Welcome to Tale of the Tape, the one column you know that will give you the raw grease, hate it or love it. We’ve been moving through the trenches for 6 months. In that time period, I kept it honorable with over 100 mixtape reviews. Who else keeps it that funky?
We keep the show moving with some new cats, some veterans, and a mixtape that defies normal Hip-Hop convention. Tiron wants us to Ketchup to his catalogue. Kayo & John Mayer deliver The Kayo Mayer Experience. Mike Posner And the Brain Trust tell us it’s A Matter of Time. Newcomer cARTer tries to get his place with some heavyweights with The Carter Family Reunion. Hip-Hops CNN, or Capone N Noreaga to you ham-and-eggers come through with their prequel, The CNN Channel 10 Mixtape. You can’t stop us now.
Tiron
Ketchup
Heavy Rotation
The internet has allowed people the chance to showcase their talents in a more open arena. Even so, with the influx of so much material, it is still a tough job for someone with no support to get anyone to lend an ear. Can’t blame the people who need to hear things, we get an influx of bad music every day. Tiron is the reason why it is still worth giving people a chance. Ketchup works as a great primer to the music that makes fans out of your standard Hip-Hop head. With nods from the likes of Blu (“All the Kings”) and Pac D## (“Paper”), as well as holding it down himself (“The High”), this is pretty honorable, so catch up.
Kayo & John Mayer
The Kayo Mayer Experience
Peep It
For a bonafied rocker, John Mayer seems to be in tune with Hip-Hop. From his appearance on the Chappelle show, to the “Waiting For the World to Change” remix that featured some seriously lyrically inclined rappers, he has shown love. Rapper Kayo felt that way, and teamed up with John Mayer to deliver The Kayo Mayer Experience. There are some pretty good mashes here (“Gone Gone Gone”), but John Mayer pretty much steals the show with his songs. This could have used a stronger performance from Kayo (“Waiting”), but he is serviceable, holding this back from the Heavy Rotation crown.
Mike Posner And The Brain Trust
A Matter of Time
Peep It
It’s somewhat funny. When the introduction (“Tick”) comes on for A Matter of Time, DJ Don Cannon comes on and the full out expectation Is a Hip-Hop mixtape. What the tape ends up being is more of a hodgepodge of singing and rapping, reminiscent of Colin Monroe’s Unsung Hero. Instead of the likes of Wale and Drake, G.O.O.D Music artist Big Sean (“Smoke & Drive” & “Cooler Than Me”) is the captain of the rap segments here. While it isn’t as full as Unsung Hero, A Matter of Time does satisfy. Worth a look.
cARTer
The Carter Family Reunion
One & Done
When you’re a new artist trying to get in the game, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. When you have the same last name as some of the games heavy hitters, it is a decent concept on paper to try to match them up. cARTer has tried that, and while it sounds good on paper, when it seems slapped together, it has the tendency to backfire. It isn’t that cARTer (“$1000 Fit”) is a bad rapper, it’s just that the way the tracks are positioned, you are waiting to hear another Jay-Z track(“My President is Black”) or Lil Wayne track(“Every Girl”). You have to be selfish to stand out and it seemed like he was just happy to be around them, even if it was just music he wasn’t affiliated with.
Capone N Noreaga
The CNN Channel 10 Mixtape
Peep It
It really is tough to keep your relevancy. Unlike other genres, Hip-Hop is youth driven. When you reach a certain amount of time in the game, it becomes harder to reach out to new fans. The latest from Hip-Hop’s CNN, The Channel 10 Mixtape is a mix of both old (“Shine”) and new (“Rotate”). It also has some of their album cuts from Channel 10, which may catch the ear of the public with some of its tracks (“Grand Royal”). They don’t deviate from their roots, and seem to have kept an ear to the streets, something both fans old and new can appreciate.
TALE OF THE TAPE:
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