For the last five or so years, Brooklyn-based DJ Mick Boogie has been churning out some of the most consistently creative mixtapes in the game. He's primarily known as a heavyhitter within the hip-hop world, but his latest release, Re-Living Thing (which just dropped today at MickBoogie.com and ThePressPlayShow.com) shows just how diverse his musical abilities have become. The ambitious mixtape, which was officially sanctioned by Swedish pop group Peter, Bjorn & John, reimagines songs from the trio's 2007 album with help from an impressive roster of well-known producers and rappers.
To help you catch up on Mick's impressive catalogue, we asked the DJ to break down his top 10 mixtape releases and explain why each one holds special significance. Download them all, including his latest release, below...
#10: THE PRE-UP (w/ Eminem)
RELEASED: 2006
MICK BOOGIE SAYS: "This was done right at the height of Em's popularity and was a real honor. He didn't do a lot of mixtapes... and when they came to me right before The Re-Up dropped... and we formulated The Pre-Up, it was definitely an exciting time. This project helped expand my audience outside of just the hip-hop realm, since Em's fanbase is so massive. Shout out to Paul Rosenberg and everyone at Shady Records."
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#9: UKNOWBIGSEAN (w/ Big Sean)
RELEASED: 2009
MICK BOOGIE SAYS: "I have had the pleasure and honor of working with a lot of up-and-coming artists in hip-hop right at their cusp. People like U-N-I, Kidz In The Hall, 6th Sense, The Kickdrums, and of course, the homie Big Sean. Sean has always been a big supporter of Motivation, a street wear store I co-own in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And one day, our paths crossed and we have been friends and collaborators ever since. He is definitely gonna be one of hip-hop's biggest stars!"
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT!
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#8: BIGGIE: UNBELIEVABLE (w/ Diddy)
RELEASED: 2009
MICK BOOGIE SAYS: "We were able to secure Diddy to host this project honoring the greatest rapper of all time...and we released it on the 10th anniversary of his death. One thing I hated about people doing Biggie remixes is...I don't think the music choices matched what Biggie would actually be rapping on if he was alive. So we chose rare and original music to score the project in a way that honored his creativity, not dumbed it down. The cover was an original painting done by a great artist named Howie Green. It might be the only mixtape ever without the title and deejay name on the cover. Sometimes, simplicity wins!"
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT!
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#7: AND JUSTICE FOR ALL (w/ Little Brother)
RELEASED: 2007
MICK BOOGIE SAYS: "The first mixtape I ever acted as an A&R on. Sending over beats, lining up the guest features, and more. It definitely led to the projects I'm doing now, like Re-Living Thing. Little Brother are like extended family... and we put together a mixtape better than most people's whole albums. I wish them the utmost success in everything they do!"
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#6: THE GRADUATE (w/ Kanye West)
RELEASED: 2007
MICK BOOGIE SAYS: "Kanye was always cool enough to support mixtape culture...him and Don C were very accommodating. This was a fun project of Kanye rarities, remixes, exclusives, and freestyles that played a fun companion piece to the classic that was Graduation. The cover was crazy too... my man Glen Infante redrew and remixed the now classic design done by Takashi Murakami."
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#5: 2009: GRAMMY REMIX PROJECT (w/ Terry Urban)
RELEASED: 2009
MICK BOOGIE SAYS: "Terry Urban and I collab a lot, and we decided to throw together this unique remix of our favorite Grammy nominees in 2009. Who would have thought we could get hip-hoppers to like the Jonas Brothers and Sara Bareilles? It's funny... when people book me to DJ, they expect only hip-hop, and are pleasantly surprise to find out how much variety exists in my sets. This project really showed the diversified sounds we are inspired by, as DJs and producers...and it went over quite well. "
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#4: DILLA-GENCE (w/ Busta Rhymes)
RELEASED: 2007
MICK BOOGIE SAYS: "One of my favorite projects ever. Busta and I had gotten real cool over the years and wanted to collaborate on something special. He was telling me all these stories about when he first was working with Dilla and mentioned all this music he had. I thought it would be great to let the world hear some of the unreleased gems Busta had in the vault...stuff that might never see the light of day. With the success of this project, we were able to give some money to the family and help pay tribute to a legend."
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#3: 1988 (w/ Adele)
RELEASED: 2008
MICK BOOGIE SAYS: "Viva La Hova led me into a really cool project with Adele, right before she won all her Grammys. Adele has such a great voice, and a natural soul to her. We remixed the entire album using various 1980s hip-hop sounds and elements, and gave it a whole new life. Then we gave it extra flavor by getting people like Big Pooh from Little Brother to add guest verses. The best part for me was when Perez Hilton posted it on his blog. Web platinum in less than a day!"
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#2: VIVA LA HOVA (w/ Jay-Z and Coldplay)
RELEASED: 2008
MICK BOOGIE SAYS: "The project that helped open the door for my real creative stuff. When we did this, we knew we had a hit on our hands. I was DJing for Jay at his "2 Kings" dinner at NBA Allstar Weekend and Hov himself told me he really liked it. It doesn't get better than that. Then Coldplay went and put a link to it on their website. To top it off, I'm sitting at the Grammys watching them perform together live, and the version of "Lost" they performed was formatted to match the one we did on the tape. Unreal!"
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT!
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#1: RE-LIVING THING (w/ Peter, Bjorn and John)
RELEASED: Today
MICK BOOGIE SAYS: "My biggest project ever. Definitely the new template for my projects... creative genre-combining music put together from an A&R perspective. This project is basically a Mick Boogie solo album, told through the vision of Peter, Bjorn and John samples. I was blessed to get so many talented people to collaborate with me on this project: from my favorite producers (Jazzy Jeff!) to hip-hop legends (GZA, Buckshot and Bun B) and, of course, up-and-coming notables (U-N-I, Mickey Factz). Plus, working with PB&J has been an honor, as they are one of my favorite bands, and great guys."
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT!
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RELATED: Complex & Mick Boogie's "Leaders of The New Cool" Mixtape (2008)
