The Internet and Mixtapes

For those of you who are not in the know, a mixtape is a compilation of songs, tracks, drops, skits, and rap freestyles recorded onto a compact audio cassette or compact audio disc. Mixtapes originated in the 70’s by popular Disc Jockeys (DJ’s) based in New York City. Pioneering DJ’s such as Kool Herc, Hollywood, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash would perform at clubs, parties and parks throughout the city and at the same time they would record these events onto audio cassettes. These popular audio cassettes were initially called “party tapes" then as time went on they later became known as “mixtapes".

As hip-hop music progressed mixtapes became a sub culture of the whole hip-hop movement. During the 80’s and 90’s mixtapes gained popularity throughout major cities and small towns within the United States and eventually throughout the world.


Mixtapes have grown more popular over the years mainly due to the internet. I can recall only a couple of years ago there were only about ten or so major mixtape websites on the net, now there are literally several hundred. Some have popped up over night & have disappeared just as quickly. If you take the opportunity to google the word mixtapes you'll see exactly what I mean.

There was a time when you could log onto a mixtape website and only purchase the "sticker or cover" of a mixtape in order to receive the actual physical mixtape(s). Now there are websites that allow you to download entire mixtapes for a membership fee. This method is cheaper and a quicker way of getting access to the hot music you want to hear, mainly because you won't have to pay for shipping fees and wait for the mixtapes to be delivered. But the original method of obtaining mixtapes via online and having them shipped to your door or P.O. Box may still be the most popular.

I'm not too sure how long this online mixtape game will last, but for now enjoy it!

Mixtape resource:

http://www.urbanstreetz.com/music2.html