HHS78 Clients Have 3/10 Top Mixtapes of the Decade
The underground mixtape has long been a staple in hip-hop, with blended DJ selections being all the rage throughout the ’90s. But this decade saw the format mutate: Rappers began to take matters into their own hands, working directly with DJs to create artist-specific tapes of original material. As the format shifted to a digital medium, the “mixtape” became shorthand for releases that were neither mixed nor tapes. These days, mixtape DJs rarely blend or scratch on their tapes, and instead play more of a host’s role — which usually entails them shouting the artist’s name loudly or overdubbing the sound of explosions.