Midseason Award Show

Another semester has come and gone. We've had some good times here at Stack That Cheese. We've heard some great mixtapes and some not so great mixtapes. And then there's the downright re-dic-yu-lus. We are gathered here tonight to recognize those mixtapes that graced our ears and this blog the past few months. So put your headphones in, sit back and enjoy the ride.

The Best:

Vic Mensa - Innanetape

This one was not a hard award to hand out. Vic Mensa went above and beyond what is to be expected of a mixtape. This could have been released as a legitimate album and it still would have surpassed any possible expectations.

Chicago's already a hotbed for great hip-hop, but thanks to Mensa and frequent collaborator Chance the Rapper, the Windy City became the leader for rap at the moment.

Innanetape's vast range of influences and featured artists made the tape not only one of the best mixtapes of the year, but one of the best releases of 2013 period.

Best Supporting Rapper:

Ab-Soul on Innanetape

I told you that Innanetape had a lot of great featured artists and I wasn't kidding. This included Chance the Rapper, Rockie Fresh and even Thundercat. But Solo's verse and hook on the heart-wrenching "Holy Holy" was above and beyond the best guest verse on the mixtape.

In his verse, Ab-Soul raps about the loss of his girlfriend Alori Joh, who committed suicide back in 2012. With lyrics like "She live through me until I die, this is what love sounds like / I'm her baby boy, she my rib. I'm always by her side," it's hard not to feel for the Black Hippy member.

Big K.R.I.T. was a close second in this category thanks to his verse on Big Sant's "Fire Water II," but nothing can beat Solo's story.

Best Missed Mixtape:

Action Bronson - Blue Chips 2

This category is almost too easy. Bronson quickly become one of my favorite rappers and I was looking forward to Blue Chips 2 for a while. Sadly, though, I wasn't able to review it due to the fact that I was psyched for Kanye's concert in Columbus. I regretted the omission a little at the time, but after Kanye canceled on me (wipes tear from face) I was even more upset about my decision.

Bronson delivers as usual thanks to his badass-meets-teddy-bear flow. But the thing that really put Blue Chips 2 over the top was the production by Party Supplies, who made Blue Chips 2 one of the best produced mixtapes of the year.

Best Female Lead:

Mary Gold - Sex Hormone'd Druggie

Considering she was the only female to crack Stack That Cheese so far this year, Mary Gold is a no-brainer. But that doesn't mean she's any less impressive.


Gold is the newest signee to Curren$y's Jet Life label and boy did she prove her worth. On Druggie, Gold took stoner rap to a whole new, more experimental level. The only problem with Curren$y inking a deal with Gold is that she might soon surpass Spitta himself as the best of Jet Life.

Most Re-dic-yu-lus:

Pyes - Pyes & Pounds

This is probably the hardest category to decide. There's so many horrible mixtapes to choose from. There's Gucci Mane's Diary of a Trap God. Or how about Young Sam's disgrace to stoner rap on Wake & Bake? And of course there's Waka Flocka's latest escapade.

But worse than all of the rest is Pyes. Yes, he has such a re-dic-yu-lus name and that certainly doesn't hurt his credibility, But Pyes' true re-dic-yu-lus-ness comes from his Seussian rhyme scheme, horrible beats and, of course, spelling errors. He opened up Season 2 and boy did he open it up right.

Most Based:

Sigh. This is the saddest part of Season 2 thus far. This category usually has plenty of competion due to the fact that Lil B releases mixtapes constantly. But over the past few months, Based God has been quiet.

I could give this award to Soulja Boy, but he doesn't deserve this. No one deserves this. Until Lil B comes back, this category shall remain empty as a tribute to the Based God in hopes that he descends from Based Heaven and fucks all our bitches. Amen, Lil B. Amen.

-X-Prime, dropping the mic for now
@XavierVeccia