Benz and a Backpack

Autumn is quickly falling upon us. Girls are strutting back on campus donning new hairdos, dresses and tightened up bodies, dudes walk around with a fresh pair of kicks or new jersey, stomach’s get reacquainted with school food, old friends reassemble, new friends talk about life and living on the lawn under the rising sun, school is just about to start, or already has, for everybody by now – this is the unofficial demarcation of summer’s end, and, already, I swear if some “half-friend” of mine asks me how my summer was one more time, I’m gonna kick them in the throat.
So to quell the tensions and anxieties that come with the beginning of the school year, Benz and a Backpack is assembling a summer rundown – a series of posts about the hottest mixtapes, singles and videos from this relatively mild summer. Critique, download, or just kick back and enjoy.

10 Best Mixtapes from the Summer of 2009

10 – Lloyd Banks – Happy Birthday 4.30.09 

It technically wasn’t summer yet, but Bank’s best tape in years bumped through summer speakers nonetheless. A blunt was likely smoked. It was a good sign for all of hip-hop when the Boy Wonder came back harder than ever with his 30 track, 2 part tape, shooting down G-Unit haters and money makers alike. 

 

 

Flight School

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Money Moves the World

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9 – QuESt – Broken Headphones

The boy QuESt received a ton of promo support from OkayPlayer/2dopeboyz (dopeRoots) and HipHopDX, and with good reason. Featuring XV, Choze, Neija Jane and Harley & Wes Restless, this tape was one of the most highly anticipated and lauded releases of the summer.

 
 

8 – Son, Forever A Movement – Step Ya Game Up

Released earlier in the year but never really came through the internet until this summer… maybe the beats were too hard to listen to with your windows rolled up? Son has a constant flow of similes, and references pop culture more than a few times. Beast mode on…

 

 

Here I Am (Bay Area Stand Up)

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Like Me

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7 – Pac Div – Church League Champions

After a few months of leaking tracks via internet, Pac Div released Church League Champions to an outpouring of positive feedback from both critics and listeners alike. Their basketball infused imagery is sure to strike a chord with any who balls, has balled, or wishes they could.

 

 

6 – Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y – How Fly

Not exactly the best from either of them, but together, Wiz and $ go pretty hard. Look for Wiz to BLOW up… even without a record company – Warner Brothers who? He WILL have an album released in 2010 called First Flight, but he’s been killing the mixtape game lately. How Fly was pushed back for weeks before it finally released in early August, and lived up to most fans’ expectations. “We killin these blogs…”

 

 

Car Service

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The Planes

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Surface to Air

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5 – K-Salaam and Beatnick – Where the Streets Have No Name

In the production duo’s own words, “We world premiered our latest project ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ this weekend on imeem.com, our music got over 260,000 views in just 2 days. Featuring our production as the backdrop for street anthems from the likes of: Lil Wayne, Bun B, Young Buck, Talib Kweli, K’naan and much more; the project is already being heralded as a classic. Now we are making the entire album available for free dowload. I would suggest that you download it, and then listen to it all the way through.”

 4 – Novel – Suspended Animation

Novel came into the hot summer like a cool breeze. His poetic lyrics and soul grabbing vocals were a relief from the club bangers than had been taking over the summer and his mixtape got much play. “What a world that were livin in/ will the rainstorms ever end/ still I feel my path narrow I run again/ see happiness is gone again/ and i see gray clouds up above man/ metaphors to my life man/ still I feel I’m stronger than I’ve ever been/ strong till my journey end.” Keep an eye on this kat. 

 

Sky Might Fall

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End Of The World

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Mad World

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 3 – Young Chris and Don Cannon – The Network

Young Chris, one half of the Roc-A-Fella duo called Young Gunz that broke out nearly a decade ago with ‘Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop’ has been on the grind recently. With the Network Vol. 2 in the works, Young Chris is looking to establish himself as a heavy hitter in the game.

 

 

2 – J. Cole – The Warm Up

You are completely off your game if you haven’t heard of J. Cole by now. Jay-Z thinks he’s putting him on the map with the track off his album feat. J called “A Star is Born,” but we’ve been on our J Cole since the other J. Cole (Chelsea FC) has been injured. He’s got a number of mixtapes and is one of the most natural flows we’ve ever heard. He’s a smart kid who makes grown folk shit as well as more marketable tracks like his one on Jay-Z’s BP3. I think Dizzy said it best when he said “once he clicks for you… it’s over.”

 

Rather Be With You – feat. Wale

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Losing My Balance

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The Badness

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1 – XV – Everybody’s Nobody

I think the apostrophication was purposefully vague… first I took it as “Everybody Is Nobody,” but the more I listened to this kat, and the more people talked about him, I realized it is XV himself who is everybody’s nobody. Who is he? Well he’s the biggest surprise the game has seen this summer, a more than welcome surprise. It’s okay if you don’t know him, he wanted it that way, and in his prophetic mixtape, it is easy to see why he is for Everybody. He’s got ear-catching beats, a unique voice and flow and MUCH replay value. His track “Rabbit Hole” is about the ups and (predominantly) downs of todays music industry – the ominous beat and repetitious hook highlights a must listen for a fan of ANY kind.

Mirror’s Edge

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Undeniable

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Rabbit Hole

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There’s the rundown, thanks for reading, come back tomorrow for Part 2 – Best Summer Albums

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