Will – “Stoned in a Stang”

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The Atlanta metropolitan area is in no short supply of rappers, rockers, or artist of any other kind of musical genre you can think of so be forewarned that Will is just one of many ATLiens that will be gracing this article. I chose Will for his easy to remember name and everyman attitude about life in general. Put it this way, he’s like Drake except with no singing, and none of the emo tunes about chicks breaking his heart. Well, I guess that means he’s nothing like Drake. In fact–scratch that–he’s NOT like Drake at all. More like a black, less famous version of the old Asher Roth. Yeah, let’s go with that. Anyway, I thought “Stoned In A Stang” it was pretty dope and one time for rappers will easy to remember names!

 

LG – “Cinco”

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I think I’ve sung the praises of this young New Orleans rapper enough that you should have downloaded this project twice already! But just in case you haven’t, do it now! LG is the truth. Besides being sponsored by one of the best Southern streetwear brands in the game, he has also performed at A3C (which is no small feat), all before turning 18 years old. The Force is strong with this one…oh and his mixtape was banging too!

 

Righchus – “Sweetgrass and Supras”

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Yeah, Righchus is the homie. But that alone did not get the Charleston native on this list. Except for maybe two songs I can listen to this thing all the way through. It’s crazy because where I’m from, if you rap, you automatically look to Boosie Bad Azz and Trill ENT. for inspiration. I guess that’s why so many people ride for the young Phenom–he reps the city hard but doesn’t sound like he’s OF the city, you know? Not just another old Cash Money reject but something more relevant and refreshing for the Palmetto State. In fact, I bumped this more than any other mixtape created by a South Carolina based artist–that is until I heard…


OxyMoron – “My Well Smokes Good”

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College parties, the pursuit of vagina, weed, and more weed–stop me if you’ve heard that before. OxyMoron, are three young men from Florence, South Carolina that had BY FAR the best mixtape from any rapper(s) in my home state. Yeah, I said it. While I still am unsure about what “My Well Smokes Good” means, that didn’t stop me from loving every minute of this mixtape, which was presented by ItsTheBino.com. Each member added a different vibe and flow to each track with allows the tracks to seems more diverse than they really were. And LAWD KNOWS they can spit, especially that boy Pedro. Sheesh! Unfortunately at this present time having the best mixtape in South Carolina doesn’t get you very far but that shouldn’t stop you from giving this a shot.

 

Tha Joker (2 Cold) – “Why So Serious 2″ hosted by DJ Scream & DJ Teknikz

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This Mississippi rapper is one of the hottest coming out of the The Magnolia State and I promise that more that half of y’all reading this have never heard of him. But while y’all have been unaware, the rest of us have been watching his YouTube videos (over 13,600+ subscribers & 10,889,000+ total video views), and bumping “Why So Serious 2” like it was going out of style. Shoot, by the time you read this Tha Joker might have uploaded another video and dropped another mixtape. Oh, and for you “who’s checking for buddy” dudes out their, the WSS2 mixtape has Tha Joker trading verses with the likes of Juicy J and 2 Chainz. Now go get this!


 

King Mez x Khrysis- “The King’s Khrysis” presented by NahRight.com

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North Carolina has more that J. Cole and the group formerly known as Little Brother to be proud of. Raleigh MC King Mez laid the smackdown with his EP produced entirely by Khrysis and presented by mega super music blog NahRight.com. That alone should give you reason to download this but in case it doesn’t make sure you click the upcoming download link to read my full review on this project and be happy the King decided to bless us with this hidden gem.


 

Speakfoxxx and J.Sol – “Dope Boy Anthems” hosted by Grip Plyaz

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Last year I spent a shit ton of time in Atlanta and one of the people I got put on to wasn’t even a rapper. It was a female DJ extraordinaire who called herself Speakerfoxxx. While I never had a chance to her her spin a live set, I still downloaded (and enjoyed) her collaborative mixtape with Atlanta underground staples J.Sol and Grip Plyaz. This mixtape has ALL the old Atlanta hits on it! You’ll be dropping your swag and picking up your crunkness for 57 straight minutes. By the way, since I know a lot of y’all don’t fuck with anyone new without a co-sign from someone that hasn’t been on TV, you’ll be happy to know that she’s a SLUMERICAN DJ. Yeah, Yelawolf and dem. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

 

Heroes+Villains – “We Off That” hosted by Lil Jon & Cobra Corps

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Atlanta stand up one mo’ ‘gain as I list another one of your proud residents on this list. Heroes+Villains is a two man group composed of Daniel Disaster and Pete H. They are the reason I’m in love with the made up genre of music called TrapStep–a brash sub-genre of music which combines all that is pure from Dubstep with the rebel anarchy and drug glorification that of Trap Music. Ever want to hear how Waka Flocka sounds over some overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns? Well this your mixtape. I swear, Roscoe Dash never sounded so good!

NOTE: This mixtape actually dropped in November 2010 but I didn’t listen to it until the following year. So seeing as this is my list, you’re just going to have to live with that realization.

 

Dee Goodz – “Floetic Justice II” hosted by DJ Omega & DJ Crisis

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Dee Goodz can flat out spit. No questions, no commas. I’m sure that the Nashville based rapper will be on MTV in no time as his lyrical ability and unstoppable grind place put him in a position of power before its all said and done. I saw him perform live on my last trip to to the Volunteer State. He asked the crowd if everyone had “Floetic Justice II” and I was literally the only person in attendance that didn’t. Needless to say, I changed that fact as soon as I got home and I’ve been bumping this ever since.

 

Vurn – “Elevation”

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I happen to stumble across Miami’s own Vurn through some random Twitter links. Fortunately, this mixtape was well worth the effort. His style is quite different from most dudes from the 305: more confident, less braggadocios, and leaving all the screaming and yelling on tracks for the DJ Khalids of the world. Maybe that’s why you’ve never heard of him or maybe it’s just not his time. Either way, this was definitely one of my favorite mixtapes from a Southern rapper.

 

ForteBowie – “Something About #Bowie”.

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Remember at the beginning of this post I said that Will was like Drake only not at all? Well take out Will’s name and replace it with ForteBowie and I’ll stand by that statement. It’s funny, it was just 10 years ago when 50 Cent’s smash hit, and subsequent Ja Rule career ending track, “Wanksta” hit the airwaves and made everyone in hip-hop scared to bust a harmony. A decade later EVERYONE is doing it and arguably the biggest rapper of this current generation of rap fans does the sing/song thing on a more than frequent basis. While not as emotional as Drake, ForteBowie is JUST, as if not more, talented as his rapping, singing, and beatmaking (a talent Drake does not possess at this time) are on par with any major label artist out today. This was, and continues to be, my favorite project from 2011. Hands down. Hopefully the new year will bring him the notoriety he deserves but even if it doesn’t, at least you can say you been on his music when he does eventually blow up.