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Three album/mixapes, three reviews.

Skillz – Infamous Quotes

“Infamous Quotes”

is one of those rare projects that you’ll hear this year based off the

names attached to it alone. Powered by Skillz and DJ Jazzy Jeff, the

mixtape blends famous and well-known quotes from TV, movies, and the

like almost seamlessly alongside new freestyles, skits, and original

material from Mr. Year-End Rap-Up himself. From the interesting beat

selection that ranges from Mario’s “Break-Up” to Marsha Ambrosius’

“Murdah”, to the classic, punchline-heavy flow that Skillz uses to glide

over each track smoothly, all of it comes together to provide a mixtape

that’s meant to be played from start to finish, with no skips. Topped

off by DJ Jazzy Jeff and his unparalleled skills (no pun intended)

resonating throughout the mixtape, this is one of the more enjoyable and

thoroughly well-executed mixtapes that have come out recently.

9th Wonder – 9th’s Opus

A completely different project in its own right, 9th Wonder’s “9th’s Opus”

has all of his artists together on one project, from recognizable

voices such as Skyzoo and 9th’s rap alter-ego, 9thmatic, to fresh

newcomers like Thee Tom Hardy and others. Although there’s a diverse mix

of artists, all of the music has that Hip-Hop feel to it that instantly

gives it appeal to more than just one type of music fan. Each track has

an original vibe thanks to the creativity of the stable of artists he

has collected, and the lyricism is essentially unrelenting. In short,

all of this comes together to make this album a teasing showcase for

each artist. If nothing else, it shows what each one of them is capable

of doing in high-quality doses, which make this well-worth the price of

purchase online or in stores.

The Outlawz – Killuminati 2K10

It’s good to see that the Outlawz also have recently released a new mixtape. Hosted by DJ Smallz, “Killuminati 2K10”

is more of a traditional mixtape that focuses on making street music

that does everything from assault your speakers to give you a California

vibe that’s reminiscent of times when 2Pac was alive. Although it

starts off slow because of the style of the first song (“From The

Bottom”), it kicks into full-force by the time “Dream Big” comes on and

does a great job keeping up that same quality of music for the rest of

the mixtape, excluding minor hiccups that are more based on personal

preference than actual flaws. With guest spots from Freeway, Young Buck,

Yung LA, GLC, and more, this Southern Smoke mixtape is an overall solid

project that should get some playing time with longtime Outlawz fans

and newcomers alike.