The Original Mixtape Game

The Mixtape In A Nutshell!

In hip hop's earliest days, the music only existed in live form, and the music was spread via tapes of parties and shows. Hip hop mixtapes first appeared in the mid-1970s in New York City, featuring artists such as Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaata. As more tapes became available, they began to be collected and traded by fans. In the mid-1980s, DJs, such as Brucie B, began recording their live music and selling their own mixtapes, which was soon followed by other DJs such as Kid Capri and Doo Wop. Also since the 1990s, it describes releases used to promote one or more new artists, or as a pre-release by more established artists to promote upcoming "official" albums. In the hip hop scene, mix tape is often displayed as a single term mixtape.

The Foundation Of The Mix tape!

A mix tape is the generic name given to an underground compilation of various tracks spread across a medium of music application such as a cassette tape, a CD And now MP3 Devices. More commonly and traditionally in tape form The Mix tape has roots slightly beyond the culture of Hip Hop with the very first actual "Mix tape" Being underground bootleg 8-track tapes sold at flea markets, truck stops and small venues. These bootleg 8 Track compilations were usually stop/start recorded & cut from reel to reel machines and included various tracks of either different artists music or entirely the same artists but various music from their albums. These types of Mix tapes go back as early as mid 1960's into the late 1970's while the 8 track format was the only consumer available format to be had. Most mix tapes have a specific idea, title or purpose that follows a theme. However because Of reel to reel not being accessible by the average person the mix tape culture within 8 track was very stiff and only lasted so long due to pirating. Enter the Cassette tape. With consumer electronic devices and technology on the rise by the late 1970's. The first actual cassette tapes were used mediums for archiving and basic recording of dictations and speeches (not so much music) since the formulation of tape was not great quality and existed in mono sound. The sound quality on tapes were not considered good enough to be taken seriously for professional - consumer grade use and or quality for mass distribution by industry standards. The first actual cassette tape debuted at a Berlin music radio show in 1963, but we did not see cassette tape use until by around 1978 or 79. As the advent of consumer tape decks for home use, radio boomboxes & portable electronics that could necessitate tapes for record/play back. The Sony "Walkman" debuted in 1979 significantly changing the world of now portable music. The standards & hurdles by which society could now access & make use of this quality on a  consumer basis significantly become more and more common place as cassette tape players were standard in cars, home stereo systems and such. New formulations of tape more commonly metal formulations also helped sound quality and tape quality improve for wider dynamic/lower noise to signal ratio. The Consumer enthusiast for putting music on tape began to use this new way of music enjoyment, and then the music recording industry began to pick up on this as a way to distribute music much more compact than 8 track and ready to play in radio's everywhere unlike or 8 track or even Vinyl needing a record player.

Private Tape, Party Tape, House Tape, Consumer Tape..Whats the Difference?

As the bootlegging of music onto tape started in the inner city and underground markets. It was undoubtedly the Hip Hop generation who would help to unearth this culture of Mixing up songs on tape and getting them around the streets. A "house-tape" is a mix tape made at home in which a A DJ would record a mix from his home system onto tape first through the advent of straight stereo system and then later as people obtained Multi track tape recorders such as the tascam 4 track recorders, more elaborate possibilities were conceived. Our common mix tape culture today works that way with many of DJs producing their mixes at home or personal studio and then distributing them in the streets. Some of the first well known House tape mixes came from DJs such as DJ Breakout, Whiz Kid, And many others. the first house tapes started to surface around late 1979 or 1980. A distinction should be drawn between a private mix tape, which is usually intended for a specific listener or private social event, and a public mix tape, or "party tape", usually consisting of a recording of a club performance by a DJ and intended to be sold to multiple individuals. In the 1970's, such DJ's as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force, Kool Herc and the Herculoids, DJ Breakout, the Funky Four, and DJ Hollywood would often distribute recordings of their club performances via audio cassette, as well as customized recordings (often prepared at exorbitant prices) for individual tape purchasers. These recordings tended to be of higher technical ability than home-made mix tapes and incorporated techniques such as beatmatching and scratching. In the 1980's Mix tapes were a highly visible element of the urban city youth and how music was shared on the street level. Often times and even after the first Hip Hop recordings on vinyl A person could only get specific performances from artists and songs through the recording of live MC Shows & DJ Club mixes. This is where the culture of "Exclusives" was born. Club proprietors and DJ's would often prepare mixes for promotion to hone their fan base and reputations. In many way's a mix tape for DJ's could be a sort of resume.

Rise & Decline Of Cassettes And New Mediums!

Throughout the 1980's, mix tapes were a highly visible element of inner city youth culture. However, the increased availability of CD burners and Mp3 players and the gradual disappearance of cassette players in cars and households have led to a decline in the popularity of the compact audio cassette as a medium for homemade mixes. The high point of the cassette mix tape was around 1995 with many trendsetting DJ's selling tapes on the mass market through venues and small corner stores. In the early 1990's Tapes started to include jacket art, playlists. A Genre of DJ's have actually became famous through their mix tapes. Today, websites concerned with electronic music provide mixes in a digital format. These usually consist of recorded DJ sets of live, beat-matched mixes of songs, which are used by DJ's seeking to demonstrate their mixing skills to an online audience. Some radio shows worldwide specialize in mix series, Additionally, DJ's such as Grandmaster Flash, DJ QBert, DJ Spooky, DJ Z-Trip or DJ Shadow, The Avalanches have gained fame for creating new songs by combining fragments of existing songs (which need not necessarily belong to the same genre). The resulting remix or mash-up can be seen as an evolution of the mix tape, in that it appropriates existing songs to give them new meanings through their juxtaposition, but does so in a quicker, more integrated style. This practice is heavily derived from the use of song loops as musical backdrops for an MC's rhymes in hip hop music, which is also related to turntablism. Grandmaster flash's "Adventures of flash" was the very first commercially produced DJ mix that segmented parts of different already popular songs in a cohesive flowing mix that would sound like nana ctual song or live DJ Performance on record. In the 1990's DJ Ron G Helped pioneer the "Blend" game by mixing popular R&B Acapellas and Hip Hop beats. A "Blend" as it is famously known IMOH &; Many other opinions are extremely sought after because they are exclusive stylized mixes that are unique and cannot be obtained anywhere else through any other DJ Or commercial outlet. A Blend tends to have a much longer shelf life than a new music or best of tape because Blends are original Ideas from the DJ and again are exclusive mixes unheard of anywhere else. Mix tapes would also include freestyles by many up and coming artists, well known artists on the underground circuit. tapes have been used to promote artists upcoming commercial releases And of course individual new music. In the case of the park jam era of Hip Hop The Mix tapes were circulated in school and on the streets to fans of the artists also containing live on the mic info(s) about future shows and events.

Mixtape Techniques!

While the process of recording a mix onto an audio cassette from LP's or compact discs is technically straightforward, many music fans who create more than one mix tape are eventually compelled to confront some of the practical and aesthetic challenges involved in the mix tape format. Such procedures include filling the entire tape to avoid space, carefully placing songs end to end to create the effect of a mix and not a compilation commercial tape. Also other methods include avoiding tape click from stop and start of the play/stop buttons and mastering the "Pause button" As mentioned above specialized jacket art and playlist employed to give the mix a identity, emotion and feel. Such as "Emma's workout mix". Many enthusiasts also devote substantial attention to the packaging of a mix tape intended as a gifts. A Mix tape did not ever have to include all music from one artist, one genre and many time DJ's and enthusiasts would make multi-genre mixes many times also using audio samples of commercials, segments from movie quotes and much more. As with classic break beat mix tapes the wide genre of music appeal included everything from Rock, To Pop, Disco & Funk Music. Same thing for crossover artists Pre-Hip Hop earlier mix tapes.

So with all this being said. I want to share with you two of my favorite all time"Classic" Mix tapes. which were very iconic when they dropped. One of which in 1981 The other in 82. These tapes have become legendary through the 1980's as well as straight into the 90's too. The Whiz Kid Joint Is One taped from home or in private facility by "DJ Whiz Kid" himself in 1981 and is an early perfect example of a "House tape". A generic tape of different classic break beats that he mixed/cut up and produced for the streets. Most likely these tapes were sold at Whiz Kid Or Zulu Parties and even hand to hand of course. The other is an actual "Zulu Beats" Mix show by Afrika Islam when he Mixed Nightly for Newark N.J. WHBI In the early 80's. Though It is a Mix show, It was still recorded to tape at the studio and distributed to fans and thank Goodness it has survived the years in its entirety and in rather great shape. I've actually been listening to the Zulu beats joint for more than 16 years now myself. The Zulu beats Mix has plenty of great commercial samples from Spider Man radio comic shows and or TV Show series, Audio samples from various other famous productions, whilst he also adds some live show segmeents of the Soulsonic Force Rocking @ Umass in 82. I only provided Side "A" Of Each Tape. So Download these classics, enjoy history as you hear the original flava of one of the first ever Hip Hop Mix tapes. Thanks for reading GOD BLESS!!.

Download: Download: DJ Afrika Islam Zulubeats Radio Mixshow 1982 (Side A)

Download: DJ Whiz Kid House Tap 1981 - Breakbeats (Side A)