With a daunting cascade of releases spewing from the likes of DatPiff, LiveMixtapes, Bandcamp, and SoundCloud, it can be difficult to keep up with the overbearing yet increasingly vital mixtape game. In this column, we aim to immerse ourselves in this hyper-prolific world and share our favorite releases each month. The focus will primarily be on rap mixtapes — loosely defined here as free (or sometimes free-to-stream) digital releases — but we’ll keep things loose enough to branch out if/when we feel it necessary. (Check out last month’s installment here.)
NOTE: This month’s installment also includes releases from December 2015.
Lil Durk - 300 Days 300 Nights
Coming off the heels of last year’s Remember My Name, Lil Durk’s long-awaited major label debut, 300 Days 300 Nights was a return to form for an artist who shines through the mixtape format. Durk is a pop artist and street rapper, and 3D3N sees an ear-worming development of religiously emphatic street aphorisms woven through mind-numbingly simple, repetitive melodies, and gunshot adlibs. Following up on his longstanding tradition of hair-raising intro tracks, “Intro” finds Durk penning a line for all the loved ones he’s lost — some of them having passed or gone to prison since after his rise into the spotlight — and the tape carries a poignant tone throughout. Durk is at the top of his city; he knows it, but he also understands the depth of his sacrifice in getting there.