Slim Thug recently said via Instagram that the secret to staying rich is avoiding “gay” designer clothes. Of course, this kind of narrative grows more dated and worrisome every year, although he said he didn’t intend the term to target the LGBTQIA+ community. Still, his point took aim at more expensive and flamboyant clothing, which Slim Thug believes makes people wear the same expensive thing. Moreover, the Houston rapper said that he decides to spend his money on expensive jewelry instead, so he still wears a hefty price tag. While it’s not the most controversial take in the world, one can’t help but think that he could’ve said it differently.
“Let me show you guys why I still got money and a lot of rappers went broke,” he began. Then, BIGslim showed off a $5.99 T-shirt he recently purchased. “The $5.99 shirt. Let me see how much the shorts is. The shorts, $12.99. Less than $20. I be in the club with this s**t on and you don’t know ’cause I got on a million dollars worth of jewelry.”
“But y’all be buying that designer,” he continued. “Y’all be looking gay ’cause all the designers are gay and I’m the only one standing out here. There be 10 of y’all standing around with the same Christian Dior shirt, 10 of y’all with the same Gucci shirt, and I be standing out with the plain T that cost me $5. Same as a happy meal or less. That’s how you stay rich longer. I just wanted to give y’all that game today.” Later, he took to the comments to clarify his use of the word.
“For the gay ppl who are wondering what I mean when I say look gay I mean when a hood dude wearing a Gucci rainbow shirt and a man purse no offense to y’all tho,” he wrote with a few rainbow emojis. Regardless of whether you think it’s in poor taste or not, at least he didn’t double down. For more updates and the latest news from Slim Thug and your favorite artists, stick around on HNHH.
Though we’ve seen a flurry of artists prosper out of New York City, Jay Critch remains one of the most underrated artists to emerge in recent years. Since he signed to Rich The Kid’s Rich Forever label, Jay Critch delivered a flurry of music that have captivated rap fans. He hasn’t necessarily played up to any antics to boost his streams or leaped into making TikTok-friendly singles. Critch stands as one of the most consistent MCs among the new generation of New York artists who deserves every bit of shine he receives.
The rapper made his formal debut in 2018 with the release of Hood Favorite. The project showcased his potential, especially as he collided with established MCs. He traded bars with Fabolous and French Montana on “Try It.” Offset delivered a stand-out verse on “Quicker.” Since then, he’s blessed fans with projects like Signed With Love and Critch Tape, along with compilation projects from the TME team.
Jay Critch Drops “Juug Season”
In the past few months, he’s drummed up anticipation for his next body of work. Following the release of singles like “Where’s Dexter” along with Rich The Kid and Famous Dex and “Oh What A Feeling,” he finally came through with Juug Season in its entirety. From the moment you press play on “That Was Random,” Critch comes out swinging with a newfound sense of clarity. Critch sound more focused across the project while his flow feels more refined. It’s another solid outing from Jay Critch that further cements him as a leading voice on the East Coast.
Critch enslists a number of collaborators to bring the project to life. On the production side, he links up with Luca Beats, Bngrz, 17ondatrack, LaRon, and more. The features aren’t extensive, either, but each artist who appears on the tracklist further compliment Critch. He teams up with the incarcerated legend Max B on “Still Wavy,” Quality Control’s Baby Money appears on “Raincoats,” and frequent collaborator and close friend Rich The Kid comes through on “Missiles.” Check the project in its entirety above and let us know your favorite track in the comments.
Earlier this month, Big Sean rewarded his longtime supporters by making his Detroit mixtape available on all streaming services. The 2012 release has long been touted by fan as the best project in Big Sean’s discography. It housed timeless collaborations with artists such as J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa, Wale, Jhené Aiko, Royce da 5’9”, and more. Yet until its 10-year anniversary on September 5, the fan-favorite mixtape was widely inaccessible for listeners who predominantly consume their music from DSPs like Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal. Streaming blew up in the years following the release of Detroit, but — like so many other classic mixtapes that were released for free during the late 2000s and early 2010s, from Nicki Minaj’s seminal Beam Me Up Scotty to A$AP Rocky’s breakout mixtape Live.Love.A$AP — it took an incredibly long time for Sean’s mixtape opus to hit DSPs.
Over the last handful of years, artists have made meaningful strides in bringing their mixtape catalogs over to streaming platforms. Although many of fans’ favorite tapes have been slightly reworked due to sample clearance issues, at least acclaimed projects like Mac Miller’s Faces, Drake’s So Far Gone, Lil Wayne’s Sorry For The Wait, Wiz Khalifa’s Kush & Orange Juice, Meek Mill’s Dream Chasers 2, and Chance The Rapper’s Acid Rap are available right now on all DSPs.
However, there are far too many classic mixtapes that have seemingly been lost to the Blog Era. Fans are left waiting for every milestone anniversary in hopes that one of the free mixtapes that they downloaded over a decade ago will finally reappear on streaming services. To illustrate just how many gems are still unavailable to stream on most platforms, here are 10 classic mixtapes that need to hit DSPs as soon as possible.
Young Thug (L) and Rich Homie Quan perform onstage during the BET Hip Hop Awards 2014 at Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center on September 20, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brad Barket/BET/Getty Images for BET)
When they united for The Tour, Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug became one of the best Atlanta rap duos since OutKast. Although their team-up was unfortunately short-lived, their joint mixtape remains a certified classic eight years after its release. Surprisingly, The Tour isn’t officially featured on most DSPs under Quan, Thug, or Rich Gang’s profiles, but you can still listen to the full project on Spinrilla.
2. Fabolous — The S.O.U.L. Tape Series (2011-2013)
Fabolous performs onstage at Power 105.1’s Powerhouse 2013, presented by Play GIG-IT, at Barclays Center on November 2, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Clear Channel)
Regardless of which installment is your favorite, it’s safe to say that Fab’s S.O.U.L. Tape run is one of the most memorable mixtape series from the early 2010s. Back in 2020, the Brooklyn native did fans a solid by uploading the original S.O.U.L. Tape to SoundCloud, but over two years later, the classic project and its two sequels have yet to make it onto any of the big three DSPs.
Drake speaks at the Spring Awakening and Degrassi panel discussion with Rosie O’Donnell at the Eugene O’Neill Theater on April 30, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
So Far Gone often gets the credit for laying the foundation of Drake’s sound and introducing him to the masses, but it would be criminal to overlook the influential project’s predecessor, Comeback Season. From the Lil Wayne-assisted “Man of the Year” to the Trey Songz-assisted “Replacement Girl,” Drake’s 2007 mixtape houses some serious throwbacks. It’s a shame that it’s so hard to come across online. Considering that Comeback Season just turned 15 years old earlier this month, it’s unlikely that fans will see a DSP release of this early Drake tape anytime soon, but for now, they can at least still listen to it on DatPiff.
Travis Scott performs at the GQ Fashion Week Party At The Wythe Hotel on September 9, 2014 in Brooklyn, New York.. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for GQ)
As fans eagerly await Travis Scott’s highly anticipated fourth studio album Utopia, there’s a general consensus that the Houston-bred artist already has quite the impressive discography. But, longtime fans of La Flame know that his hot streak began prior to the release of his debut studio album, Rodeo, in 2015. In 2014, Travis Scott unleashed Days Before Rodeo, his second official mixtape and the project that would significantly alter the trajectory of his career from that point forward. Laced with iconic tracks such as the Big Sean-assisted “Don’t Play,” the Rich Homie Quan- and Young Thug-featured “Mamacita,” and the classic Metro Boomin-produced “Skyfall,” Days Before Rodeo kept the Blog Era trend of album-quality mixtapes alive. To this day, the project remains one of Travis’ best and most distinct works. With its 10-year anniversary approaching in 2024, Days Before Rodeo is overdue for an official commercial re-release. For now, you can still stream it on SoundCloud.
Wiz Khalifa performs at The Masquerade on November 6, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Wiz Khalifa is mixtape royalty. The Taylor Gang boss has far too many free releases to count. Despite the expansive nature of his mixtape catalog, it actually boasts a considerable number of classic and iconic projects, from 2009’s Flight School and 2010’s Kush & Orange Juice to 2011’s Cabin Fever and 2012’s Taylor Allderdice. In recent years, Wiz Khalifa has been one of the few Hip-Hop artists that have been consistently adding nearly all of his past mixtapes to streaming services, but still, there are a few that remain unavailable on DSPs, chiefly his 2008 tape Star Power. Fortunately, you can listen to the full project on DatPiff.
50 Cent attends the fight between Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez on June 7, 2014 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Cotto won by a TKO in the ninth round. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
50 Cent may be the most powerful Hip-Hop mogul in the television and film industry, but if his Emmy-winning performance during the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show earlier this year proved anything, it’s that fan appreciation for his music career has not dwindled in the slightest. That’s why his last official release, 2015’s The Kanan Tape, should be readily available on streaming services. With his infamously unreleased Street King Immortal album officially shelved last year, that’s even more reason for 50’s popular seven-track mixtape to make its way to DSPs.
J. Cole visits Fuse’s “Hip Hop Shop” on July 15, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)
Whereas many of his contemporaries have at least made the effort to make the most important mixtape of their early careers available on streaming services, J. Cole has not done so whatsoever. To this day, none of the Dreamville founder’s three breakout mixtapes can be streamed on any of the major DSPs. While it would be amazing for 2010’s Friday Night Lights — which can be streamed in full at DatPiff — to become available everywhere, we’ll honestly take 2007’s The Come Up or 2009’s The Warm Up, as well.
Childish Gambino performs onstage at the 2014 mtvU Woodie Awards and Festival on March 13, 2014 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for MTV)
A year after the release of his Grammy-nominated sophomore studio album Because The Internet, Childish Gambino delivered his seventh and, as of now, final free mixtape, 2014’s STN MTN. A day after it dropped, Gambino doubled back with an equally incredible — and commercially released — EP titled Kauai. Yet nearly eight full years later, only the latter remains available on streaming services. Since the Hip-Hop community has had so much love for Tyler, The Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost and Dreamville’s D-Day mixtape, it’s only right that Donald Glover’s Gangsta Grillz mixtape makes its way to DSPS too. Until that day comes, you can still listen to STN MTN on DatPiff.
Rick Ross performs at Power 106FM Presents CaliChristmas at Gibson Amphitheatre on December 14, 2012 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/WireImage/Getty Images)
At the turn of the 2010s, there were select mixtapes that were able to break the internet before “breaking the internet” even became a saying. Mixtape downloads were always a surefire way of telling whether a project was worth checking out, and Rick Ross’ 2012 epic, Rich Forever, remains one of the most downloaded mixtapes from the Blog Era. On HNHH alone, the tape was downloaded over 580,000 times, and on DatPiff — where you can still listen to it — Rich Forever was downloaded over 2.2 million times. Nonetheless, several months after its 10-year anniversary, Rick Ross’ blockbuster mixtape is still unavailable on nearly all streaming platforms, but our fingers are still crossed that this classic makes its way to DSPs very soon.
R&B crooner Frank Ocean’s debut Los Angeles show at the El Rey Theatre on Nov. 15, 2011 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
For an artist whose discography is already extremely limited, it’s wild to think that two of Frank’s only four official projects aren’t available on all streaming platforms. While contractual obligations are likely what is keeping Endless an exclusive to Apple Music, it’s much harder to stomach that Nostalgia, Ultra isn’t available on any of the major DSPs, especially since its breakout singles “Novacaine” and “Swim Good” weren’t repurposed for any official full-length project. This classic alternative R&B mixtape is one of the more challenging projects to find in full — with “American Wedding” included and without the cut-off version of “Nature Feels” — on the internet. Hopefully, Frank Ocean blesses his fans by bringing Nostalgia, Ultra to streaming services one day.
These are just 10 beloved mixtapes that still haven’t found a permanent home on contemporary streaming platforms, so let us know in the comments which classic mixtapes you want to get uploaded to DSPS in the near future.
