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

Beastcoast

The Good:

CJ Fly - Thee Way Eye See It

I apologize for how much I've been raving about the new East Coast movement as of late. Thanks to recent mixtapes from Flatbush Zombies and MeLo-X, along with the constant prominence of Joey Bada$$ and A$AP Rocky, the reemergence of the East Coast movement has been one of the more intriguing themes of hip-hop to date.

So, it's only fitting that East Coaster CJ Fly's mixtape be covered.

The poster child of beastcoast
himself, Joey Bada$$

CJ Fly is a member of Pro Era, aka Joey Bada$$ & Co. If anyone's to be credited with bringing the beastcoast movement to the mainstream, it's these guys. Their blend of jazz and hip-hop plays like classic hip-hop despite being from a group of teenagers who weren't even coherent when this style ruled the scene.

It's honestly quite inspiring. These guys are proving the uneducated rapper stereotype wrong by being fluent in complex musical styles and history.

On Thee Way Eye See It, CJ Fly makes the case that Pro Era is more than just Joey Bada$$'s crew. And the message is heard loud and clear. (Not to mention, this is one of the coolest album covers I've ever seen.)

"Emcee" is a perfect example of just how mature he is for a youngin'. The beat features a jazz-like keyboard and a nice mixture of bass and hi-hats while his flow sounds almost Fugees-like. And the chorus sounds like a classic Biggie theme, as he raps, "They care about the fame, all I wanted was a name / Dreaming big ever since I was a shorty."

Thee Way Eye See It also brings in some big names to help CJ Fly become more than just a member of Pro Era. Ab-Soul is featured on the song "Sadderdaze," which has such amazing sound production that I almost took off my headphones because I thought the horns blaring were outside my window.

CJ Fly shows his mastery of the English language when he says, "My pros, they killing it, know that and peep the forensics / Probably I'd investigate us and my f-riends sick." And when the beat changes to some funky guitar and Ab-Soul spits out, "Heaven knows that we're living in hell / But I cherish every day that we live and inhale," you're reminded just why he's so coveted for these guest verses.

And of course, you can't have a Pro Era mixtape without Bada$$ himself. That track, entitled "Sup Preme," comes at the tail end of this mixtape, but it's worth the wait. Once again over a jazz-fueled beat, Joey Bada$$ brings a scary good verse that includes the beautifully poetic verse, "Reminisce 'til I receive / Electricity resonance / I know some evil residents under sediments / Root of all evil, dead presidents."

Rap gets a lot of criticism for being nowhere as good as its golden years, especially in the mainstream. But the reemergence of the East Coast movement makes the criticism seem unnecessary and give hope for the future of rap. CJ Fly proves on Thee Way Eye See It that he is part of that future.

The Bad:

Young A.C. - Barchetta 166

And just like that, I'm a little less hopeful for rap. Granted, I actually had to go through Datpiff for this because the HotNewHipHop mixtapes were all pretty good this week, but that doesn't mean I should be less wary of the future.

Young A.C. is a Florida rapper who, according to his Facebook, draws influences from Andre 3000, Lil Wayne and CeeLo. Based on the bad tag that comes with Barchetta 166, I'll leave it to you cheeseheads to decide which one of those three artists he actually took to heart.

Barchetta 166 is classic dirty Southern rap, and I don't mean that as a compliment.

"Don't Even" is a good example of where Young A.C. comes from. Honestly, he sounds like a lot of mainstream rappers, but, once again, that's not a compliment. The beat is centered on bumping basses that show exactly what he's trying to accomplish on this song: the ability to be a mainstay in a person's ride. And his lyrics are, well, let's just say he's lucky "nigga" rhymes with itself.

Bugatti: The coolest bed you'll ever
wake up in.

"No Way" has the biggest feature of the album (Ace Hood) and is a little more interesting than "Don't Even." The bass has partially been replaced by some kicks and claps, and the underlying beat has a bit of a Latin flare played on the keyboard. But A.C.'s struggle with his lyrics is made even more evident when Ace Hood of all people puts together a much better verse. I guess this is why Ace Hood wakes up in a Bugatti and A.C., well, doesn't.

A.C. can be a little fun, though. For whatever reason, I actually kind of like the song "Prove It." Its heavy Auto-Tune usage is a major turn-off, but it's got a bit of a Chingy-like feel to it. It reminds me of when I cared less about lyrics and complete originality (which is clearly not a good thing), but it still hit a soft spot inside me.

A.C. actually isn't bad for his style, but if you're a regular reader of mine, you know I am by no means a fan of this type of hip-hop. If he works on his rhymes, he could be an artist to watch.

The Re-dic-yu-lus:

Waka Flocka - From Roaches to Rolex

Waka!

This is honestly so exciting. I love Waka in the worst ways. He's right underneath Lil B in my list of favorite bad rappers. When I first heard he was working with Amanda Bynes, I just about reached nirvana. (Too bad she ended up in a mental hospital, because that would've been amazing.)

Even though the Amanda Bynes thing didn't work out as well as just about everyone hoped it would, Waka's new project is just as exciting as one could hope. There's love (if by "love" you mean "bitches"), action (if by "action" you mean "shit talking") and drama (if by "drama" you mean...wait, there's actually drama.)

Hey bitch. I love it when your
pussy tight.

First, the love. That comes on "Heavyweight," which has a hook of "All my bitches bad / All my hoes straight." What a romantic! The beat is basically the same as any other Waka beat. You know how it goes. And overdose of bass. Random screaming in the background. Random synths just to add texture. And the lyrics are mostly just Waka rhyming one-syllable words with each other when he wants, and babbling whenever he's not rhyming.

But the love, oh, the love is real. When he raps "Fuck that pussy right / Love it when that pussy tight," I just get goosebumps, butterflies and the sudden urge to get a pint of ice cream and watch The Notebook.

The action comes in "Running Them Lips," which is really just Waka repeating "bitches running their lips" for most of the song. I guess if you're into hearing only four words for most of a song, this would be a pretty exciting find. But that just doesn't interest me much.

Why must good things come to an end?

And the drama, that actually comes from by far the most important track on the mixtape, "Ice Cream Cone," which is a diss track directed towards Gucci Mane. For those who don't know, the Waka-Gucci beef has been one of the biggest feuds in recent years. Gucci and Waka used to be frequent collaborators, but have fallen out since then and their beef is often in the public eye (usually on Twitter).

"Ice Cream Cone" is Waka's first Gucci diss track, despite the latter taking plenty of shots at the former over the years. Waka makes up for lost time, saying, "When I met Gucci, I thought I met a real nigga / Until he crossed the line, then he became a fuck nigga" and "Used to be my nigga, now you're jealous. Where the love at? / No loyalty, you put money over all that," plus so much more.

It's definitely entertaining to see these two subpar rappers take shots at each other, but it's worth noting that this feud is one of the more interesting in recent memory, and for that, we thank you.

I don't really have to sum up Waka's horribleness. So, I won't. Just know that's he's really bad, but he's also really entertaining.

-X-Prime, dropping the mic for now

@XavierVeccia