In the decade of the 2010s, the mixtape was a way for an artist to release free music to the internet in order to generate buzz, to release extra songs, or to just make a project free from the constraints of a major label. Artists would often bypass restrictive major labels to release a mixtape directly to the internet. The result of this is that mixtapes often times contained an artist’s best and most authentic work.
In today’s streaming heavy era, the mixtape has largely become a thing of the past. The trend now is for artists to favor quantity over quality just to achieve streaming numbers and accolades. Songs that would have never been released a decade ago now quickly get packaged onto an album and released to streaming platforms.
As this decade comes to a close, I want to celebrate the great mixtapes that were released. This list ranks the top 15 mixtapes that I have heard. This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are many mixtapes that I am sure deserve to be on this list in your opinion. That is what makes music so great is that it is entirely subjective. With that being said, let’s take a look at my top 15 albums of the decade.
15. T.R.U. REALigion – 2 Chainz
2 Chainz had experienced some career success as 1/2 of the duo Playaz Circle. The group had the major hit “Duffle Bag Boy” in 2007 which featured Lil Wayne. T.R.U. REALigion was released in 2011 shortly after changing his name from “Tity Boi” to “2 Chainz”. This highly regarded mixtape helped propel 2 Chainz into the solo commercial success that he became during the 2010s. T.R.U. REALigion contains production from
Mike WiLL Made It, Lex Luger, and Drumma Boy just to name a few. Also “Spend It (featuring T.I.)” and “Riot” from this project ended up achieving extensive radio success as well. T.R.U. REALigion‘s release in 2011 set the stage for 2 Chainz to contribute so many hits to the culture.
14. Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever – Logic
The third mixtape in Logic’s “Young Sinatra” series comes in at #14 on my list. Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever is a mixtape that truly feels like a full length LP. The mixtape has been downloaded nearly 1 million times on DatPiff. It features Logic in his true prime as a lyricist. Songs like “5 AM”, “Break it Down”, “The Come Up”, and “Just A Man” are the true standouts. This mixtape shows just how big of an influence J. Cole was on Logic with regard to the flows that Logic frequently utilizes on this project. It is a very smooth listen from beginning to end and is one of the best projects of Logic’s entire discography.
13. Taylor Allderdice – Wiz Khalifa
Taylor Allderdice, named after his high school alma mater, is one of Wiz Khalifa’s most complete projects. It is 17 tracks long and its run time clocks in at just over an hour. At this time in 2012, Wiz Khalifa may have been the most popular rapper on the planet and he did not disappoint by any means with this mixtape. What takes this project to the next level is its production and heavy doses of Juicy J throughout. The mixtape is brash yet smooth all at the same time. I also really enjoyed the narration by Rob Markman that is present throughout because it adds some much appreciated insight on some of Wiz’s musical decisions at the time.
12. Innanetape – Vic Mensa
Innanetape is a true hidden gem of a mixtape released in 2013 by Chicago rapper Vic Mensa. The 14 track project is one of my favorite of the decade because of just how well Mensa showcases his skills as a rapper and songwriter throughout. The production, features, and overall structure of Innanetape set it apart from the average mixtape.
11. Overly Dedicated – Kendrick Lamar
Released in the first year of the decade, Overly Dedicated by Kendrick Lamar is the first project that I heard by the rapper. It is actually the final mixtape that he has released in his career. The standout track of the project is “The Heart Pt. 2” which features Kendrick rapping over the instrumental of the song “A Peace of Light” by The Roots. It became clear to me when I first heard this project in 2011 that Kendrick Lamar would soon become a household name. Songs like “P&P 1.5 (feat. Ab-Soul)”, “Growing Apart (feat. Jhene Aiko)”, and “Ignorance Is Bliss” are some of Kendrick’s best songs of his early career. In early 2012, Drake would bring Kendrick Lamar on as an opener of his “Club Paradise” tour with ASAP Rocky. Kendrick performed many songs from this very mixtape on that tour. Later in the year Kendrick Lamar would go on to release Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and the rest was history.
10. Surf – Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment
Surf is a true masterpiece. It was released for free on iTunes by The Social Experiment, which is a band that consists of Chance the Rapper, Nico Segal, Peter Cottontale, Greg Landfair Jr., and Nate Fox. This mixtape features massive collaborations from J. Cole, Big Sean, Erykah Badu, Quavo, B.o.B., Jeremih, and many others. To me though, Surf feels like a Chance the Rapper project since he is featured on the majority of the albums 16 tracks. It was through Surf where many of us were first introduced to D.R.A.M. via his standout performance on “Caretaker”. The trumpet solos “Nothing Came to Me” and “Something Came to Me” performed by Nico Segal also add a nice touch to the project as a whole. All in all, Surf is a mixtape that celebrates positivity that is truly one of the best mixtapes of the decade.
9. Sign Language – Ty Dolla Sign
One of the most underrated mixtapes of the decade is Sign Language by Ty Dolla Sign. It is project that made me a Ty Dolla fan. Nearly every song features an interlude that uniquely introduces and previews the upcoming song. These interludes contain vocals from Ed Sheeran, K Camp, Jeremih, and Mike Posner. It was an approach that I have never seen done in this way. “Lord Knows”, “Stretch She Better”, and “Like I Do” are the standouts of this project. It is a project that shows Ty Dolla’s full skillset as a hook creator and a harmonizer. Sign Language is really worth going back and listening to if you haven’t already.
8. Macadelic – Mac Miller
Macadelic is one of the best projects of Mac Miller’s entire discography and it is just a mixtape. This project also has some of the biggest features of his career. It features Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar, Juicy J, and Cam’ron. At this time in 2012, Kendrick Lamar was just on the cusp of ascending into superstardom. Lil Wayne, Juicy J, and Cam’ron were (and still are) OG’s in the game. For us fans, it showed how much these rap pioneers respected Mac Miller’s talent. It was really cool to see Mac Miller keep up with Cam’ron on “Ignorant” which features production from Cardo. Macadelic will always be a special project to me. It’s great on so many levels. As of 2018, the album was remastered and added to all streaming services. Rest in peace Mac Miller.
7. Days Before Rodeo – Travis Scott
Days Before Rodeo is the project in which Travis Scott let the world know he was a force to be reckoned with. The mixtape is very unique in its sound yet its Kid Cudi and Kanye West influence is still evident. It is quite possibly my favorite Travis Scott project in his entire catalog. Days Before Rodeo is an experience from beginning to end.
6. R O Y A L T Y – Childish Gambino
Royalty is one of Childish Gambino’s lesser discussed projects and I don’t really know why. It’s so great on so many levels. Gambino serves as producer or co-producer for 11 out of the 19 songs on the mixtape. Royalty also served to introduce much of the world to Chance the Rapper for the first time because of his standout verse on “They Don’t Like Me”. I also became a fan of Haim because of Danielle Haim’s performance on “Won’t Stop”. Royalty showcases Childish Gambino a point in his career in which he was truly hitting his stride as a complete artist. It properly comes in at #6 on this list.
5. Detroit – Big Sean
The most critically acclaimed project in Big Sean’s discography comes in at #5 on my list. Detroit celebrates and pays homage to Big Sean’s hometown. Big Sean calls on Young Jeezy, Snoop Dogg, and Common to recall some of their favorite memories of the city which adds a nice touch to the project. Lyrically, Big Sean is in his prime on this project. He also crafts masterful hooks on songs like “24K of Gold”, “How It Feel”, “Mula”, and “RWT”.
4. nostalgia, ULTRA – Frank Ocean
nostalgia, ULTRA by Frank Ocean is my #4 mixtape of the decade. It was this project that caught the attention of Kanye West which later led to Frank Ocean collaborating on the Watch the Throne album. “Novacane” and “Swim Good” were the two singles of the project. The samples that were used on nostalgia, ULTRA are my favorite part of the project. Frank samples Coldplay on “Strawberry Swing, Mr. Hudson on “There Will Be Tears”, and MGMT on “Nature Feels”. nostalgia, ULTRA is a deep and emotional record that is one of the best mixtapes of the decade.
3. Acid Rap – Chance The Rapper
Acid Rap, Chance the Rapper’s 2nd mixtape, comes in at #3 on my list. The mixtape was released about a year after the rapper’s standout verse on Childish Gambino’s Royalty mixtape so I was was already anticipating this release. Chance purposely released Acid Rap as a free mixtape even though everything about it feels like a studio album. There is heavy attention to detail paid to every element of this project from the song structure, to the instrumentation, to the features. Acid Rap has been downloaded over 10,000,000 times on Datpiff. You won’t find many people that have anything negative to say about this album. It is a true masterpiece of a mixtape.
2. Kush & Orange Juice– Wiz Khalifa
Kush & Orange Juice is sonically one of the easiest listens of this entire list. It features Wiz Khalifa in his prime as a rapper and artist. It is also quite possibly my favorite collection of beats on one project. Wiz holds his own with his verses on each song but it’s his ability to craft and perform catchy and effective hooks that truly stands out. His harmonizations on songs like “Mezmorized”, “Spotlight”, “Up”, “Never Been”, “In the Cut”, and “Good Dank” are legendary. Kush & Orange Juice also contains 3 skits in which Wiz plays a radio DJ named “Easy Rider” for the fictional radio station “W.E.E.D.”. These skits add a nice touch to the project.
1. Friday Night Lights – J. Cole
Friday Night Lights by J. Cole is the best mixtape of the decade! Many of the songs on this project were initially intended for J. Cole’s debut album but did not make the cut because the label did not believe they would sell. That decision by the label resulted in us getting some of J. Cole’s deepest and most introspective songs in the form of a mixtape. There truly is nothing negative that can even be said about Friday Night Lights. Its subject matter, delivery, production, and structure are top notch. J. Cole handles the majority of the production himself on the project. To me, J. Cole created a hip hop classic with this one making it worthy of the #1 spot on my “Top 15 Mixtapes of the Decade” list.
