Benz and a Backpack

One of the things I love about hip hop is that it never sleeps.  The quality of the music and the pace at which it comes out is a testament to, as Radio B would say, the discipline of the rappers, producers, and DJ’s.  Sticking with Radio B’s concept, some were also defiant in their undertakings and ended up turning out some legendary songs.  Hip hop is constantly growing, and sometimes it’s not hard to figure out how we slept on a dope song or mixtape or album.   However, in case you did miss some of the best tracks of 2009, here are 10 of my favorites.  Look for the rest of the writers to throw up their top tens soon!

Hit the skip for the list!

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2009 was defined by the mixtape. Drake landed atop the charts with singles off his mixtape So Far Gone (‘dropped the mixtape that shit sounded like an album’), but really Drake is the product of deeper changes that have taken place in the music industry over recent years. Now it is becoming more and more viable to release free material and keep tabs on what demographic likes it rather than strive for certain sales benchmarks. That way, you can do what Wale and Wiz Khalifa each attempted this year, and what J. Cole and Mike Posner are on the cusp of doing:
1. Put out mixtapes to garner and sustain buzz about you, as well as allow you to identify your share of the market, and then
2. Drop a studio album that, while it pleases your core fans, at the same time it appeals to a broader listenership, which in turn increases your sales revenue.

It’s delayed gratification at its finest, and it pushes collaborations to a new level. Wale got practically everyone and their second cousins down on his album; Drake’s been doing collabs left and right with various people in different niches of the industry; Cole is getting up with the other young guns (and, more recently, some not so young guns) to secure his footing in the game. Hit the skip for our Top 10 Mixtapes Of 2009, judged on the criteria of creativity, success, and impact. If you haven’t found a way to get your hands on these yet, leave a comment and we’ll see what we can do…

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In a perfect world…

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“One Foot Out The Door” Episode 1: Back To School…And Off To Atlanta from Mike Posner on Vimeo.

Premiered on Elitaste.

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Mike Posner One Foot Out The Door trailer from Mike Posner on Vimeo.

Peep the trailer for Mike Posner’s web series, “One Foot Out The Door”, which will debut on elitaste.com on September 30th. This series will correspond with the release of Mike’s new mixtape, also entitled “One Foot Out The Door” which releases on Oct 29th. The mixtape and series, which follows Mike as he balances his senior year at Duke with his full time music career, features appearances by Rosa Acosta, Wale, Gym Glass Heroes, Kid CuDi, Bun B, 3Oh3, 2AM Club and many more awesome people! It will also go behind the scenes of his shows, Austin City Limits, ThisIs50 Fest, the studio and even some important meetings. Tune in starting September 30th (today!) for Episode 1 and then every two weeks for a new episode.

Previously: Mike Posner – I Trust His Brain

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Above, J. Cole performs Lights Please at Mike Posner’s soon-to-be alma mater, Duke University. Hit the skip to see Wale, UCB, and the hometown celeb Mike Posner.
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The first time I heard “Smoke and Drive” was in a hazy college dorm room during an intense session of FIFA 09.  The song instantly raised my ear; a raspy chorus, three unique guest spots, and a beat comprised of piano riffs, subtle gongs, and dragged out synths.  I had to show this song to my friends at home.
A few days later, my friend Andy D caught me in my room listening to Posner’s mixtape A Matter of Time.  “Did I show this to you?  My friend from high school and this guy are frat brothers at Duke.”  Damn, son, he’s got some talent.  Anyone who has listened to this guys work will understand what I’m talking about.  His unique vocals resonate with the listener in a weird way, almost like the male Macy Gray.  And his production abilities?  Uncanny.  There is a Youtube video of him re-working Beyonce’s Halo in a few minutes, then heading to the school studio to record it (video below).  He’s also the leader of his own band, the Brain Trust.  He describes his relationship with his band as “I am the President and they are my cabinet, I tell them what to do.”  A whiff of cockiness reminiscent of an early Kanye, someone who knows what they’re doing.

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Apparently I’ve been slacking a bit, because this track came out in late June and today was the first time I had heard it. But I figured some of you had to have missed it too, so I felt an obligation to post it. If you haven’t downloaded Mike Posner’s mixtape A Matter of Time by now, you should. (The whole thing is free on itunes and datpiff) Posner, a Michigan native and Duke University undergrad, produced the whole thing himself and supplies vocals on every track. He uses a blend of hip-hop, pop and dance beats to create a unique sound and is starting to etch out a name for himself in the hip-hop community, especially through his numerous collaborations with emerging Island Def Jam artist Big Sean. This relatively new track, however, is independent from either artists’ latest mixtapes and features another promising young talent in DC’s own Wale. Although you’ll hear Posner’s signaturely raspy vocals in the hook, the production was done by 9th Wonder. I expect to see a lot more from these three artists over the next few years.

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I’ve recently been commuting to an internship everyday, and since I have no clue where my I-pod is, I’ve gone old school and have resorted to the use of blank sony discs and a CD player.  CD players aren’t really that old school in the big scheme of music, but does anyone who owns an I-pod remember the last time they used a portable CD player?  I don’t.  Making a mixtape from your I-tunes library that will entertain you for a decent amount of time is harder than it sounds.  We are so used to having 10,000 songs on our I-pod, limiting yourself to 15-20 on a CD is a huge difference.  So here is my first mixtape-commute CD.  All the songs are recent hip-hop release and are all good, so I suggest checking them out.  And after reading this article, I challenge you to make a 70 minute long playlist and see how many days you can last only listening to those songs.

1.  Mike Posner – Who Knows Feat. Big Sean

A good song to start a CD with.  This song is laid-back and puts you in a chill mood.  Download A Matter of Time for free on I-tunes, its the best free thing you will get in awhile, I guarantee it.

2.  Drake – November 18th

This song is one of my Drake favorites and shows Drake’s range on singing half of the spectrum.  The intro and hook are slowed down Mike Jones style, and it sounds good in contrast to Drake’s voice.

3.  Jadakiss – Hangover

Classic Jada talking about partying.  The hook though is “Can you feel the love tonight” from a  Phil Collins song or something.  I don’t know.

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