Hip Hop News

It only took ten years, but Travis Scott’s beloved mixtape Days Before Rodeo was finally added to streaming services today. The project arrived just a year before his official debut album Rodeo, and to this day, it still stands as one of the best projects in Scott’s discography. That was often the case for rappers, especially in the mixtape era. A lot of the projects that fans deemed to be their best work were indeed free mixtapes. At the time, mixtapes were a great promotional tactic for the album a rapper was about to put out, but now, many of them are going back in time to relive the success of the project, make some money off a great body of work, and also place the mixtape in the easily accessible and vast library of streaming services.

In celebration of Days Before Rodeo being available to stream on your favorite streaming service, we compiled a list of 12 mixtapes that also need the same treatment. Take a scroll and see our picks that include releases from Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, J. Cole, and more.

Dom Kennedy — Yellow Album

Dom Kennedy is a West Coast legend, there’s no question about it. If you asked 100 Dom Kennedy fans, or even 100 West Coast rap fans, what his magnum opus was, most will tell you his 2012 mixtape Yellow Album. Kennedy is one of the many examples of an artists’ best project arguably being a free collection of music, many coming from the 2010s mixtape era. Still, the impact of Yellow Album on Kennedy himself as well as rap altogether is undeniable. It pushed Kennedy to new heights, as he would tour the US and Europe after the project’s release. As one of the leaders of West Coast rap’s new age, Dom Kennedy influence traveled past the generations of his own to present-day artists like Larry June. Yellow Album is stamped culturally and is absolutely needed in the ever-accessible streaming libraries. Kennedy just needs a cool $2 million to get the project cleared for streaming — which should be doable, right?

DJ Esco & Future — Project E.T.

For the most part, Future’s vast mixtape catalog can be found on streaming services. 56 Nights, Beast Mode, Monster, and Purple Reign all live in between Future’s impressive batch of albums. One project that’s yet to receive this treatment is DJ Esco & Future’s 2016 collaboration Project E.T. At 16 songs, it features the Platinum-certified “Too Much Sauce” with Lil Uzi Vert and “Married To The Game,” one of Future’s best b-side tracks. We even have “Who” with Young Thug, the record that Future and Thug used to bury the hatchet in their brief beef. Project E.T. is one of the more fun projects Future has been apart of, but it’s also a great body of work with plenty of highlights and strong collaborations with a variety of artists. The mixtape is available to varying and unofficial extents on different streaming services, so making it available in full across the board would be incredibly ideal.

G-Unit — 50 Cent Is The Future

To understand the true legacy of 50 Cent and G-Unit is to understand and appreciate their mixtape catalog. No better example of the exists than G-Unit’s 2002 mixtape 50 Cent Is The Future. The project was a big turning point for both 50 Cent and G-Unit as a whole, which consisted of 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo at this point. 50 Cent Is The Future arrived after 50 Cent infamously escaped death as well as after he was dropped from Columbia Records and blacklisted from the industry. It was short-lived as 50 Cent released his classic debut album Get Rich Or Try Dyin’ in 2003. The promise of 50 Cent was on full display on 50 Cent Is The Future as he and his G-Unit compadres made street records out of R&B songs like Raphael Saadiq’s “Be Here” and Tweet’s “Call Me” while also massacring rap beats like Wu-Tang Clan’s “You’ve Been Warned” and Jay-Z’s “Lyrical Exercise.” 50 Cent Is The Future is key in understanding why 50 Cent became the superstar he is and why G-Unit became one of rap’s best hip-hop collectives.

J. Cole — Friday Night Lights

By the time J. Cole released his 2010 mixtape Friday Night Lights, the North Carolina rapper was already stepping into the star that we now know him as. The music on this project was originally intended for his debut album Cole World: The Sideline Story, but his label did not believe the project would do well with the music on it. But boy, were they wrong. Friday Night Lights became an instant classic and still remains one of J. Cole’s best projects. Though “In The Morning” with Drake is the undeniable standout from the mixtape, other higlights like “Too Deep For The Into,” “Back To The Topic,” and “Premeditated Murder,” helped to confirm that Cole would have a successful rap career. With its 15th anniversary coming in 2025, next year would be a great time to bring the project to streaming services.

Jadakiss — Consignment

Six years went by in between Jadakiss’ third album 2009’s The Last Kiss and his fourth album Top 5 Dead or Alive. The latter was a project he spent the better part of five years working on, but in the meantime, Jadakiss adding to his discography with a slew of mixtapes. One of those is 2012’s Consignment, a Gangsta Grillz collaboration with DJ Drama. The project arrived as Jadakiss transitioned into an elder statesmen in rap, but it was an early sign that Jadakiss’ rap skills would not falter after the solo career high of Kiss Of Death. Consignment is a mixtape standout in Jadakiss’ career and with tracks like “Traffickin,” “Respect It,” and “Paper Tags,” the project is absolutely needed on streaming services.

Lil Wayne’s Entire Mixtape Catalog

Initially, Lil Wayne’s 2007 mixtape Da Drought 3 was the first that came to mind when thinking about mixtapes from him that need to be on streaming services. While that is certainly a priority, his 2006 mixtape Dedication 2 and 2008’s Dedication 3 are also a necessity on streaming. While we’re here, we can also add 2005’s Dedication and 2015’s Sorry 4 The Wait 2 because they’re also good projects from Wayne, and also, why not? With Wayne’s other mixtape standouts like No Ceilings and Sorry 4 The Wait already on streaming, there’s an argument to be made for Wayne to upload his whole mixtape catalog to be placed on streaming, or at least the mixtapes released during his impeccable 10-year run between 2005 and 2015. Regardless, what you can’t argue is that Lil Wayne is one of, if not the best mixtape rapper ever and that catalog of greatness needs to be more accessible.

Logic — Young Sinatra: Welcome To Forever

Though Logic’s public appeal may have wavered over the last half-decade, that was far from the case prior to his debut album. His 2013 effort Young Sinatra: Welcome To Forever is a project I would place at the top of his discography. With production from Logic himself, his longtime producer 6ix, as well as Don Cannon, Key Wane, No I.D., and others, Logic had the perfect sonic landscape to display his undeniable rap talents. Logic, who was months removed from beign a XXL Freshman Class inductee as well as signing a deal with Def Jam, pierced through beats laid before him with ease. “925,” “5AM,” and “Ballin” are bass-rattling highlights while “Break It Down” and “Walk On By” settle into a more reserved and relaxed pocket.

Meek Mill — Dreamchasers 2

A list about the mxitapes that need to be on streaming services cannot be complete without Meek Mill’s Dreamchasers 2. The Philadelphia rapper’s 2012 mixtape was the most popular release of all-time on the now-defunct mixtape hosting site DatPiff as it tallied 1.5 million downloads within 6 hours and 2.5 million in its first day. It’s no shock that Dreamchasers 2 was an incredibly successful project as it carries excellent highlights like “Amen” with Drake, “Burn” wiht Big Sean, and the massive “House Party” remix with Fabolous, Wale, and Mac Miller. The mixtape — and its success — perfectly captures the anticipation that fans had for Meek as he neared the release of his debut album. He was bigger than a lot of artists who were a couple of albums into their careers, and bringing Dreamchasers 2 to streaming will be a much-needed reminder of Meek’s peak.

Pusha T — Wrath Of Caine

More times than not, as seen with entries on this list, one of the better mixtapes in a rapper’s catalog comes when all eyes are them in anticipation of them breaking through the mainstream threshold. For Pusha T, his mainstream status had already been established through his career as one-half of Clipse, but as we entered the 2010s, it was time for him do the same for his solo career. Wrath Of Caine was a sweet appetizer ahead of his excellent debut album My Name Is My Name. Whether it be the triumphant “Millions” with Rick Ross” or the heavy-muscled “Doesn’t Matter” with French Montana or the tough-talking “Blocka” with Popcaan or Travis Scott, Wrath Of Caine helped Pusha make his mark on the rap game, independent of his brother.

Rich Gang — Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1

In a perfect world, Birdman, Young Thug, and Rich Homie Quan’s Rich Gang side project could’ve been more than the flash-in-the-pan moment that we know it as. In 2014, the trio released Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1 the first of what many thought would be many projects from them. The release carries highlights for rappers like “Givenchy,” “I Know It,” “730,” and “Tell Em (Lies).” After its release, the project was praised by fans and critics, and placed Thug and Quan in position to be the best rappers of hip-hop’s new wave. Unfortunately, only Young Thug reached those heights as a beef between him and Quan ruined their relationship and put a surprising halt to their undeniable chemistry. As great as Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1 is, the project equally represents what could’ve been and what actually was.

Rick Ross — Rich Forever

You know a mixtape is beloved and highly-regarded when the consensus is that it should’ve been an album. Rick Ross’ 2012 mixtape Rich Forever is one of the many projects from the mixtape era that left listeners with that feeling. This is no surprise though, as Rich Forever arrived in the midst of impressive project run from Ross that continued uninterrupted into 2014’s Mastermind. Rich Forever excelled as an epic and exhilerating experience provided by bangers like “King Of Diamonds” and the Drake and French Montana-assisted “Stay Schemin.” The luxurious and pristine Maybach Music touch also lives through the mixtape’s title track and “Keys To The Crib” with Styles P.

Tyga — Well Done III

Back during his days as a Young Money standout rapper, Tyga kept hip-hop fed with a consistent release of fun, strip-club friendly bangers, but the projects from his early days shouldn’t be slept on. His 2012 mixtape Well Done III, is a great example, putting together a strong combination of original tracks and freestyles over top hip-hop tracks. “Do My Dance” with 2 Chainz and “Switch Lanes” with The Game are great examples of the latter while the former can be found on “Desinger” (a remix of Kanye West’s “Mercy”). Well Done III, Tyga’s 2013 album Hotel California, and 2014’s Well Done IV make up Tyga’s best era as a rapper.

Young Thug — Slime Season 2

Young Thug is the lone artist on this list with two separate entries, and it’s only right as the Atlanta rapper helped to push a new wave of rap to the massses with a workhorse approach that was similar to his idol Lil Wayne. Though Thug crept into the mainstream spotlight in the mid-2010s, his official debut album did not arrive until 2019. So until then, Young Thug was a mixtape artist — and he was a good one too. Jam-packed 22-song release Slime Season 2, released in 2015, stands at the pinnacle of Thug’s catalog. There are career highlights like “Thief In The Night” and “Pull Up On Kid” as well as other excellent inputs like “Don’t Know,” “No No No,” and “Big Racks.”