Mixtapes

From the archive and beyond.

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Archive · Atlanta Hip-Hop

DJ Scream Presents Shawty Lo: I'm Da Man

2007. Before 'Dey Know,' before Units in the City, DJ Scream hosted the tape that introduced Shawty Lo as a solo voice. Rare. Out of print. Stream it in the archive.

Diony C. · September 11, 2026 · 5 min read

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Archive · Chicago

Fahrenheit 1/15, Part I: The Truth Is Among Us

Two years before Food & Liquor, Lupe Fiasco and Bishop G burned a CD-R of freestyles and reworks for callers to their weekly WGCI radio show. Seventeen tracks. No label, no rollout. Stream it in the archive.

Diony C. · September 7, 2026 · 5 min read

UNDRCRWN and MTVTN present DJ Jazzy Jeff + Mick Boogie — Summertime, The Mixtape cover art

Archive · Soul & R&B

Summertime, Vol. 1

In 2010, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Mick turned one classic record into an entire mood: forty-nine tracks of deep soul, golden-era hip-hop, and warm-weather rarities that launched a decade-plus running series. Stream the origin volume in the archive.

Diony C. · August 24, 2026 · 4 min read

Archive · West Coast

You Know What It Is, Vol. 3

June 22, 2005. Nu Jerzey Devil and DJ Skee present The Game's direct response to the G-Unit split, twenty-two tracks anchored by the '300 Bars & Runnin'' diss. Stream it in the archive.

Diony C. · August 21, 2026 · 5 min read

Archive · Griselda

Hell Still On Earth

Conway The Machine and Prodigy trade verses across two Daringer productions in September 2016, a title borrowed straight from Mobb Deep's own Hell On Earth. Never given an official release. Stream it in the archive.

Diony C. · August 13, 2026 · 4 min read

Archive · Nipsey Hussle

Crenshaw

Nipsey Hussle sold 1,000 physical copies of Crenshaw for $100 each in 2013, sold out in a day, then released it free anyway. Twenty-one tracks, hosted by DJ Drama, now streaming in the archive.

Diony C. · August 3, 2026 · 5 min read

Archive · Action Bronson

Blue Chips 2

Action Bronson's first Blue Chips tape got some notice. The sequel, in 2013, Party Supplies' beats and bar-for-bar chemistry, is what got him signed. Now streaming in the archive.

Diony C. · July 31, 2026 · 5 min read

Archive · Kanye West

I'm Good...

Eight months after the car crash, five months before The College Dropout. Kanye West's I'm Good... mixtape captured a producer forcing the world to accept him as a rapper. Now streaming in the archive.

Diony C. · July 29, 2026 · 5 min read

Archive · Kanye West

Get Well Soon...

Thirty-six tracks, one wired jaw, and a Roc-A-Fella roster clearing the runway for a producer nobody wanted to hear rap. Kanye West's Get Well Soon... mixtape, now in the archive.

Diony C. · July 22, 2026 · 7 min read

Archive · De La Soul

Le Da Soul (20 Years of De La Soul)

Twenty De La Soul classics, remade by twenty different artists, one for every year since 3 Feet High and Rising. Mick Boogie and DJ Terry Urban's 2009 tribute, now streaming in the archive.

Diony C. · July 17, 2026 · 6 min read

Dillagence — Busta Rhymes over unreleased J Dilla production, curated by Mick Boogie

Archive · J Dilla

Dillagence (Curated by Mick Boogie)

November 27, 2007. Mick Batyske brought Busta Rhymes and a vault of unreleased J Dilla beats together for the most important tribute tape the producer ever received. Rare. Out of print. Stream it in the archive.

Diony C. · July 8, 2026 · 6 min read

Archive · Maybach Music Group

Dreamchasers 3 (Hosted by DJ Drama)

September 29, 2013. Meek Mill and DJ Drama released the blockbuster the Dreamchasers series had been building toward. 500,000 downloads in 48 hours. Every guest earned their spot. Stream it in the archive.

Diony C. · July 2, 2026 · 6 min read

Archive · Re-Up Gang

We Got It 4 Cheap, Vol. 2

Clipse were sitting on Hell Hath No Fury with no release date. Pusha T and Malice moved into Pharrell's mansion and made the tape that changed everything. Now streaming in the archive.

Diony C. · June 25, 2026 · 6 min read

Bad Meets Premo (Before PRhyme) — DJ Premier & Royce Da 5'9'

Archive · PRhyme

Who Put Together Bad Meets Premo?

Before PRhyme was an album, someone pulled twelve Royce Da 5'9' and DJ Premier records together and gave the collection a title. Now streaming in the archive.

Diony C. · May 26, 2026 · 5 min read

Archive · Drake

Room for Improvement

Drake's debut. February 14, 2006. Before Young Money, before So Far Gone. A 19-year-old from Toronto, DJ Smallz, and the tape that started everything.

Diony C. · May 11, 2026 · 4 min read

Diplomats Volume 1 Special Collector's Edition, hosted by DJ Kay Slay

Archive · Dipset

Diplomats Vol. 1 (Special Collector's Edition)

The tape that started it all. Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, and Duke Da God built the Diplomats street operation from Harlem in 2002. DJ Kay Slay hosted. mixtapekings.com was there. Now streaming in the archive.

Diony C. · April 20, 2026 · 7 min read

Archive · Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne & DJ Drama: Dedication 2

DJ Drama, Don Cannon, and the Gangsta Grillz blueprint — told through the tape that made Lil Wayne undeniable. Three Philly kids who changed hip-hop. 2006.

Diony C. · April 13, 2026 · 7 min read

Archive · G-Unit

Bulletproof: G-Unit Pt. 5

The tape that bridged the grind and the arrival. DJ Whoo Kid and 50 Cent, hosted by Dave Chappelle, artwork by Mister Cartoon. Eighteen tracks of G-Unit operating at street level before the industry caught up. 2003.

Diony C. · April 7, 2026 · 6 min read

Archive · G-Unit

G-Unit Radio Part 1: Smokin' Day 2

The tape that launched the franchise. DJ Whoo Kid and 50 Cent, hosted by Snoop Dogg, dropped in March 2003 alongside Get Rich or Die Tryin'. The P.I.M.P. remix. True Loyalty. The beginning of a 25-volume series that changed the mixtape game.

Diony C. · April 7, 2026 · 4 min read

Archive · MixtapeKings

MixtapeKings Radio Vol. 1

The tape that came from the show. DJ Kast One mixes 33 tracks of New York street rap straight from the mixtapekings.com Sirius Satellite Radio broadcast. Styles P, Saigon, Nas, Jae Millz, Papoose, J.R. Writer, and Kanye West. August 2005.

Diony C. · March 13, 2026 · 5 min read

Archive · MixtapeKings

The Rogue's Gallery

A mixtape born in the streets of New York, mixed by DJ Clear, featuring some of the hungriest underground voices of the early 2010s. This is where it started for us.

Diony C. · February 17, 2026 · 4 min read

Archive · MixtapeKings

The Rogue's Gallery Vol. 2

The sequel that went national. Mixed by DJ Clear, Vol. 2 expanded the Rogue's Gallery series beyond New York, pulling talent from California, St. Louis, and beyond.

Diony C. · February 17, 2026 · 4 min read