Description: late pass.

Description: Mixtape Contest XIII: Mixtape Potpourri II...

Upon entering the forbidden temple, I realized I only had lint in my pockets.

That's all I wanted to come up with...

Description: 1990 to 97... suckas.

i'm not one to sit around sighing about how 'hip hop isn't what it used to be" but man, these years produced some GEMS; records that could never get made today (sampling laws) and groundbreaking stuff that we really won't see get made in the future.

see also two of my other mixes for more great records during this time period: 'Return of the Yellow Walkman (1992-93)' and 'High School Beatdown (1993-97).'

too many good records for just 3 mixtapes.

Description: ...and in this vision of fire, the bwoy from the eastern hills grows into a sound clash jammerator, displacing haters and samfi men. looking to the sky and singing songs of corn flakes and raisin bran. wa’ppun mi key, say dem all hours.

all the while dem depon di bashment. check it deep.

Description: This is my Fake-out Mix Contest 8 mix. It's my early AM, still dark out driving in the car or riding the bus mix. For whatever reason, I think music sounds the best when it's dark out -- maybe there's less visual clutter and more room for the music to take control and shape the empty space around me. Or something...

Description: I've taken some fresh songs that I like (from Gentle Giant, Hubert Laws, etc) and paired them up with a hip hop track where the producer has utilized some portion of that particular song. Someone else did a similar mix earlier in the year, but I can't remember who. I just wanted to have a little fun and make a mix that lasts around an hour. I really like all of these songs.

Description: For the most part with this mix I'm continuing to represent the underrepresented genre of hip hop on this site (aside, of course, from the periodic RJD2, DJ Shadow, and Deltron tracks that pop up-- and others, of course!!!).

As a refresh...
01. Your Favorite Album Opener
02. A Song About Animals
03. A Song That Makes You Want To Commit A Felony
04. A Song About Sex
05. A Song Michael Bolton Should Cover
06. The Worst Song In The World
07. Wildcard: Your Guilty Pleasure
08. "If Snoop Dogg's 'Doggystyle' Came Out In 1944"
09. A Song 10. A Remix Better Than The Original
11. A Song From The Last Record You Purchased
12. A Song That References Video Games
13. A Song With A Swear Word In The Title
14. The Song That Got You Through High School
15. Your Favorite Album Closer

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy.

Description: This is a mix for my friend Qualca.
"Transporting ions across a living membrane"...

Many moons ago, my family and I migrated from the great sands east of the Nairau River. We traveled in caravans, setting up camp during the heat of the day and making our trek in the cool of night. Many visitors would enter our camps and help us along our quest-- until the Great Battle forced us to alter our path and head toward this land...

Description: When I stay up too late participating in musical activities, I get hungry. And not just regular hungry... I mean hongry. This is what happened the last time I made a mix while hongry.

...and I discovered that I can listen to it full, also.

Thank you to all.

Description: The first thing I thought of when I read this contest description was "1, 2, 3, 4..." like I was lining up all the songs in the right order, and then all of a sudden, "...I declare a thumb war" attached itself to the end. So that's my title!

I just wanted to have a little fun with it and include some cool songs.
I also did another 'degrees of separation' type mix before this contest, so feel free to check it out as well: "We're All In The Same Gang"

Good luck to all, and to all a good night!

Description: I'm not into Halloween, but since this occurred a couple years ago during this time, I thought I'd pass the story along. In 2004 Halloween fell on a weekend...

(it begins with the ending and ends with the beginning.)

Description: A soundtrack for late-night contemplation. No lyrics (the only ones are by-products from the samples used). There's not a lot of "slick" production here. You WILL find intricate, full, precise, sloppy, odd, ______ music that FEELS right. I like music that is best listened to at night; somewhat "moody" and/or contemplative and/or cerebral. I'm a fan of putting this music on and driving around with no particular destination and being confident in where you're headed and where you're at. Especially in a city like _____________ (your city here).

It's great. At times, though, I find myself getting lost, or "swept away", in the music, so it's not always good to drive.

An experience that's consistently pleasing to both the ear and the cerebral cortex.

Description: Athletes always need to be in the spotlight it seems-- at least certain athletes. I honestly can't believe how some of these songs got made in the first place, or who said "yes, this is tight... we need to release this!"

Being an athlete myself, I wanted to make a quick little mix like this. If you want to see a former NBA player who is a legit musician, then check out WAYMAN TISDALE. If not, you're in the right place.

Also check out the ol skool WWF album... classic.

Description: NOTE: Last week I lost a significant chunk of my story, which took all the wind out of my sails. In order to at least get my mix up, you'll notice that halfway through the mix/story, my descriptions change. I no longer have the actual story. Instead, I've opted to simply explain where the story WOULD be if I still had it. Hopefully you'll understand and still see where I was going with this.

Earlier Note: You will get the most out of this mix if you listen to it at night and mentally enter into this world. First look at the title of each song, and then the overall sequence of songs. The feel of each song contributes to each scene. Picture the chapters in your head. Our main character is Bram Driggers. The night is blue.

It has been many years since the first robot uprising. For decades, humans and robots had lived side-by-side, working together in unison. Government agencies like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) continued to fund next-generation robotics research. With financial backing from the world's largest corporations, these advanced Uber-Bots became staples in our society, even holding leadership positions in the corporate and government realms.

Time progressed and both human and robot technology became more advanced. The robots (now forming the loose foundations of what is today known as the Disparate Robata Chrystalline Emirates) grew intolerant of the human race's inherent inefficiency. As humans continued to make detrimental decisions that compromised the stability of their environment, the robots’ logical programming systems detected faulty problem-solving techniques and mobilized to override the human race. After forcefully gaining control of the federal government, the robot violence subsided. A so-called peace treaty was issued by the robot council, and a pact between elite robot and human leaders was made. But the damage to the human way of life was done. Many had been forced to leave their homes. Others were silently kidnapped in the night, taken to robot labs and transformed into mutant human-robot hybrids. Whole sections of cities, deemed unnecessary and useless by the DRCE, were abandoned by humans and robots alike.

Although quality of life for most humans had decreased significantly, overall violence and frequency of robot attacks had also decreased, leaving many content with this marginal existence. Others, however, were not content. An underground movement slowly began to take shape; a resistance made up of humans and sympathetic robo-human hybrids. They began using the desolate city sections to mobilize and recruit new members. Hidden safe houses and bunkers were constructed across the land. Although very limited and reserved for the most dire circumstances, or the right price, black market Uber-Bot weapon technology became available via the underground network of Revolution supporters.

Description: My idea for this hip hop mix was to start with 2Pac, end with Biggie, have J Dilla in the middle (and as many Dilla produced tracks as I could-- somewhat of a tribute) and to fill the in-between with artists/tracks that all link together and connect to form like one big gold chain. Or chain link fence. It's not rocket science. Nor an original idea. It could have taken many, many different directions. But the point is that one track/artist relates to the next track/artist, which relates to the next.... etc. Like that ol' degrees of separation type mix.

In some cases the next song in the mix is one that the previous artist DIRECTLY worked on in some fashion; or vice versa. In other cases, I didn't present it so literally. Instead, I linked to the artist, but maybe included an older or newer song from that artist. Get it? It's pretty basic. And fun to listen to.

And when you listen to it on repeat, it still links together... for endless fun.

Description: Man, I wish the summer was just a LITTLE BIT longer. But alas, it's time to strap on the corduroy backpack (what?) and hold tight the Gummy Bear Lunch Box (what?!?!?). Get back in class. I don't care if you're in 5th grade, 8th grade, or 11th grade. Or 20th grade. Get back in class.

I tried to get to bed early the night before my big first day back. I flipped on the Discovery Channel in hopes of dozing off to the sounds of the jungle. As I began to drift away into a deep sleep, I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a special on the Mountain Goats of Peru...

...this is my day...

Description: This mix begins with an emotional reading from an artist's mother about the passing of HER mother... and takes us to the final song which ends with a speech, offering a glimpse of hope and positivity on the horizon. Filled with emotional songs in between.

Don't hesitate to download the mix (see the link) so you're able to rate it, or let me know if the link is broken.

Description: In 1998, I took a trip (along with my college basketball team) to France, Italy and Monaco for 11 days to play local club teams and to sight see. Being a fan of hip hop, but having only minimal exposure to what was coming out of France (aside from MC Solaar's PROSE COMBAT), I made it a priority to seek out music stores in my downtime and bring back a few new (to me, at least) selections-- straight from the source.

Fortunately all of the music stores I visited (in Paris and in Vichy) allowed for listening before purchasing, so I got to hear a lot of stuff before making my decisions. I also enlisted the help of some local people-- the guy who drove us to the hole-in-the-wall gym in his TINY car; the guy behind the counter in the Paris airport music store, etc.

These days you can get pratically anything online, so sweating over what to buy and what to leave behind isn't that big of a deal. At THAT time, however, I had only used the internet for about a year (first seeing it in action in '97... and then using it first hand my freshman year in college in 97-98), so I was almost pulling my hair out trying to decide what to get-- I was thinking, "I may never see this album again." Also, my funds were somewhat limited, so I had to make my decisions wisely.

This mix consists of two songs off each of the albums I bought during that trip (minus MC Solaar, who I decided to keep off this one). Granted, there are other French artists that deserve a listen as well, but these songs, in addition to being fresh, take me back to that 1998 trip.

Description: Don't be fooled by the word 'funk' in the title! This is not a funk music mixtape. It's something better. Or a lot worse! It's something to pass the time and supplement gameboy tetris when nature calls. A fun time can be had by all. Just use your imagination.

Sure, these songs can be enjoyed individually by a variety of different people... and they're A-okay. BUTT, and this is a big butt, when heard in this context, they take on new meaning and can be much funnier. ESPECIALLY the choruses and/or hooks!

Still don't get it? Too bad for you. Catch it in round two. Maybe the album cover can give you a clue! Think about it the next time you make a trip to "the office."

Description: I attended high school from 1993-1997. There were some classic hip hop albums that came out during that time. This mix, however, is NOT a listing of classic songs off those albums. Some songs here are considered classic by some people, yes, but that doesn't matter. I liked this stuff then, and I still like it now.

All of the songs on the mixtape, in addition to being cool songs, bring back cool memories/emotions for me. The middle part of the mix tapes a little detour down love/relationship lane-- whether the subject is music or girls. For some reason, whenever applicable, I've always ended my tapes or cd's with the Souls of Mischief cut that I do here.

Description: During the 1992-93 school year I was in the 8th grade. I carried my yellow walkman to school with me. I listened to hip hop. This mix takes it back to what I was listening to in the hallways, the cafeteria, the library, etc.