Mixtape - what is it and what is its role in modern rap music? What is a mixtape.

In the section on the question What is Mixtape (in rap) ??? given by the author pre-soviet the best answer is Mixtape (English mixtape) - special kind music release. The name comes from English words mix and tape (literally translated as a mixed record, see mix).
The very concept of "mixtape" was born in the United States, among black rappers, so mixtapes are most common in the hip-hop community. Most often, mixtapes are mixed collections of individual tracks. various artists, although there are also thematic ones (for example, a mixtape from the tracks of a specific artist or all artists read to the beats of a certain beatmaker). Often, mixtapes are released by their own authors - DJs on their own labels, and then distributed on the streets through their channels, bypassing official music stores and large retail chains. When hip-hop was in its infancy, DJs sold their mixtapes on the streets from the trunks of their own cars and in clubs.
Many aspiring artists consider mixtapes as a means for their own promotion, so they readily give their new tracks to famous DJs for mixtapes. Many DJs release whole series of mixtapes, for example DJ White Owl released WHITE OWL DROP THAT 31 mixtape in the beginning of September 2008, that is the thirty first of this series. At the same time, mixtapes have a semi-official status, small circulations (relative to the official albums of famous artists) and instantly leak to the Internet. IN currently There are a lot of mixtapes (no one even counted them), and people known in certain circles release another 5-20 pieces daily.
And there is something interesting here: and here:

You consider yourself a skilled lyricist and now it's time to show your skills to the world. Mixtape - perfect way do it. Mixtapes are low-budget, tightly compressed releases that create buzz and spread the word about you as an artist. A talentedly presented and well crafted mixtape can open many doors. The point of making a successful mixtape is not the money invested, but the dedication and talent put into it. But a good DJ doesn't hurt either.

Steps

Part 1

Come up with a concept. The best mixtapes always have a theme or concept that runs throughout, including the cover art. If your mixtape has direction and is not just a collection of random tracks, your listeners will be able to get more out of it.

Keep a balance between old and new. A mixtape is supposed to create buzz and buzz about you, so you want to make sure your fans hear something new. But at the same time, you don't want to give away all of your new material for free.

• Try to avoid re-using songs that were on the previous mixtape. This will give the listener the impression of being lazy. The only re-release of a song would be a significant remix.

1. Pick up the beats. If you're not comfortable with making your own beats, or if you don't have anyone to help you with it, there are thousands and thousands of beats available online. Anything from instrumental versions of your favorite songs to salable tracks from enterprising internet producers, the possibilities are almost endless.

   Keep samples in line. It's very popular to record over other musicians' tracks these days, but not everyone wants to hear the overused beats over and over again. Try to be original. A side effect there will be your audience that will appreciate your talent.

   Find a producer or DJ friend to record the beats. If you want to sound really professional, ask a DJ/producer to prepare some tracks for you to rap along to. This will provide an opportunity to demonstrate yourself and unique bits not only to you, but also to the DJ. Who knows, maybe you will find a musical partner.

   Get good equipment. Make sure you have a good microphone and decent software and mixing equipment. The basic set will not prevent you from creating miracles with sound.

   • See this guide for details on setting up a cheap home recording studio.

2. Order or create a cover. A good mixtape needs a catchy cover image. If all else fails, then your photo will be enough to strengthen your own brand. If you think a mixtape is all about the music, then a lot of people choose mixtapes based on the cover art alone. Make sure yours catches the eye!

   • Avoid cluttering logos and links on the cover. Attach your website and contact information to the insert.

   Part 2

   Playing music with a DJ

   1. Make friends with local DJs. DJs control the music scene. They decide what sounds good and what their listeners will like. You want to get your mixtape into the hands of as many DJs as possible, whether they're on the radio or on the turntables at the local club. If the DJ decides your song is hot, you will reach more ears.

      Have a DJ put your mixtape on his program. Many DJs and promo companies give you the option to pay to have your mixtape included in their programs. Often this includes mixing and adding transitions by a professional DJ. Inclusion in the program may include help with promotion and some serious air time. Inclusion in the program can be a little pricey, but it provides a lot of opportunities.

      • Viral Mixtapes is a popular online service for including mixtapes in their program, promoting them in many in social networks.
      • Coast2CoastMixtapes is another popular online service that boasts a very large audience.

   Part 3

   Promoting your mixtape

   1. Post on social networks. You should blow up all available social media immediately after the release of your mixtape. If people like what they hear, they will share it with their friends, increasing your audience and name recognition. Social media is not the only place where you have to promote the mixtape, but it's very important these days.

Hello my dear subscribers. Do you love music as much as I love it? Surely there are many music lovers among you, someone loves Hanna, someone Basta, and someone throws a new mixtape on their player.

"Mixtape what is it?" - you ask. Let's figure it out together, especially since I have long been interested in the issue of the legality of such recordings. Are there law experts among my readers? What do you say about this?

I often wonder how fast the world is changing. There is a joke in our family: my cat is 17 years old and my mother often says, they say, look, the cat was small and everyone listened to a tape recorder and cassettes, and now everyone has a tablet and a smartphone. So much has changed in one cat's life.

And, it’s true, if earlier Suga’s mixtape seemed to us the pinnacle of professionalism, today, having several necessary programs and a minimum amount of skills and knowledge (all videos on how to do this can be freely found on YouTube), you can become the master of the dance floors yourself.

In addition, with the advent of the same YouTube, you can become popular without spending a single ruble, the channel itself and subscribers will make a profit. Have you ever created your own mixtape? If so, write in the comments and share your experience, it will be very interesting to read everything and, if possible, even listen.

So what is it?

A mixtape is a cassette or disc created by a DJ that contains a variety of compositions and all of them are combined into one or separate tracks. Mixtapes can be DJ-type (for example, Oksimiron's mixtape), where the musician took several tracks and mixed them, or they can also be rappers. A DJ can invite a rapper as a host, he will make announcements between tracks, there are also mixtapes written by rappers, where you will not hear the DJ at all.

Mixtapes are often mixed collections of individual songs by different artists, although you can also find themed ones (for example, a mixtape of songs of an individual musician or all artists rapping to the beat of one beatmaker). As a rule, mixtapes are released by the authors themselves - DJs or rappers of their own label, who then distribute their work through YouTube. Thus, they bypass long procedures for sending their own work to music stores and major music networks.

Many aspiring artists look at a mixtape as an option for their own promotion and popularization, they quickly and willingly give their new, yet unreleased tracks to popular DJs for mixtapes. Numerous mixtape series are released monthly by many DJs. Just imagine for a moment how many there are already at the moment. It seems to me that it is almost impossible to count it.
By the way, do not confuse mixtapes and individual records.

How is a mixtape different from an album?

Albums tend to take a very long time to record and release. All this is accompanied by large advertising projects, presentations, video clips, the release takes a long time to prepare, then it is sold.

The record is often prepared for more than one year, but all this is official - copyrights are protected, all taxes are paid, documents are drawn up. And mixtapes are created many times faster, as a rule, they are released unofficially. This is precisely the reason why you can hear different things in the tracks. musical accompaniment because the creator can do whatever his heart desires.

No producer or boss will say that this is “not a format”, there is no censorship here. Also, mixtapes often use other people's fragments from sound recordings, music that millions of people want to hear, in general, these are endless spaces for music lovers, no one will forbid taking Pugacheva's song and adding Rihanna's motives to it.

The finished list can be quickly uploaded to the World Wide Web or burned to disk, listened to in your own car or transferred to friends' phones. Who will forbid you to do this? That's right - no one.

Here's a cute mixtape for you!

Is it legal? Maybe you just stole this music?

Here I will write my personal opinion, and I would like to discuss this matter with you. On the one hand, we turn on sound logic, a person recorded a song, then a disc, posted it on the Internet, you purchased it on the official website or downloaded it for free from someone who previously bought everything for money. Why, explain to me, you cannot use this music in a remix, despite the fact that you do not try to pass off this song as your own, and always indicate the music of which author or artist was used.

You don't steal someone else's track from an artist's personal safe and try to remix it a few days before the official release.

It seems to me that the artists themselves do not mind their music becoming part of some cool mixtape. Don't you think so? Then explain why they, in their albums, release several variations of one track. This is especially true in rap. The first song, as always, is released to the public, then there is another version that will not be played on the radio (it will not pass the censorship). There are 2 more versions of the same track in the album: instrumental and acapella. If you have an opinion on this matter, I look forward to your comments.

Do the mixtapes exclusively use the music of famous artists?

I can't find a definitive answer to this either. Yes and no. You can create a mix of tracks from foreign authors, you can dilute a foreign language with domestic, you can add several personal compositions.

Why do artists make mixtapes?

There are many reasons for this. Firstly, you can't release a record that often, because it's a long-term process that requires a lot of money. Expensive advertising, presentation, video, you have to discuss all these points with the director of the label, with the producer, etc., but what if you can release one track every day?

The record contains only 20 songs, and you all write songs, come up with new topics - who needs it and where to go with it? You want to convey your own thoughts and creativity to the listeners, and they, in turn, want to listen to it. What's the solution - releasing a record a month? Believe me, no company will be able to implement this, no, it can, of course, but will not want to.
Secondly - demonstration of own abilities. Here comes the song talented performer, and you take a minus, and record your own version of the track, something like a cover version. The main thing here is not to rehash, but to really record something of your own: original, unpredictable, something that you like. You can even change the words, come up with an original musical addition, whatever your heart desires.

My dear subscribers, I wanted to discuss one more thing with you - have you heard the Monster rap mixtape?

If yes, share your impressions, if not, be sure to listen and you will definitely not regret it. This is probably one of my all time favorite mixtapes.
The world of music has no horizons, and I think there is a place for every performer, rapper, DJ or simple amateur who also wants to make himself known to the whole world.

By the way, if you are interested in good mixtapes, then I recommend this material from the Pitchfork website, which is one of the most authoritative musical sources of our time. The article is dedicated to the 50 best mixtapes from the early 2000s, and you can check it out Here. From Lil Wayne to Rich Gang, from Nikki Minaj to A$AP Rocky, there's a lot to like.

If you want us to consider another topic or raise any issue of interest to you, do not hesitate, I look forward to your comments. And yet, write the names or throw links of your favorite mixtapes, we will listen together.

Don't forget to also subscribe to mine and invite your friends.

Text agent Q.

Part 2, in which the author under the nickname "38 bit" tells us what a mixtape is

When we were very young yard boys and girls who strolled carelessly among the Khrushchevs, playing Cossacks and robbers, while our parents and other personalities were sour from a strong hangover of the nineties, each of us was the owner of cassettes with a collection of songs.

It could have been a cassette like "Best AUE Blatnyak", "Popsa In Da House Vol. 1", "Rock Ballads", "Rhapsody" or a cassette that you traded for a stack of chips and a couple of caps with your breakdance friend. In fact, all these cassettes are mixtapes, though a very Russian mix and Russian tape, but the meaning, I think, is clear.

In general, a “mixtape” is tracks recorded in a chaotic or certain order,

usually in the style of hip-hop, similar to the Russian "collection", or the most fashionable "set". Well, that's first.
In general, it was like this. At the dawn of the rise of rap culture on the west and east coasts of the United States, where so far blacks were not allowed close to recording studios, the inhabitants of the ghetto had the need to record and distribute their, so to speak, creativity.

Since the possibilities were limited environment, and raising money with drugs brought little positive to the already very tense life of a Negro - after all, they could shoot their ass and put them in lawlessness, many calmer inhabitants of the ghetto, usually DJs, began to compile cassettes with recordings of various kinds of local references, i.e. mcs. The idea found its response, and now every self-respecting gangsta, having recorded a couple of tracks, was amused by thoughts like “What if it shoots? And I’ll sit down, as they say, in a convertible and go somewhere.”

Classics of the genre - mixtape from Master Mike

And so, sometimes, having put on a bunch of cassettes, this very owner of a two-cassette player went to the club, or simply stood on a wheelbarrow with an open trunk, and was engaged in the distribution of his version of what was happening. Although not only he could sell, it could be done by the performer himself, his brothers, but anyone could, because if it is for sale, then why not sell it?

Mixtapes were distributed, given to local radio outlets, more or less famous figures of hip-hop for a price. (In America, by the way, strictly with copyright, even in some cases they can put you on a chair with spades. In Russia, of course, there is chapter 70, but it is remembered only at lectures when they study the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, so there is a chance to receive a monetary reward from sales of discs / there are almost no cassettes in the Russian folk rapper, even such whales like Casta gave fresh albums to pirates - they paid at least a penny, well, they distributed it through motherfucker throughout the entire territory of the Russian Federation, not like these labels like "Stopro").

Life went on

Someone was extinguished for diss, someone signed a contract and left without saying goodbye, but mixtapes played in boomboxes near basketball courts, at parties, from cars, and sometimes even on the radio. The latter version elevated the performers to the ranks of local superstars, and now they were hit far more frequently. Previously, you had to carry all sorts of nonsense about how beautiful the baby is, but now you don’t need to do this, because a real true star will only communicate with a fucked-up skin if it’s Dr. Dre’s mom.

It's strange to imagine how a young Eminem, Redman or Snoop Dogg run around and hand in cassettes with their tracks, isn't it?

It is worth saying that the practice of using mixtapes for the purpose of promotion was used not only by blacks and not only by rappers, but it was in this culture that they became an integral part of it. Mixtapes can contain a variety of music in their style and direction.

It can be a cassette under which you can stick, relax, make a revel, sip iron in the gym.
But that was in a time far from us, because development is proceeding at a frantic pace. It was the Inquisition that had its own reasons for holding back development, burning there all sorts of popular science books, citizens, employees of the Russian Academy of Sciences, for their ideas, to put it mildly, anti-divine.

Fuck, why did so many churches come across? And there, and there.

Today you are like this with this Internet, fucker repost, and already there are discussions about any business on the other side of the world, either some kind of couch, or special services. Changed audio media and other nishtyaki.

These guys are always hot. Massive Attack mixtape from 1994:

In general, today, a mixtape is not necessarily a cassette

And not necessarily a certain number of tracks. The concept of a mixtape was deformed, as was the perception of music and other branches of human intellectual activity.

Any artist has something like albums. The album is being prepared for a certain amount of time. For some it takes a month, for others a year. On these very albums, they usually use their own beats, unique ones, which are made mainly for the style of the performer. Texts are written with a specific message. Do more famous musicians there are labels that help them with recording, try to protect copyrights, shoot videos, organize concerts. In short, everything is very difficult, serious and dreary. This is work.

But in parallel with this, sometimes there is a desire to record, for example, a fit, or just got drunk at home with passes and you want to fill up a turnip, well, or just a bunch of material is free, where to put it? And now the rapper means that he writes songs under herpoimiprod, and merges them into the Internet, for the people. Basically, it's a mixtape. The people are swinging, and the rapper has steam out.
Such tracks can contain any beat, any text, even insert Pugacheva's acapella. Rap, so to speak, without frames and borders. And in the end it turns out that the whole underground is one big mixtape. That's it. *scratch sound

Where to listen:

https://vk.com/oldmixtapes
http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/mixtapes/
Top 50 mixtapes, xs who made the rating

For example:

DJ Hobot – Bugsy Mix
Mix Master Mike
Mix Master Mike - Rescue 916
Massive Attack-Essential Mix
Dj Premier + New York Reality - Check Mixtape
90s Rap Classics 1990-2000 - Back in the Days
Das Efx - Da Brokes Mix

Text — 38th bit

In contact with

Every music listener has a few favorite hits that can be listened to an infinite number of times. They carefully arrange them in order in their playlists and embark on a rhythmic journey through the musical waves. Professional musicians went to meet their listeners and came up with such a phenomenon as a mixtape. What is it and who creates them?

Story

A mixtape is a type of sound recording that involves combining several musical compositions or skits (short prose stories) in one tape. In fact, this is a collection of songs, but having a specific purpose and principle of mixing tracks or their fragments and represented by a single composition.

The history of the mixtape dates back to the 60-80s of the last century, when 8-track tapes were created using a handicraft method. True, at that time the term itself did not yet exist. The pioneers of this method of sound recording are truckers who mixed their favorite music on audio cassettes. Later they began to appear in flea markets. The most popular mixtapes of that time can be called Super 73, Top Pop 1977, Country Chart, etc.

However, there is another point of view regarding the history of the “mixtape” phenomenon, that such a concept could have arisen in American “black” rappers. That is why audio mixing is common in hip-hop culture today.

in rap

A mixtape in rap is most often a mixture of tracks from different artists. They are usually just musical favorites of the mix maker. There is another reason why compositions can be united by a common theme. In this case, the tracks belong to the same artist, or different artists read the beats of one specific beatmaker.

Mixtape and album

Mixtapes are created quickly and informally. There is no strict boss, producer, who will evaluate and criticize the musical selection, adjust it to the radio release and censorship. A mixtape is an absolute artist, musical accompaniment, instruments. Here you can take a singer-bard, dilute it with female lyrical vocals and put all this on the rhythmic music of a famous rap hit.

If everything is so clear and transparent with mixtape concept what is an album? The difference here is caught immediately. The album is a long and painstaking work professional musician, which is accompanied by certain advertising and the release of video clips. It's official music release, all its rights are reserved, and samples (sound fragments for writing music) are purchased. Naturally, all these components are reflected in the quality and accessibility that author's music possesses. The albums work primarily for the creation of a label, promotion of the artist's name.

Kinds

Today mixtapes are divided into two large groups: DJ and rapper. Their names themselves determine the creator. The first, of course, belong to DJs who mix different compositions, turning them into a single musical stream. Rappers in this version act as hosts, accompanying the recording by reading a certain text or placing emphasis on the transitions from one track to another.

However, there are also pure rap mixtapes. They are created without the participation of a DJ. Musicians combine their tracks or others, perform rap, use their own or others' texts. Here, the options are endless. Therefore, it is very difficult to answer unequivocally what a mixtape in rap is. But the determining factor is that the leading role belongs to the rap artist and his

There are also amateur mixtapes. They are created by ordinary music listeners at home. Such non-studio recordings are made using other people's musical creations. As a rule, they are slightly lower in quality and originality of the mix.

Mixtapes of any kind, whether professional or amateur, are usually built according to three principles: a random list of favorite songs, a conceptual mix of compositions general mood and topics, or they are a kind of personal statement addressed to a specific addressee indicated at the beginning of the tape (intro).

Notable mixtapers

Among the well-known rapper projects in this vein, one can single out American hip hop the Diplomats group with the Memorial Day Mixtape or the Ukrainian rapper Drago with "New Russian Rap" or the mixtape "There Was No Sadness".

Many DJs have also gained popularity by creating mixtapes. So, in 2008, the original White Owl Drop That 31 mix from the American DJ WhiteOwl was released. It was already the 31st sound recording of this type. According to certain principles and categories, such records turn into a series of mixtapes and already have a semi-official character.

Purpose of creation

It is not difficult to understand what a mixtape is in music, for this it is enough to listen to a couple of records that are widely available. From the hands of professionals and amateurs, they come out in large numbers and, having no official status, are easily distributed among amateurs. However, it is more difficult to answer the question of why mixtapes are created.

Today, many aspiring artists use them as a promotional presentation. They give their musical creations to DJs, who mix them into a single tape and present their creativity in the original frame to the general public. At the same time, fragments of compositions are used, that is, intrigue is created, interest in the performer increases.

Author's music, albums require a lot of money and effort for mastering, mixing, creating clips. Whereas mixtapes are more accessible and have virtually no limits. If a musician has several songs, he a short time can mix them up and quickly distribute them on the web.

Amateur mixtapes are created by different reasons: for personal listening, statements about their musical tastes, creative talents, or to try out new equipment, software, creativity, etc.

Do it yourself

If a person feels creative potential, well versed in music, nothing prevents him from creating his own mixtape. It can be composed by favorite compositions of different artists or your own creations. The point is small - to understand how to make a mixtape so that listeners like it. The whole process can be summarized in five steps:

1. Concept. It is best that the future mixtape is not built randomly, but on a certain idea, direction, has a name and a cover. If the mixtape includes songs or skits own composition, then it is necessary to select only new material that has not yet been published.
2. A selection of beats. When your own beats don't fit your idea of ​​how a mixtape should sound, you can turn to other people's creations. There are a lot of them on the web. You can take, for example, instrumental versions of your favorite tracks or buy unique material from an enterprising Internet producer.
3. A selection of samples. It is necessary to clearly understand when creating a mixtape that such a phenomenon is quite common in a professional environment, so you can use high-quality and popular samples with author's texts. But not everyone wants to listen to such an interpretation. And here there are two ways out: create your own musical accompaniment or use the works of predecessors that were not allowed to be included in the albums. Among these are the creations of groups The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Steely Dan.
4. Music recording. If the author of the mixtape cannot record his project on his own for some reason (no equipment or skills), you can turn to a professional DJ. He will select several suitable tracks, and the author will “rap” under them. If the rapper himself is still taken for the mix, then you need to be sure of the quality of the equipment, the microphone and the choice of the necessary programs. All this works for good sound quality.
5. Cover. If the author of the mixtape intends to distribute his creation not only on the Web, but also "on the hands" of his audience, then you should prepare a cover for the future CD. She must be catchy. You can use your own original edited photo or other image. It is better to avoid unnecessary details. Success in this case is based on three pillars: original name, the name of the mixtape and a catchy picture.

Can you sell mixtapes?

If there is demand, why not supply? After all, a lot of effort and talent has also been invested in the creation of the mixtape. But since this is an unofficial release, it is sold “from the tray”, that is, it is distributed among friends and admirers of the creator. In the DJ environment, this is happening more officially today. Mixtapes are released in large circulations, spinning in clubs and on the radio.

In our everyday life there are many words, the essence of which we seem to clearly understand, but if necessary we cannot explain correctly. Among them, of course, there are musical terms.

Such as, for example, the magic word podcast. One of the main network trends of the 2000s - today this term is regularly used by all of us. And in completely different meanings. Some write guest podcasts for someone else's radio show, others listen to them online, and still others produce a series of their own techno or trance podcasts. The fact that "podcast" means some kind of blog dictated by the author, and not typed by hand, does not bother anyone. The word has long taken root in the circles of DJs and musicians. They came up with a lot of variations from soulcast (something like “music for the soul”) to friendcast and are unlikely to stop there.

There are many such examples. Promo-promotion-promoter. Who is he? A boxing match organizer, a flyer guy in transit, or someone who can advertise your release? Or progressive! What is another animal? Progressive music, "more progressive trance or house" or still music with progressive melodies? And if so, which one? Certainly not geometric.

Even such hackneyed words as a producer can be interpreted by us in different ways. Agree, the difference between Iosif Prigogine and John Digweed is quite significant. These people should be called representatives different professions. But no, nominally they are both producers.

This can go on for quite some time, until we come to the word "mixtape" - the only one that interests us today.

With regard to the main product of DJ life, we all, of course, use the word mix more often. There is some kind of unspoken agreement that the mix is ​​at home or in the studio, and the set is at the console in the club. DJs record promotional mixes, author mixes, special mixes dedicated to something. They mix music, mix it, mix it, and everything, it would seem, is clear with this.

But with the advent of the music blogosphere in Russia, and later thematic music publics on social networks, we have grown a whole caste of music reviewers, music lovers, DJs of a different type. Most of these guys try to express their own progressiveness, erudition, elitism through a fairly clear distinction: everything that was before us was a collective farm and profanation. All of them play and listen to “only high-quality and relevant intellectual sound”, as if this is not a matter of course for any conscious DJ, but an important competitive advantage.

To emphasize their own superiority over the slow-moving crowd, these guys deliberately avoid basic terms, replacing them with new English synonyms. So the nickname suddenly became an alias or moniker, the label became an imprint, the broadcast became a stream, the warm-up became a “warmap”, the image became an identity, the preview became a snippet, the trailer became a teaser, and the mix became a mixtape.

Cool underground DJs only make mixtapes. It cannot be otherwise, because the mixes are recorded by Bazooka and Smash, and they are busy with anything but honest creativity.

And this, of course, is all very cool. Youth language must change, and it will now be a little easier for poor critics to wander between three pines from the same hackneyed words. But it was from here a few years ago that absolute confusion began, which in the minds of many people turned the mixtape into a consonant synonym for the word mix, depriving it of the right to its own long, rich and unique history, which began long before the first turntables or nightclubs appeared.

And everything is not so simple here. Even a detailed wiki-help in English will not help to quickly understand the issue. For more than 50 years of the existence of mixtapes, the term has gone through several periods of oblivion, moved across the ocean and back, and more than once adapted to new musical formats and media. This has created a number of deep contradictions in the correct understanding of the phenomenon of mixtapes, understanding which you can learn a lot of useful things.

The head of the Library Of America, writer and culturologist Jeffrey O'Brien, in one of his essays, called the mixtape the most widespread art form in America, and he was absolutely right in this statement.

It really is. The mixtape is the territory of freedom. Music links search form and internal meanings, free from the narrow framework of laws and rights. Since the first mixtapes were released on 8-track cassettes in the late 60s, supporters and opponents of this practice on long years forward divided into two opposing camps.

In a broad sense, a mixtape is a collection, compilation, selection of songs by one or more authors, united by some stylistic framework, idea or concept. Its key difference from the so-called VA, that is, Various Artists, is the illegal use of other people's compositions or samples in the release, as well as self-publishing in 90% of cases. Which is obvious. No adequate label will undertake to release a record, the author of which has violated all the basic norms of musical law.

Another thing is that until the mid-70s, mixtapes quite successfully competed in the market of musical products with cassettes and records of recording studios, without experiencing any special pressure from the copyright holders. If you dig deep into second-hand vinyl stores in Boston or Chicago, you'll likely find mixtapes from those years: artisanal compilations of country music, Christmas songs, live recordings from jazz concerts, or compilations of songs by artists from one particular state or even a city that for a long time were kept in the archives of local radio stations.

It was in those years with the advent of mixtapes that the term from the “roaring 20s” came to the music industry - the word bootleg or bootlegger, a slang term for smugglers who rapidly grew rich selling underground alcohol during Prohibition. Everyone who is familiar with the work of The Great Gatsby (and after the recent film by Baz Luhrmann most of them) are well versed in this topic.

The story, as you remember, ends rather sadly for the protagonist. The society treated bootleggers with censure and for years to come this word became a dirty word. In the pre-war years, bootleggers were simply called any rogues and deceivers who trade in fraud and theft. Therefore, one can only imagine what kind of shadow lay by the end of the 60s on records marked bootleg or (which in those years was the same) mixtape.

But years passed, and the format survived, and its idea only changed, becoming accessible to the masses over time. The real boom occurred in the early 80s, when almost every music lover had the opportunity to record their mixtapes at home. The emergence of two cassette recorders with the ability to record FM broadcasts and rewrite music from one cassette to another without critical loss quality, the rapid development of the market for blank cassettes - all this played a crucial role.

It is noteworthy that in the 80s, a real battle unfolded between a number of large companies, such as Sony or Philips, for the market for empty musical physical media. At the same time, in the neighboring offices, the managers of the assistant company of the super-label Sony Music mercilessly criticized the decision of the equipment manufacturers to make the recording available to ordinary listeners. They preferred a model in which they alone had bulky recording machines, and therefore the ability to completely control the tastes of millions of people, dictating what to listen to and whom to love.

Of course, as in any other similar story, the opponents of inevitable progress were left out of work. In parallel with the boom in mixtapes, a new powerful street culture was emerging - hip-hop, originally built on disobedience to any general rules and orders. Later, these two phenomena merged into a close and long alliance that still exists.

Actually, the watershed between rave culture and hip-hop, like two huge layers dance music most clearly passes in the division into the terms "mix" and "mixtape". And if in the circles of house DJs, as mentioned above, the term "mixtape" is increasingly common, then among rap artists and beatmakers you will hardly hear the word "mix". But this is not only a form of speech and not just an attempt to isolate, identify through differences in the designation of similar phenomena. Mixtapes in their original sense of such raw demos, drafts, sketches for young hip-hop artists are a vital necessity, while for club DJs it's just a game and foppery.

The thing is that American (and all these processes originate and form there) hip-hop and rhythm and blues does not have as many intermediate levels as house or techno scene, where you can be an artist of the first, second, third and the 25th echelon and at the same time find a publisher, the opportunity to speak and be heard. The threshold for entry into this environment is much higher. Hip-hop stars most often come to the top of the musical Olympus literally from the street. While the audience for such music, its very inner aesthetics is arranged in such a way that the demand can only be for the best, winners, extremely cool dudes. You can't just be a good rapper who rides the subway and writes cool stuff for a friend's label. Gold, expensive cars, impressive clips and overproduction are often indispensable here.

Therefore, the process of musical production in hip-hop is insanely expensive. Aspiring artists do not and cannot have the opportunity to pay for the services of a really cool studio producer, arranger and session musicians (in hip-hop and new soul, all the best earn their bread and caviar today). jazz performers peace). Therefore, a mixtape as a demonstration of naked talent is the only way to express yourself, to get into the field of view of influential producers and major labels.

There really is something to this. hear future star, to risk investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in it, relying only on a disc with tracks recorded in four tracks - this is really difficult and cool. And this is worthy of respect. After all, Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, Tyler The Creator, A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar and many other superstars of the new generation began their careers with mixtapes. And we wouldn't be talking about them now if their home recordings hadn't fallen into the hands of visionaries like Drake, Jay-Z or Kanye West.

Obviously, the success story of these guys provoked new wave popularity of the term mixtape. Now they are written even by those who are already at the zenith of fame. From now on, a mixtape is a whole aesthetic in which the author does not create a hit, but simply designates it, giving the listener a bare essence without a bright facade, which almost everyone has already learned to sculpt.

However, there is one more alternative version the origin of mixtapes, which confuses all the cards for adherents of the theories we have described. In Thursten Moore's book cult group Sonic Youth titled "Mix Tape: The Art Of Cassetee Culture" collected many fascinating facts from the life of famous musicians and producers different generations. Artists ranging from DJ Spooky to Ahmet Zappa (Frank's dad's third son) share their personal and, by the way, very different stories about mixtapes.

Among them, there is not only one, casually mentioned in the biography of the infamous, but no less outstanding music producer Phil Spector, author of the famous "wall of sound". There is an assumption that the term "mixtape" was popular in the early 60s of the last century exclusively in the circles of sound engineers. It meant material for the mix session recorded on tape (reel). So some specialists achieved a cooler sound quality, while most of them were written live right away and didn’t glue anything manually.

Is it so? History does not give an exact answer. Although perhaps not worth it. Words and phenomena live only as long as their meaning and color can change dynamically. Hundreds of mixtapes are being recorded by someone right now, which means it's too early for this term to be in the dictionary and on the shelf.