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Thousands of Hip Hop Mix Tapes, Why Not

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Re: Thousands of Hip Hop Mix Tapes, Why Not

#31

Post by whatok »

Mizza wrote: post #29

As a hip hop head, this is the best news I've seen on HN in a while. Some of my favorite old mix tapes are on here, stuff I'd lost years ago! Great job, Jason! PS, this is my favorite Houston mix ever: https://archive.org/details/DJ_Michael_5000_Watts_Overdose - listen to Track 5. Z-Ro holds it DOWN!

Wow, never would have expected to see Z-Ro mentioned on HN. I really think he's one of the greatest ever and wish he was more successful but (and not to sound like a hipster or elitist) his music would absolutely not be the same if it was widely played. Never been there but love Houston if only for its rap.

Re: Thousands of Hip Hop Mix Tapes, Why Not

#32

Post by whatok »

6stringmerc wrote: post #30
whatok wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I used to love mixtapes because of the "look the other way" sentiment towards copyright at least in regards to using other rappers' beats. When a track was hot, you would hear everyone on it and you would hear people completely outshine the original artist many times over. Really was nothing like that.

Yeah that type of thing I'm very cool with, in that it's part of the community and a shared expectation of sorts. I think it's a great way to build up cred in the scene. I really don't have any beef with that. What gets me though is the lifting from other genres where the traditions and expectations are different. I'm not saying 'tributes' and using other people's material isn't huge in, say, rock or blues. Covers an…

Yeah, typically mixtapes are kinda lawless re: copyright, serve purely as promo, and then might breakeven at the end of the day. A lot of the time people looked the other way because there wasn't a label to sue, the artist sure as hell didn't have any money, and most mixtapes never got big enough to garner that kind of attention. The Frank Ocean example got large enough and not sure exactly how things were setup back then but Sony is the parent of his label so...

Definitely of the mind that if you are releasing shit commercially that you either clear things or run the risk of getting sued though. This is bringing up all sorts of memories of promo singles with samples that got completely remade because the label didn't want to pay clearance. Even worse, having to interpolate tracks and not nailing the original.

Re: Thousands of Hip Hop Mix Tapes, Why Not

#33

Post by 6stringmerc »

don_loemax wrote: post #26
esaym wrote: post #17

Pretty cool. Wish Pandora or something would get on the boat with this. (at least pandora can censor out swear words)

Same with Spotify, although I have heard from a publicist yesterday that Spotify plans to announce at IMS next week that they will begin supporting mixes/mixtapes very soon, but I am betting they will require "papered" mixes (as in all songs and samples cleared by ip owners, which is very rare in the mixtape world and could be argued is against the entire philosophy of the free mixtape...). Mixcloud and podcast servi…

Yes, go take a look at Dubset and their Mixbank approach - it's advertised as a way for DJs / remix producers / mixtape creators to get their versions approved and out into the wild and both parties (original and derivative version) are compensated according to some deals hammered out. It looks like progress is coming in this arena - SoundCloud probably has a lot of those deals in place now (they're claiming the days of pulling DJ mixes are over, I think) so that avenue might be, well, back.

Re: Thousands of Hip Hop Mix Tapes, Why Not

#34

Post by 33degrees »

ipsin wrote: post #10

More than once, archive.org has hosted something I though was not possible under the current copyright regime. MAME ROMs, old time radio shows, and, well, this. So for someone who's not paying attention, does anyone have an explanation of how they're allowed to do this? For example, do they have special dispensation from the Librarian of Congress?

> So for someone who's not paying attention, does anyone have an explanation of how they're allowed to do this?

Many of these mixtapes are in a legal grey area, technically copyright infringement but tolerated by the rights holders because of the promotional value. My feeling is that either archive.org are not aware of this content, or they are but will simply comply with any take down requests they receive.

Re: Thousands of Hip Hop Mix Tapes, Why Not

#35

Post by aarmenante »

whatok wrote: post #31
Mizza wrote: post #29

As a hip hop head, this is the best news I've seen on HN in a while. Some of my favorite old mix tapes are on here, stuff I'd lost years ago! Great job, Jason! PS, this is my favorite Houston mix ever: https://archive.org/details/DJ_Michael_5000_Watts_Overdose - listen to Track 5. Z-Ro holds it DOWN!

Wow, never would have expected to see Z-Ro mentioned on HN. I really think he's one of the greatest ever and wish he was more successful but (and not to sound like a hipster or elitist) his music would absolutely not be the same if it was widely played. Never been there but love Houston if only for its rap.

Or have someone post a Watts tape... Houston has had it's own self-sustaining rap system that never really crossed over into the mainstream. DJ Screw, Watts, Swishahouse, Chopped-and-Screwed tapes... All crazy influential on the rap scene, but most people have never heard of this shit.

Does anyone have this tape?

http://www.djayres.com/houstonfordummies.htm

Aryes (DJ from the RUB DJ's in NYC) put out this "cliff notes" of Houston Rap. Got me into the scene.

edit: http://www.datpiff.com/DJ-Ayers-Houston-for-dummies-mixtape....

Re: Thousands of Hip Hop Mix Tapes, Why Not

#36

Post by 6stringmerc »

whatok wrote: post #32
6stringmerc wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah that type of thing I'm very cool with, in that it's part of the community and a shared expectation of sorts. I think it's a great way to build up cred in the scene. I really don't have any beef with that. What gets me though is the lifting from other genres where the traditions and expectations are different. I'm not saying 'tributes' and using other people's material isn't huge in, say, rock or blues. Covers an…

Yeah, typically mixtapes are kinda lawless re: copyright, serve purely as promo, and then might breakeven at the end of the day. A lot of the time people looked the other way because there wasn't a label to sue, the artist sure as hell didn't have any money, and most mixtapes never got big enough to garner that kind of attention. The Frank Ocean example got large enough and not sure exactly how things were setup back…

Thanks for sharing your perspective and I'm in agreement for sure, re: the commercial clearance. It just makes sense, both artistic and financial wise.

I'll never forget the contrast of watching Vanilla Ice try and explain how the beat in "Ice Ice Baby" was different from "Under Pressure"[1] and then seeing the two behind the scenes Manager/Label guys sitting in chairs on camera saying, "Oh, we knew if it became a hit we were going to have to pay." Still cracks me up.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1_9-z9rbY

Re: Thousands of Hip Hop Mix Tapes, Why Not

#37

Post by whatok »

aarmenante wrote: post #35
whatok wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, never would have expected to see Z-Ro mentioned on HN. I really think he's one of the greatest ever and wish he was more successful but (and not to sound like a hipster or elitist) his music would absolutely not be the same if it was widely played. Never been there but love Houston if only for its rap.

Or have someone post a Watts tape... Houston has had it's own self-sustaining rap system that never really crossed over into the mainstream. DJ Screw, Watts, Swishahouse, Chopped-and-Screwed tapes... All crazy influential on the rap scene, but most people have never heard of this shit. Does anyone have this tape? http://www.djayres.com/houstonfordummies.htm Aryes (DJ from the RUB DJ's in NYC) put out this "cliff note…

Houston was mainstream when Still Tippin blew up and Flip was doing his thing but that didn't really last and wasn't outside of a few artists.

DJ Ayres and JD are my dudes. I don't know if I still have that CD but great mix. I see it linked here: http://www.djayres.com/2013/03/14/throwback-thursday-houston...

Re: Thousands of Hip Hop Mix Tapes, Why Not

#38

Post by 6stringmerc »

aarmenante wrote: post #35
whatok wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, never would have expected to see Z-Ro mentioned on HN. I really think he's one of the greatest ever and wish he was more successful but (and not to sound like a hipster or elitist) his music would absolutely not be the same if it was widely played. Never been there but love Houston if only for its rap.

Or have someone post a Watts tape... Houston has had it's own self-sustaining rap system that never really crossed over into the mainstream. DJ Screw, Watts, Swishahouse, Chopped-and-Screwed tapes... All crazy influential on the rap scene, but most people have never heard of this shit. Does anyone have this tape? http://www.djayres.com/houstonfordummies.htm Aryes (DJ from the RUB DJ's in NYC) put out this "cliff note…

Eh, I don't think you can say Houston's influence didn't cross into the mainstream. Mike Jones and Paul Wall definitely broke through and hit the top of the charts for a while. Drake just had a sample of Pimp C on his latest Views. The incorporation of the Lean'd out style is really present in contemporary big hits, and I think - maybe I'm off on it - that a lot of that can be traced back to the Houston scene, or the influence of it in some ways. Just thinking H-Town does get its props pretty often.

Re: Thousands of Hip Hop Mix Tapes, Why Not

#39

Post by whatok »

6stringmerc wrote: post #38
aarmenante wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or have someone post a Watts tape... Houston has had it's own self-sustaining rap system that never really crossed over into the mainstream. DJ Screw, Watts, Swishahouse, Chopped-and-Screwed tapes... All crazy influential on the rap scene, but most people have never heard of this shit. Does anyone have this tape? http://www.djayres.com/houstonfordummies.htm Aryes (DJ from the RUB DJ's in NYC) put out this "cliff note…

Eh, I don't think you can say Houston's influence didn't cross into the mainstream. Mike Jones and Paul Wall definitely broke through and hit the top of the charts for a while. Drake just had a sample of Pimp C on his latest Views. The incorporation of the Lean'd out style is really present in contemporary big hits, and I think - maybe I'm off on it - that a lot of that can be traced back to the Houston scene, or the…

i hate drake

edit: I can point to Houston influence in so much music but yeah definitely dont get its due props.

Re: Thousands of Hip Hop Mix Tapes, Why Not

#40

Post by aarmenante »

whatok wrote: post #37
aarmenante wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or have someone post a Watts tape... Houston has had it's own self-sustaining rap system that never really crossed over into the mainstream. DJ Screw, Watts, Swishahouse, Chopped-and-Screwed tapes... All crazy influential on the rap scene, but most people have never heard of this shit. Does anyone have this tape? http://www.djayres.com/houstonfordummies.htm Aryes (DJ from the RUB DJ's in NYC) put out this "cliff note…

Houston was mainstream when Still Tippin blew up and Flip was doing his thing but that didn't really last and wasn't outside of a few artists. DJ Ayres and JD are my dudes. I don't know if I still have that CD but great mix. I see it linked here: http://www.djayres.com/2013/03/14/throwback-thursday-houston...

You're right. They did have some major radio releases, but never to the level that Miami or Atlanta did.
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