SL Jones – Way Of Life No Hobby
SL Jones makes the kind of catchy, melodic southern rap that would sound right at home on the radio next to Future and Rich Homie Quan. The highlight of this tape (and one of the highlights of the year) comes when Jones links up with Kevin Gates and Killer Mike 11 tracks in to the tape on “America’s Nightmare”. Metro Boomin’s wavy beat and SL Jones’ auto-tune tinged flow set the stage before Gates bulldozes his way through a verse-of-the-year quality performance. As his verse goes on, his flow gains momentum and intensity. Killer Mike picks up right where he left off on Run The Jewels and if anything somehow manages to sound angrier than ever. (Download)
Lloyd Banks – F.N.O.
Banks doesn’t really fit in with the current Drake and Kanye-influenced melodic and experimental era of rap music, but he hasn’t let lost a step in his pen game and the various flows Banks uses on F.N.O. are a relief to listen to after hearing tape after tape of recycled flows. (Download)
Curren$y & Young Roddy – Bales
With any Curren$y or Jet Life project, you pretty much know what you are getting. There will be beautiful, slow-moving instrumentals. There will be creative, skillful flows. And there will definitely be descriptive and tree-referencing bars. By these standards, Bales is pretty much boilerplate Jet Life material, but if you’re a Spitta fan it will be a smooth addition to your collection. (Download)
Curren$y & Smoke DZA – The Stage
Spitta quickly followed up Bales with this four-track collabo with Smoke DZA. All four beats were provided by Harry Fraud so you know you’re going to be hearing some grade-A production. Curren$y’s verse on “10 Bricks” is great and it’s always nice to hear from DZA, I think he’s a talented rapper who has been inaccurately typecast as nothing more than a stoner rapper. (Download)
Big SANT – The Great American Mattress Sale
Even as the profile of the West Coast has risen over the past few years, the South has stayed in the spotlight. But few currently prominent southern rappers have that real southern country sound. Big SANT’s latest mixtape is an irreverent drawling ode to that classic Organized Noize-style vibe. The tape is sloppy and goofy but it definitely delivers that distinctly southern sound. (Download)
CJ Fly – Thee Way Eye See It
Ever since I heard his verse on “Hardknock”, I’ve been looking forward to a full project from CJ Fly. This mixtape is good but it doesn’t live up to the promise of that guest spot. Even if his lyrics aren’t always as densely packed as Joey Bada$$’s, CJ Fly’s effortless flow is unmatched in the Pro Era crew. Thee Way Eye See It falls into the backpacker trap of being overly-focused on internal rhymes and complex flows over relatable content and crafting songs. (Download)
Jahlil Beats – Genius
Jahlil has gotten the most airplay on the beats he’s done for Meek Mill (“Ima Boss”, “Young & Gettin’ It” to name a couple) but he has also released a ton of free material through mixtapes and Genius is his latest instrumental project. Even with the crazy volume of beats he’s producing, Jahlil is still able to keep things fresh and creative. The main criticism I have of this project, is that it doesn’t seem like these beats work as well on their own as they would with someone rapping over them. It’s rare to find an instrumental tape that stands on its own without vocals and Genius isn’t quite there, but these are still really impressive beats. (Download)
Main Attrakionz – Main Attrakionz x Tynethys
This project is definitely not going to be for everyone, but the hazy music of Bay Area duo Main Attrakionz can serve as a nice laid-back change of pace if you’re tired of radio-rap. This whole tape is produced by Tynethys who does an impressive job of supplying beats of different styles that still maintain the same mood. If you listen to anything on this tape, check out “On1” which features an amazing guest verse from Shady Blaze. (Download)