These next 6 projects are in rarified air in regards to mixtapes. I personally believe any of these next 6 projects can be considered some of the best mixtapes ever not just in 2010.
6. Mac Miller – K.I.D.S
Favorite Songs: Kool Aid Frozen Pizza, Traffic In The Sky, Nikes On My Feet, Senior Skip Day, Good Evening, La La La
R.I.P Mac Miller! Up until this point in my life the only two white rappers I’ve ever listened to were Eminem and Paul Wall. That was until Mac Miller released “K.I.D.S”. Although K.I.D.S was Mac’s 4th mixtape it was my introduction to the Pittsburgh rapper.
I wasn’t the weed advocate that I am now when I was first listening to this mixtape but now I see why it’s in almost every pothead’s personal favorite mixtapes. K.I.D.S laid back vibe and classic hip-hop sound was refreshing even for 2010. Mac Miller also showed he was no slouch lyrically time after time on the project. Classic!
Listen to K.I.D.S here
5. Wale- More About Nothing
Favorite Songs: The Breeze (Cool), The Friends N Strangers, The Break Up Song, The Trip (Downtown)
By 2010 Wale had already dropped 5 mixtapes and his debut album, “Attention Deficit“. Wale had already established himself as the top artist in the DMV and More About Nothing solidified it. Basing the project off of legendary sitcom “Seinfeld” Wale mixed hip-hop culture with sitcom culture.
Tracks like The Break Up Song displayed Wale’s witty wordplay and poetic genius. This project built up momentum for Wale’s sophomore album and MMG debut “Ambition” which dropped the following year.
This Mixtape is also considered by many as a classic. Check out More About Nothing here.
4. Big Sean – Finally Famous 3
Favorite Songs: High Rise, Crazy, Hometown, Supa Dupa Lemonade, My Closet, Too Fake, In The Morning, Memories, Ambiguous
Similar to Wale who’s listed before him, Big Sean was already established as the best artist in his city. The Detroit artist had already released 2 mixtapes prior to the release of Finally Famous 3, however this tape would put him over the top and build a huge buzz for his debut project.
The album featured a mix of big name artist and artist who were on the come up. Sean’s lyrical ability shined on tracks like High Rise, Final Hour and Supa Dupa Lemonade. He mad fun tracks like Crazy, My Closet, In The Morning and Five Bucks and also showed an introspective side on tracks like Memories and Ambiguous.
Big Sean proved he was a polished and complete artist on this mixtape and proved to be the right signing by Kanye. While I wouldn’t count this as Sean’s best body of work I will say that this is easily his best mixtape. Check out the classic “Finally Famous 3” here.
3. Kendrick Lamar – O.verly D.edicated
Favorite Songs: The Heart Pt.2, Growing Apart (To Grow Closer), P&P 1.5, Ignorance Is Bliss, R.O.T.C (Interlude), Average Joe, H.O.C, Cut You Off (To Grow Closer), She Needs Me (Remix)
Kendrick Lamar will go down as one of the greatest rappers ever, and rightfully so. Since 2006 the Compton rapper has been releasing projects, however his standout mixtape “Overly Dedicated” was released in 2k10.
With the release of Overly Dedicated Kendrick asserted himself as the leader of the new west coast and built hype for his debut album “Section .80”. Kendrick’s wordplay and story telling was top tier on this project, although there are some tracks on the project which we don’t really rock with it’s still an all time great mixtape and easily one of the best of 2010.
Check out Overly Dedicated here.
2. J. Cole – Friday Night Lights
Favorite Songs: Too Deep For The Intro, Before Im Gone, Back To The Topic (Freestyle), You Got It, Villematic, Enchanted, Blow Up, Higher, In The Morning, 2 Face, The Autograph, Best Friend, Cost Me A Lot, Premeditated Murder, Home For The Holidays, Love Me Not, See World, Farewell, Looking For Trouble
J. Cole has grown into one of the greatest rappers of this generation and quite frankly one of the best ever. Before he was going platinum with no features, Cole was grinding to get into the spotlight.
In 2010, Cole released his third mixtape, “Friday Night Lights” featuring Omen, Drake, Kanye West, Pusha T, Big Sean & CyHi The Prince. Aside from 7 of the tracks the project is produced by Cole. On Friday Night Lights, J. Cole solidified his place as one of the top upcoming rappers.
Already having standout tracks like “Lights Please” on his previous effort “The Warm Up”, Cole had built a solid fanbase and the pressure was on him to deliver again.
Cole delivered strong performance after strong performance on FNL, proving his pen game was elite and he was forced to be reckoned with.
As you can see by our favorite songs that are listed above, this tape has literally no skips, we also believe this is still Cole’s best work yet.
1. Wiz Khalifa – Kush & Orange Juice
Favorite Tracks: Waken Baken, Mezmorized, We’re Done, The Statement, Spotlight, The Kid Frankie, Up, Never Been, In The Cut, Visions, Still Blazin, Glass House, Pedal to the Metal, Good Dank, Outro, Supply
There are few mixtapes that are continuously mentioned in the “best mixtape ever” conversation, one of those tapes is Wiz Khalifa’s cult classic “Kush & Orange Juice”. Although Wiz already had established a devoted grassroots fanbase, Kush & OJ turned him into a rap superstar.
Pittsburgh had to be super lit in 2010, not only did Mac Miller kill the mixtape circuit with the release of his “K.I.D.S” project, fellow Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa absolutely stole the show with the release of Kush & OJ.
Wiz appropriately named the project “Kush & Orange Juice” because he felt the album was perfect for a “wake & bake” and the mixtape didn’t disappoint. Kush & OJ is 20 songs deep (really 16 when you exclude skits) and each track provides that euphoric feel that made this tape an instant classic.
Wiz was able to bring people of all backgrounds together with the common theme of weed, woman and partying.
Although Wiz has grown into a megastar and has dropped countless fire projects since, we still believe Kush & OJ is Wiz’s best work ever.
Check out Kush & Oj here
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