Each music listener has several favorite hits that you can listen to an infinite number of times. They diligently arrange them in order in their playlists and embark on a rhythmic journey along the musical waves. Professional musicians went to meet their listeners and came up with a phenomenon like mixtape. What is it and who creates them?
Story
A mixtape is a type of sound recording that involves combining several musical compositions or skeets (short prose stories) in one tape. In fact, this is a collection of songs, but having a specific purpose and principle of mixing tracks or their fragments and presented as a single composition.
The history of mixtape dates back to the 60-80s of the last century, when 8-track tapes were created using the artisanal method. True, then the term itself did not exist. The pioneers of this method of sound recording are truckers who mixed their favorite music on audio cassettes. Later they began to appear in flea markets. The most popular mixtapes of that time can be called Super 73, Top Pop 1977, Country Chart, etc.
However, there is another point of view regarding the history of the mixtape phenomenon that such a concept could have arisen in the professional milieu of American black rappers. That is why today mixing audio recordings is common in hip-hop culture.
In rap
A mixtape in rap is most often a mix of tracks from different artists. Usually they are just the musical favorites of the creator of the mix. There is another reason when compositions can be united by a common theme. In this case, the tracks belong to one artist or different performers read on the bits of one specific beatmaker.
Mixtape and album
Mixtapes are created quickly and informally. There is no strict boss, producer, who will evaluate and criticize the music selection, customize it for radio release and censorship. A mixtape is an absolute freedom of choice of an artist, musical accompaniment, instruments. Here you can take a bard singer, dilute with female lyrical vocals and put all this on the rhythmic music of the famous rap hit.
If everything is so clear and transparent with the concept of mixtape, what is an album? The difference is immediately recognized. The album is a long and painstaking work of a professional musician, which is accompanied by certain advertising and the release of video clips. This is an official music release, all rights reserved, and samples (sound fragments for composing music) were bought. Naturally, all these components are reflected in the quality and accessibility that the author’s music possesses. Albums work primarily on creating a label, promoting the name of the artist.
Kinds
Today mixtapes are divided into two large groups: DJ and rapper. Their names themselves determine the creator. The first, of course, belong to DJs who mix various compositions, turning them into a single musical stream. Rappers in this version act as hosts (hosting), accompanying the recording by reading a certain text or placing emphasis on the transitions of one track to another.
However, there are purely rapper mixtapes. They are created without the participation of a DJ. Musicians combine their tracks or strangers, perform rap, use their own or other people's lyrics. Here the number of options is endless. Therefore, it is very difficult to answer unequivocally what a mixtape in rap is. But the determining factor is that the leading role belongs to the rap artist and his personal preferences.
Amateur mixtapes are also singled out. They are created by ordinary music listeners at home. Such non-studio recordings are made using other people's musical creations. As a rule, they are slightly lower in quality and originality of the mix.
Mixtapes of any kind, whether professional or amateur, are usually built on three principles: a random list of favorite songs, a conceptual mixture of general mood compositions and themes, or they are a kind of personal statement addressed to a specific addressee indicated at the beginning of the tape (intro) .
Famous mixtapers
Among the well-known rapper projects in this vein, one can distinguish the American hip-hop group Diplomats with Memorial Day Mixtape or the Ukrainian rapper Drago with "New Russian rap" or the mixtape "There was no sadness".
Many DJs have also gained popularity on the creation of mixtapes. So, in 2008, the original mix of White Owl Drop That 31 from the American DJ WhiteOwl was released. It was already the 31st sound recording of this type. According to certain principles and categories, such recordings turn into a series of mixtapes and are already semi-official.
Purpose of creation
Understanding what mixtape is in music is easy, just listen to a couple of recordings that are widely available. They come out of the hands of professionals and amateurs in large print runs and, having no official status, are easily distributed among amateurs. However, it is more difficult to answer the question of why mixtapes are created.
Today, many aspiring artists use them as an advertising presentation. They give their musical creations to DJs, they mix them into a single tape and present the creativity in the original frame to the general public. In this case, fragments of compositions are used, that is, intrigue is created, interest in the performer is growing.
Author's music, albums require a lot of money and effort for mastering, mixing, creating clips. While mixtapes are more accessible and practically have no restrictions. If a musician has several songs, in a short time he can mix them and quickly distribute them on the Web.
Amateur mixtapes are created for various reasons: for personal listening, statements about your musical tastes, creative talents or for trying out new equipment, programs, creativity, etc.
Do it yourself
If a person feels creativity in himself, is well versed in music, nothing prevents him from creating his own mixtape. It can be composed by favorite compositions of different artists or their own creations. The small thing is to understand how to make a mixtape so that the audience likes it. The whole process can be fit in five steps:
- Concept. It is best that the future mixtape is not built randomly, but on a certain idea, direction, has a name and cover. If a mixtape includes songs or skeets of your own composition, then you need to select only new material that has not yet been published.
- A selection of bits. When your own bits do not correspond to the idea of how mixtape should sound, you can turn to other people's creations. There are a lot of them on the web. You can take, for example, instrumental versions of your favorite tracks or buy unique material from an enterprising Internet producer.
- A selection of samples. It is necessary to clearly understand, creating a mixtape, that such a phenomenon is quite common in a professional environment, so you can use high-quality and popular samples with copyright texts. But not everyone wants to listen to such an interpretation. And here there are two ways: to create your own musical accompaniment or to use the work of predecessors who were not allowed to the albums. Among these are famous creations of The Beatles, Pink Floyd and SteelyDan.
- Record music. If the author of the mixtape alone for some reason cannot record his project (no equipment or skills), you can turn to a professional DJ. He will select several suitable tracks, and the author will “rap” for them. If the rapper himself is taken for the mix, then you need to be sure of the quality of the equipment, microphone and the choice of the necessary programs. All this works for good sound quality.
- Cover. If the author of the mixtape intends to distribute his creation not only on the Web, but also “on the hands” of his audience, then you should prepare a cover for the future CD. It should be catchy. You can use your own originally processed photo or other image. It is better to avoid unnecessary details. Success in this case is based on three pillars: the original name, the name of the mixtape and the catchy picture.
Is it possible to sell mixtapes?
If there is demand, then why there can be no supply? Indeed, in the creation of mixtape also invested a lot of strength and talent. But since this is an unofficial issue, its sale is carried out “from the tray”, that is, it is distributed among the friends and admirers of the creator. In the DJ environment this is more formal today. Mixtapes come out in large numbers, spinning in clubs and on the radio.