Gucci Mane & Young Thug – Young Thugga Mane La Flare
In the month of April, this was the most downloaded tape on DatPiff. I’ll give this to Gucci and Thug, at least they’re pushing rap in new and weirder directions. If listeners can get used to Young Thug, they shouldn’t have any problem accepting Chance the Rapper or Run The Jewels. But you can’t carry a whole tape on nothing but bizarre lyrics and unique beats, you need to have some kind of content. Meaningful or quality content is seriously lacking here. (DOWNLOAD)
Migos & Rich The Kid – Streets On Lock 3
The Migos flow has taken over rap, but I’m finding that I prefer the flow-stealers over the original. This tape is a combination of Migos and Rich The Kid tracks and there isn’t much variation here. Listening to the first few tracks will give you an idea of what the whole project sounds like. (DOWNLOAD)
Young Dro – Purple Label/Black Label
Young Dro is missing an opportunity to bring his unique take on southern rap back to the game. These two tapes are just his attempt to replicate currently popular sounds (Migos, Future, Young Thug, DJ Mustard, etc.). Over the combined 31-tracks of these two projects, Dro never sounds totally in the zone. Nothing comes close to the catchy joy of “Shoulder Lean” that I’m hoping to hear from Dro. (DOWNLOAD/DOWNLOAD)
Young Roddy – Route The Ruler
Curren$y’s Jet Life roster has some talented members and associates. Fiend has found his lane as the world’s only crooner and shout-rapper, Smoke DZA adds a New York savvy to the label’s blunted haze, and Curren$y himself is a master of both description and flow. Young Roddy however has struggled to build his own unique persona, he sometimes gets into personal stuff about his career and struggles, but the high points are outweighed by a lot of unoriginal material. (DOWNLOAD)
Various Artists – The Boondocks Mixtape (Season 4)
There are not a lot of stand-out tracks on here, but there are two highlights that jumped out to me. Skeme’s “Paint a Picture” goes hard, and ”Boonies” by Killer Mike (beat by The Alchemist) is an absolute monster. At least check out those two tracks. (DOWNLOAD)