Fiend – Capolavoro
One of many 4/20 tapes released this year, Fiend’s latest tape Capolavoro is a continuation of his unexpected development into a deep-voiced crooner. Don’t worry, there’s still rapping on here, but Fiend has developed a lot since his No Limit days. The beats on this tape are laconic, horn-heavy productions that still pack heavy kicks. (DOWNLOAD)
Stik Figa – The Pookey Tape
“Charlie’s Liquor” is this tape’s opening cut, and it’s fantastic. Stik Figa paints a vivid picture of his hometown. He mixes clever lines with social commentary and a sense of humor. The tape also concludes in a big way with “Pookey’s Theme”. That track’s beat mixes nimble piano lines with a simple drum beat and screeching sound effects. This counterintuitive mix perfectly complements Figa’s mix of nostalgia and disillusionment. There are a few mediocre tracks between these two highlights, but Stik Figa shows a ton of potential and provides us with an overall enjoyable listen. (DOWNLOAD)
Gary Clark Jr – Blak and Blue the Mixtape
This tape is a collection of rarities, and remixes of tracks off of Gary Clark Jr’s recent album Blak and Blu. If you’re not familiar, Clark is a blues musician from Texas who is an incredible guitarist. On this tape, he teams up with Big K.R.I.T., Talib Kweli, and a few others to provide fans with a free remix project. K.R.I.T. contributes both a verse and a remix, both of which are on-point. Robert Glasper’s remix of “The Life” is fantastic jazzy cut, and Clark’s duet with Alice Smith is a great way to conclude the tape. (DOWNLOAD)
Girl Talk & Freeway – Broken Ankles EP
Girl Talk is famous for his hyper-collages of un-cleared pop-music samples. Freeway is famous for being a bearded Roc-A-Fella vet. I don’t know how these guys came together for this collaboration, but they somehow make a great team. Girl Talk crafts bright, energetic beats that complements Freeway’s bulldozer flow. (DOWNLOAD)
Swiff D – Washington Park
The hardest thing to accomplish with beat tapes, is to provide a project that stands up on its own without any rapping. Swiff D provides a set of gorgeous beats on Washington Park but they do occasionally loop too long without variation and many of them sound incomplete without someone rapping over them. However, these are masterfully crafted beats, and hopefully, this project earns Swiff some attention. The shimmering pianos on “Attack Forces”, the horn synths on “Theus’s 80’s”, and the wicked drum break on “The Power Team” are all the kind of flourishes that transform mediocre beats into great ones. (DOWNLOAD)