15 Best Hip-Hop Mixtapes of All Time

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The 50th anniversary of hip-hop may have technically passed (August 11th, 2023), but we’re commemorating the landmark all month long. We’ve been celebrating five decades of culture with artist interviews, insightful essays, more, and today, our staff celebrates the rap mixtape. You can also check out our list of the 50 Best Hip-Hop Songs of All Time and our ranking of the 50 Best Hip-Hop Albums of All Time.

Keep an eye out for all our Hip-Hop 50 content throughout the month, and check out our exclusive merch featuring our Hip-Hop 50 design at the Consequence Shop. A portion of proceeds from sales benefits Chance the Rapper’s SocialWorks.

So much of hip-hop history was recorded on humble mixtapes, from early concerts captured on cassettes to the digital projects that went viral. Free from commercial expectations, artists use these tapes to stretch their limits and refined their skills, earning fans the hard way.

Mixtapes are also a story of fans — and not casual ones. The golden age began with the Internet, as diehard rap-heads waded through dubious-looking files and mixtape warehouses like DatPiff in search of buried gems. The tastemakers of the 2000s and 2010s turned young kids into legends overnight, leaving MCs to battle for their attention in a wild west of uncleared samples and shady rights situations. The artists who found ways to thrive in that environment are now household names.

Here in the 2020s, as hip-hop celebrates its 50th anniversary, the mixtape’s future is uncertain — which makes it all the more urgent to honor its past. Check out our picks for the 15 best mixtapes in hip-hop history below.

— Wren Graves
Features Editor

15. Kendrick Lamar – Overly Dedicated

Young Kendrick took a while to find himself, from the gangster exercises of the early mixtapes through the odd Lil Wayne homage C4, which he released as K-dot. But Lamar reinvented himself on his thoughtful Kendrick Lamar EP (2009) before coming into his own on 2010’s Overly Dedicated. Meet Kendrick of the middle path, as comfortable in the library stacks as the South LA streets, who on “Ignorance Is Bliss” rapped, “The critics are calling me conscious/ But truthfully, every shooter be calling me Compton.” He took it further on the G-funk banger “Average Joe,”  spitting, “Who is K. Dot? A young n**** from Compton/ On the curb writing raps next to a gunshot.” Overly Dedicated has some of Lamar’s liveliest flows and many ideas he would flesh out later, introducing us to the same sensitive, traumatized protagonist of his upcoming masterpiece Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. It’s not as consistent as his best projects, but Overly Dedicated reaches the same dizzying heights. — Wren Graves

14. Noname – Telefone

No one does it like Noname, and that includes making an entrance. After delaying her debut mixtape for years, the one-of-a-kind rapper finally introduced herself with Telefone, a project that immediately established her on-mic charisma, writing chops, and holistic approach to creating. Impressive neo-soul-tinged tracks like “Yesterday” or “All I Need” not only proved Noname was already a fully formed artist, but that she was an MC with plenty of meaningful things to say. What makes Telefone all the more impressive is how the rapper would go on to hone her skills with subsequent albums Room 25 and Sundial, resulting in a trio of projects that cemented Noname as an artist nearly unmatched in modern hip-hop. — Jonah Krueger

13. Death Grips – Exmilitary

Both the lore and music of Death Grips’ Exmilitary have the quality of a fever dream. A rap trio featuring math-rock drumming legend Zach Hill, left-field audio engineer Andy Morin, and Ride, one of the most aggressive, enigmatic MCs of his generation? A collection of songs sampling everything from Link Wray’s “Rumble” to a Charles Manson rant? And you mean to tell me these guys go on to influence acts like Kanye West and David Bowie? It doesn’t make sense – and that’s exactly how Death Grips want it. Don’t jump into the chaos of Exmilitary looking for clarity; jump in ready to embrace its paradoxical nihilism. — J. Krueger

12. Future – Streetz Calling

Future went on one of the great mixtape runs in 2011 and 2012, firing out seven projects in the span of 366 days, including Streetz Calling. Over beats by Zaytoven, Sonny Digital, and a who’s-who of rising Atlanta producers, Future perfected his Auto-tuned brand of shout-along hooks, putting together a fantastic hour of windows-down, bass-booming fun. Streetz Calling set the table for his epoch-shifting album Pluto, including an early version of that LP’s hit “Same Damn Time.” Anyone listening to Streetz Calling heard what hip-hop would sound like for the next half-decade, as Future lived up to his name. — W. Graves

11. Joey Bada$$ – 1999

Joey Bada$$’s debut mixtape, 1999, pays homage to his ’90s era hip-hop influences with its minimalist jazz production and sampling techniques. The 15-track project highlights Bada$$’s lyricism with tracks such as “Survival Tactics” and “World Domination,” as he effortlessly switches flows. Boasting production credits from MF DOOM, J Dilla, Lord Finesse, the East Coast MC’s take on old school hip-hop doesn’t feel contrived or awkward, as he celebrates that golden era of hip-hop in a way that radiates an utter timelessness. — Sun Noor

10. Danny Brown – XXX

There aren’t a lot of voices in hip-hop like Danny Brown. Sure, he’s a little weird, but it’s deeper than that. His mastery of boundary-pushing, left-field projects that swing between comedic and tragic have established him as a truly unique mind in the scene – and on XXX, he went all out. Loosely housing a narrative, boasting truly nutso samples like This Heat’s “Horizontal Hold,” and made with the intention of “seeing how far [he] can push listeners,” the mixtape is perhaps Brown’s first masterwork. Over 10 years old, and the project has all but achieved classic status in the underground, and it only takes one listen to hear why. — J. Krueger

09. Rhapsody – Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast presents Rapsody as self-aware as ever, while also solidifying her status as one of the best lyricists in the game. Whether it be weighing on the political landscape of 2014 with the EP’s opening track,“Feel It,” or the critique of war and violence on “The World,” the rapper refuses to hold back on her observations. Rapsody shines on all 10 tracks, which are intricately woven together with soulful, R&B instrumentals. — S. Noor

08. Kid Cudi – A Kid Named Cudi

A core aspect of the idea that is ‘the rap mixtape’ is to garner attention: attention from new listeners, the wider community, and anyone who’s going to help take you to the next level. Few tapes have accomplished this goal so thoroughly as Kid Cudi’s A Kid Named Cudi. Coming out of Cleveland, the collection of tracks (which, importantly, includes “Day ‘n’ Nite”) showcased an artist with an ear for melody, an eye for creative samples, and a pension for showmanship. Enter new fan and future mentor/antagonist Kayne West and G.O.O.D. Music, and the rest is hip-hop history. — J. Krueger

07. J. Cole – Friday Night Lights

“Ironic you been sleeping on the one that you been dreamin’ ’bout,” J. Cole raps on mixtape bonus track and G.O.O.D. Music single  “Looking for Trouble.” Even more ironically, the scene-stealing verse — in which the young Cole bodied contributions by Pusha T, Big Sean, CyHi the Prince, and Kanye West — led to so much buzz that not even Sleeping Beauty could snore through it. Cole met the moment with Friday Night Lights, one of the finest collection of beats in a career defined by an impeccable ear. This is Cole at his most charming, with sly jokes and seductive verses that are actually sexy. Mixtapes can be a place to stretch skills, but J. Cole no longer needed it; as soon as Friday Night Lights dropped, he was already a star. — W. Graves

06. 50 Cent – 50 Cent Is the Future

50 Cent changed the way artists and fans think about mixtapes. In the before times, DJs produced mixtapes that featured unreleased joints that may or may not show up on an album. 50, blackballed from the industry at the time, inverted the concept and treated 50 Cent Is the Future like an album. Free from Columbia Records and a pariah, 50 presented a different image in 2002 than the guy who created Power of a Dollar just two years earlier. He snatched other rapper’s beats, built brand new songs on top, introduced G-Unit to the world, and flowed differently thanks to a bullet that slurred his speech. The rest is… well, you know the rest. — Marcus Shorter

05. Nicki Minaj – Beam Me Up Scotty

Beam Me Up Scotty isn’t Nicki Minaj’s first mixtape, but it’s the one. The tape gave us everything we associate with Minaj now, and it marked the time when she refocused on her craft and worried less about her image. Her cockiness, her vulnerability, and her singing voice all show up here on an album that only takes a timeout when she speaks directly to her fans. While she invited the Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown comparisons, Beam Me Up Scotty showed how much Lauryn Hill influenced her game. She tapped deeper into that part of her sound later, but she got the confidence to do so right here. Beam Me Up Scotty marked the end of one era and the start of another as her Young Money debut dropped just one year later; Pink Friday built on Beam Me Up Scotty’s success. — M. Shorter

04. Drake – So Far Gone

At one point in history that now feels eons ago, a 22-year-old Aubrey Graham was in a “destructive” romantic relationship and debating whether he should forfeit his promising acting career altogether in pursuit of hip-hop notoriety. He tossed his hat into the ring with his 2009 mixtape So Far Gone and introduced the world to Drake, the blinged-out sadboi who’d go on to build a rap empire spitting sleek, poppy numbers about women, spending money, and spending money on women. By no means was it profound (“You could have my heart or we can share it like the last slice,” he brags on the hit “Best I Ever Had”), but Drake’s glaring sentimentality was a breath of fresh air when machismo dominated the airwaves. We’ve all been as fucked up and down bad as Drake; So Far Gone was permission to cry in the club. — Abby Jones

03. Chance the Rapper – Acid Rap

In the wake of his highly disappointing debut album The Big Day, it’s easy to look back on the 2010s and chuckle about the staggering amount of hype Chance the Rapper and his gospel-infused, pop-ready hip-hop garnered. And yet, tell us Acid Rap was released this month from a relatively unknown artist, and we’d join the hype train all over again. The joyous melodies and captivating performances make the tape, frankly, irresistible. Ten years later, and Acid Rap still buzzes with enough passion, excitement, and fun to warm our cold, cynical hearts. — J. Krueger

02. Young Jeezy – Trap or Die

Back when Jeezy was still Young (weren’t we all) he teamed up with DJ Drama for a project that would change the trajectory of both their lives. With Trap or Die, Jeezy traced out the themes that would dominate his major label debut, the trap classic Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101. And that voice. A master of the drawn-out vowel, Jeezy raps have a texture like boiled leather, and there are few thrills like the first time you hear, “Got the Chevy same color Tropicana orange juice yeahhh.” Trap or Die was also the moment that DJ Drama became the man in mixtapes, establishing Gangsta Grillz as a vital artistic institution. — W. Graves

01. Lil Wayne – Dedication 2

While some may argue the exact moment “Mixtape Weezy” became a thing, this album makes an emphatic case for its genesis. Calling Dedication 2 a mixtape feels almost like a back-handed compliment; Lil Wayne and DJ Drama expand upon the foundation Wayne had laid previously with The Carter and The Carter II. But while those albums felt the boa constrictor-like vice that comes as part of the mainstream territory, Wayne’s 2006 project let loose. Joints like “Canon” and “South Muzik” showcased his flow, wit, and insatiable hunger. For two years, he told everyone he was the best rapper alive, so he dropped Dedication 2 with one simple mission: Show don’t tell. And that he did. — M. Shorter

15 Best Hip-Hop Mixtapes of All Time
Consequence Staff

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