#DeepCuts: The Mixtape Tracks You're Sleeping On

Rap music on the margins almost never wants to stay there—especially in 2013. Even in the jiggy vs. backpacker wars of the late '90s, critics of popular rap always seemed to imagine that, if the majors weren't in place, Rawkus stars would be widely known, and the best technical wizards would top the pops. Plenty of artists emphasized staying independent. But whatever kind of rap you made, the point was rarely to stay underground. The goal was to be, and cue Canibus, "on top of the pops, not on the bottom with rocks."

For August's edition of #DeepCuts, an effort was made to avoid some of the more obvious recent mixtapes. Gucci Mane's three-disc Molly-Gas-Lean monster set was unexpectedly one of the better releases of August. Likewise, Dizzy Wright's The Golden Age is getting considerable attention, and rightfully so. Instead, we went digging for tapes that haven't achieved quite the same level of noteriety.

This doesn't mean that they should be marginalized, though. Many of these artists could end up with considerably higher profiles in the next few years. Not that we only included obscure performers. Rappers like YG or Stalley have received pretty heavy coverage—YG is signed to Def Jam. But it's easy to forget how quickly a rising artist, even one on a major label, can be lost in the shuffle.

Ultimately, our goal is to separate the wheat from the chaff in the high-noise, low-signal worlds of DatPiff, LiveMixtapes, and HotNewHipHop. So finding songs worth hearing is the real purpose of the column, without concern for affiliation or marketing, connections or reputation. At the end of the day, a sound only takes over if the songs are there. An artist only rises if people want to hear them.

Here are August's #DeepCuts: The Mixtape Tracks You're Sleeping On.

RELATED: TenDeep: 10 Albums From August You Need To Hear
RELATED: #DeepCuts: The Mixtape Tracks You're Sleeping On (July)
RELATED: The Best Songs of 2013 (So Far)

Mixtape: Position Of Power
Producer: LoKey

Possibly the first record in rap history to include production by both similarly-named beatmakers Chase N. Cashe and Chase N. Dough, Position of Power also happens to be the best articulation of rapper Giftz's dense rap style to date. The East Side Chicago rapper tends to spit his verses in tightly packed blocks of words, a mathematically-minded precision style that fits the midwest hustler persona that is his stock and trade. Everything about this tape seems like a step forward for Giftz; the production is more varied, with assists from the two Chase's, Thelonious Martin, and recent "Twerk" composer C-Sick. The guests, from national names 3D Na'Tee, Boldy James, and Freddie Gibbs, to Chicago-based artists like Kon and YP, seem like a good tonal match for the material. And Giftz's own lyrics seem tighter, and more rhythmically varied, than in the past.

An immediate standout on Position of Power is Lil Herb feature "Go." Herb and Giftz have similar rap styles, and complement each other well. (Herb—a recent favorite Drake's—was recently featured as one of Complex's 25 New Rappers to Watch Out For). And the track's one-bar loop, which feels as if the reel were being pulled to an unexpected stop at the end of every measure, creates an uneven, hypnotic groove. Producer LoKey has done lots of work with King Louie in the past, and was one of the original architects of Chicago's drill sound, prior to Young Chop's ascent to national awareness.

Mixtape: PTPT
Producer: Nickelus F

Virginia-based Rapper/producer Nickelus F is about as underrated as Starlito (and has been so for about as long). He also has equally horrible taste in cover art. He is primarily known for working with Drake— the two worked on some music together early in Drake's career, and Drake once told us that "F's one of the most gifted people I know at finding flows." The two also worked together earlier this year, although Drake's cosign didn't seem to have the same power as, say, his "Versace" remix verse.

Nickelus' latest tape, PTPT, has a particularly unique production style throughout, quirky and unpredictable. The bulk of the album is produced by Nickelus himself. Opening track "The Binaca Shot" flips a very familiar sample: The Showboys' "Drag Rap," the basis of hundreds of bounce and hip-hop tracks popular in New Orleans and throughout the South. It almost sounds as if the rapper blended it with a screwed version of the bassline to Project Pat's "Gorilla Pimp." And partway through, Nickelus kicks a flow recognizeable from Ester Dean and Gucci Mane's "I Think I Luv Her," although it's entirely possible he's referencing a different track.

Unlike the wide bulk of revivalist rappers who seem intent on carefully recreating the exact vibe of particular eras in Southern hip-hop history, though, Nickelus' work sounds especially original. He's not bringing a whole new wave of innovation to the game, but fits in with eccentric, individualistic stylists like Chicago MC Tree, or even MF Doom. He has a highly idiosyncratic approach, and deserves considerably more attention than he's gotten so far.

Mixtape: Boss Yo Life Up Gang
Producer: DJ Mustard

Young Jeezy's second, or third, or possibly fourth life as a recording artist continues with this month's Boss Yo Life Up Gang mixtape, as he's managed to swipe DJ Mustard from the personality void on the West Coast and create genuine hits with the producer's pop chart-dominating formula. And much as "R.I.P." has helped DJ Mustard supplant Mike Will as the Hot 100's foremost hip-hop auteur, Jeezy has thrown a cosign to a few rappers trying to make the jump from regional sensations to national threats. Doughboyz Cashout, who've managed to build a heavy buzz in Detroit, have now emerged on the national stage at a time when regional supergroups feel like an artifact of the early '00s. "Woke Up," their best song to date, is pretty crazy.

YG, on the other hand, is a Compton gangster rapper at a time when Compton gangster rap only seems to get real chart traction when it jacks (however nimbly) 15-year-old Southern classics. His luck may have changed with Jeezy's CTE cosign, however. The Rich Homie Quan-assisted, DJ Mustard-produced "My Niggas," which appears on this tape, first appeared on Jeezy's #ItsThaWorld EP [and #DeepCuts]. It's already sounding like a potential hit. "Fuck You," Jeezy and YG's latest track, might not have the same charting potential for obvious, radio-unfriendly reasons. But the bass-heavy snap-minimalism of Mustard's beat is pretty hard to deny, and yelling "fuck you!" along with rap music is never not classic.

Mixtape: Honest Cowboy
Producer: Block Beattaz

Stalley, for all his regular-guy charm, is also not the most exciting rap personality on planet earth. He is, however, really interested in being a rap star, and makes up for his less-magnetic characteristics by making really, really well-crafted records. The beat selection on Honest Cowboy is strong, and Stalley even lulled DJ Quik out of semi-retirement for a co-production credit with Cardo on the opening track, "Spaceships & Woodgrain."

But his collaboration with Scarface is even better. Calling a song with a Houston rapper "Swangin" is perhaps the least imaginative possible concept for a record. But it's the little things: Block Beattaz' nuanced, sparkling production sounds clear and labored-over, their attention to detail unparalleled. And of course, Scarface breathes life into even the most well-trod subject matter, as the drank, Screw music, and expensive tires are imbued with deeper implications:

Mixtape: Rappin-N-Trappin
Producer: Mouse On Tha Track

Baton Rouge's Lil Cali recently signed with Juvenile's UTP label, and promptly released a mixtape packed with Mouse On Tha Track beats, which calls for instant inclusion in #DeepCuts. Mouse remains one of hip-hop's most unfairly underrated beatmakers. If (excuse the incredibly reductive history) Beats By the Pound defined the early underground-crossover sound of New Orleans, and Mannie Fresh its optimistic triumphant moment, Mouse's time with Trill Ent., when he scripted such smashes as "Wipe Me Down (Remix)" and "Independent" (a Top 10 hit!), accompanied the South's turn back underground, soundtracking its turn towards the harsh, metallic sounds of the late '00s.

Since Boosie went to jail, Trill's fortunes have declined somewhat, and Kevin Gates—surely the city's biggest current star—has only collaborated with Mouse a few times. But here's hoping Lil Cali's strategic alignment with UTP amounts to more broad enthusiasm for Mouse's sound in general. While "Pow" isn't quite as left field for him as, say, his theme song for LSU, the swaggering horns definitely the song an unsual feel.

Mixtape: Half Forgotten Daydreams
Producer: Ronnie Shaw

Capturing this tape's sound in words is something of a challenge, because it isn't doing anything radically new. Nor does it sound like a particular era or style. It fits in with some pretty consistent themes in recent hip-hop, especially the stoner-friendly variety. It's not quite as g-funk friendly as Curren$y, nor as lo-fi, intoxicated, or self-consciously "artful" as the post-Clams Casino #based production. It's pop—Childish Major, who produced Rocko's smash "U.O.E.N.O.," plays a big role in the record's sound. But there's also a spacey quality to it, where cultivating a reflective ambiance has premiere importance, rather than filling club floors or hammering with hooks.

Curtis Williams is a part of the Two9 crew, which initially emerged as a collective branded as a kind of A$AP/Odd Future-style, but for Atlanta. Since that time, the group's sound has become more distinct and nuanced. Half Forgotten Daydreams isn't so much derivative as it is a very carefully poised midpoint between a bunch of countervailing forces in current rap. But perhaps the best way of looking at this tape is, strangely, the cover art: yes, this looks like an Electronica [now: EDM] CD of "Chillout Anthems" you'd buy at a Tower Records in 1999. And it kind of sounds like one, too, as if the high-definition, glossy, home-listening acid jazz of that era was just waiting to find a home in hip-hop.

Mixtape: Welcome to Puerto Rico
Producer: Smylez

One of the breakout hits in Chicago this summer was P Rico's "Hang Wit Me," which accumulated nearly two-and-a-half million views with virtually no coverage on blogs or label promotion. There may have been a reason, though, that only a year after Chicago's hip-hop scene first garnered national attention, the media steered clear. P Rico's new mixtape, Welcome to Puerto Rico, has a picture of the young murder victim Lil Jojo on its cover, which no doubt reminds people of the very real violence going on just below the surface in Chicago. Not to burrow too deep into this particular conflict—we wrestled with the implications of it previously—but labels have already invested in a teenage turf war, and no doubt were feeling some reticence. Similarly, bloggers and readers were undoubtedly feeling a little burnt out. Which is both understandable—no one wants to be throwing fuel into the fire—and a little hypocritical. The violence, after all, will go on, even if the media's attention turns elsewhere.

But from a musical perspective, P Rico's tape is strong, thanks in part to the production work of Smylez, whose pinwheeling synthesizers and unconventional compositional style has been soundtracking a particular strain of ominous, gothic club and street rap over the past two years. Songs like "Alot" and "Gladiator" are especially striking, towering anthems that show another side of the sound that first made noise with rappers like Lil Durk and Keef last year. "We Don't Know What To Say" feels like a particularly apropos expression of the mood of the South Side's teenagers, as if it were targeted at every news team and documentarian that deluged the South Side in the past year looking for answers.

Mixtape: Live From Shady Oaks 4
Producer: Unknown

Lil Mal is a Mississippi rapper whose style has the confessional, blues-inflected lyrics of rappers like Lil Boosie or Z-Ro, whose who literal, autobiographical approach have helped build massive cult followings. His delivery is less distinct than either of those artists, but his harrowing stories are still particularly affecting. Hard-fought life lessons clash with his own hypocrisies: "Hit every city goin ham like Amsterdam/Treat every bitch like shit, we don't give a damn/Not to mention she a daughter, and a mother/With a sister and a brother, but motherfuck 'em."

Mixtape: Tripolar
Producer: Unknown

Texas rap legend Z-Ro is very particular about certain hygienic decisions made by his life partners. Consider this the counterpart to Pimp C, Lil Boosie, and Webbie's "Harry Asshole." [This one may not be safe for work.]