What if Pop Music Was On DatPiff? Unofficial Pop Mixtapes

Words by Matthew Spence:

Chef Boyarbeats Presents: Lost Ingredients

-Cadillac Escalades
-Freestyling in random places

And last but not least

-The Subculture of Mixtapes

NOW… WAIT! Hold that angry comment and shit-talking; save that for my Subway Take I’m manifesting. Mixtapes are still a thing in the 2020s; however, there’s a certain quirk and element of them that seems to have been scrubbed off in recent years, to the point where mixtapes and albums are interchangeable. Perhaps for the better and it’s opposite. But wait, I’m getting ahead of everything; allow me to reintroduce mixtapes.

To sum it up in convenient doses

-Were playlists/collection other artists’ songs on a tape
– Since the late 70s, hip hop DJs were crafting and creating their own tapes with their custom mixes.
– In the 90s, DJ mixtapes were royalty in New York. Call-and-response, scratches, special shout-outs, etc.
– 50 Cent changed the format
– Lil Wayne solidified them.
– DJ-hosted tapes became a staple.
– DatPiff (I miss it)
-This article exists.

… Yep, that covers the canvas.

Peak 2000s: when CDs were at war with MP3s. They were in every bodega, corner store, or your older siblings had a plug for burning them off Limewire. Exclusive, low-key, and bootleg presentation; it all had a charm. Most had 20 tracks; 17 out of 20 will have a DJ testing the theory of “Does shouting make you sound smart?” Shouting, ad-libbing, hyping up the artist, and you in your car. DJ-hosted tapes jam-packed hip hoppers CD players, and hard drives of the 2000s and opened up a new world era. It separated the streets/underground from mainstream projects. A mixtape offered more freedom for an artist versus the contractual obligations that labels require of them when it comes to their albums. No need to make a hit record or get on TRL; just pick your favorite beat of that time and just rap however you want to rap. Whether it be a long verse with no hook or a constructed song. It was like a golden age within a golden age. The artist and DJ split the buzz of the mixtapes; duos and collabs became the norm, and everyone was looking for the latest tape of their favorite artist, including the hip-hop feds, but that’s another story for another day.

It was one of the four horsemen of career day showstoppers: firefighter, pro skater, publicist, and Street Corner mixtape dealer.

It was a world of the unknown where you had to have more faith and intuition than a Tibetan monk, because you were risking it all based on the cover art and who you were getting it from. You might hear the best song of all time and the worst song of all time on the same project. Now, once it’s switched over to digital, the format changes, and the culture evolves, but the spirit remains the same; all are locked in to hear good music. By the late 2000s, going into the early 2010s, the artist took 100 percent control of the mixtapes. In turn, DJ-hosted projects were slowly getting lost in the crowd as mixtapes became full projects to demonstrate their full artistry. Replacing the demo and becoming the debut and the catalog. No DJ Drama or Kid Capri, the rappers were their own hype man.

Splitting this Kit Kat bar of music, hip hop and pop have been sharing the same HP level for the past… well, a long-ass time. Pop music is a forever staple for the universal music listener, and hip hop is the culture that everyone admires and inspires to be around. And they meet in the middle more often than not. To the point where we’re indifferent to its mergers compared to, like, the early Genesis of hip-hop/pop crossovers of the ’80s to 90s, so to speak. The endless mutual inspirations and collaborations from the good ones to the bad ones: hip hop is pop (but pop isn’t hip hop).

Now, in my overdriven niche playroom, I call “my mind,” I do what I usually do: use my mental Lego set to build something completely different from what’s on the box. I couldn’t stop piecing together what pop albums would be cool DJ-hosted mixtapes. I couldn’t help but get into this era of hearing some of my favorite DJ tags over certain projects and songs I’ve been enjoying lately (REAL TRAP SHIT), so here I am. I went through some of my personal favorite pop albums of modern times and went through a string of classic records and assigned a DJ, officially compacting my favorite worlds. Like an awkward mingle party.

Hosted by DJ Whoo Kid

Lorde—Pure Heroine (2014)

PinkPantheress – To Hell With It (2021)

Slathered in good, structured songs and unique songwriting, DJ Whoo Kid hosted a lot of 50 Cent and G-Unit mixtapes that had a knack for making street tapes that still had radio appeal. Adding his Razzle Dazzle over these radio-ready, yet coveted by deep-cut lovers, projects is an alternate universe I want.

Hosted by DJ TRAP-A-HOLICS

Charli XCX – Brat (2024)

Slayyyters—WORST GIRL IN AMERICA (2026)

He hosted some of the most crunk and hype-as-fuck projects of the 2010s (WHAT YOU AIN’T KNOW); it’s only right. Slap his tags on 365; in my perfect world, Brat is a TRAP-A-HOLICS tape.

Hosted by DJ Drama/Gangsta Grillz

Britney Spears – Blackout (2007)

Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet (2024)

Yes, you read that correctly. I think Short n’ Sweet would make a cool Gangsta Grillz tape in the pop world. The King of Mixtape Flexin, he’d fit well on these two albums where they’re basically talking their shit, among other things.

Hosted by DJ Green Lantern

Rihanna – Loud (2010)

Zara Larson – Midnight Sun (2025)

Green Lantern didn’t really ad-lib or make his presence transparently known compared to his peers, as if it felt right, like he let the record breathe and let the artist make his presence known. These projects align with that well.

Hosted by DJ Ill Will & DJ Rockstar

Lady Gaga—The Fame (2008)