority, but whether it’s together or solo, Drop and Q6 still have some polishing to do. - Randy Roper
Young Dro & DJ Cannon/R.I.P. Young Dro’s highly anticipated mixtape doesn’t exactly live up to expectations. If you can bear through 29 tracks of Dro’s watered-down rapping on tracks like “Da Core,”“Gimme Back My Swag” and “Don’t Know Yall,” not to mention his attempt at being a singer on “Smoke Great,” than you might enjoy R.I.P. The mixtape does have bright spots when the Grand Hustle emcee spits freestyles like he’s capable of over Jay-Z’s “D.O.A.” and Plies’“Plenty Money,” but the lack of content limits the mixtape’s replay value. - Randy Roper
Gudda Gudda, DJ Ill Will & DJ Rockstar/Guddaville Most of the attention in Young Money is going towards Lil Wayne, Drake and Nicki Minaj, but Gudda Gudda isn’t one to be overlooked. Guddaville is a combination of original songs, freestyles, and guest appearances from the rest of the YM roster, and whether he rhymes over Young Jeezy’s “Get Your Mind Right” with Weezy or shows hometown love on “Always Love You” featuring Nicki Minaj and Short Dawg, Gudda proves he’s no weak link. - Randy Roper
Lil Wayne/No Ceilings Here, the Young Money captain went jacking for beats and smashed every one he could get a hold of. “Swag Surf,” murked it. “Run This Town,” killed it. “Wasted,” murdered it. Even Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams” wasn’t safe from Weezy’s lyrical ambush. The mixtape’s title track, “No Ceilings” featuring Birdman and the-ready-to-mingle cut, “Single,” are the only original songs, but listening to Wayne rap about a bunch of nothing over other artists’ beats is better than most of today’s rap albums. - Randy Roper
OZONE MAG // 63