While debates about the value of music took many different shapes this year, free rap mixtapes, as a format, stayed the course. Though few consensus choices reigned over everything, the DatPiff delta gave way to exciting new sounds from all over the country. Here, we examine 22 tapes that might have slipped under the radar but still moved the needle—releases from well-known artists like Ty Dolla $ign, Future, and A$AP Ferg as well as fast-rising voices like BeatKing and Kehlani—in alphabetical order by artist.

A$AP Ferg

Ferg Forever

[RCA/Polo Grounds]

A$AP Ferg: "Doe-Active" (via SoundCloud)

I'll admit it upfront: Ferg Forever isn't as good as last year's Trap Lord, which continues to get better as time passes. But Ferg remains one of the most compelling new voices in rap, and he spends this tape experimenting. He's never less than engaging, sounding like nothing in this world makes him happier than rapping. The gravitational pull of his personality is massive, even if his production often fails to keep up—check his giddy, spot-on Ol' Dirty Bastard impression/tribute on "Doe-Active", and listen in awe as he attempts to buck the beat off of "Fergsomnia" with a performance that's as unhinged as a broken jaw. But his attention lies elsewhere these days, too, as evidenced by the sobering first verse on "Talk It", where he tries to make some sense of the recent killings of young black men across the country. —Renato Pagnani

BeatKing

*Gangsta Stripper Music 2

*[self-released]

BeatKing: "Killin' It" (via SoundCloud)

To national ears, Texas has become so defined by its DJ Screw-oriented history—now in large part a memory as the final remnants of its physical mixtape trade wash away—that it's become difficult for artists from the state to develop a distinct aesthetic of their own. Houston rapper BeatKing's rise wouldn't have been possible without the Internet, and his willingness to play court jester with its many memes—an attention-grabbing approach that could even result in occasional great music. This year, though, he broke out as a solo artist beyond the trending topics. Succeeded by his Pole Sex EP and a strong collaborative album with Gangsta Boo, Gangsta Stripper Music 2 was the moment his sound really seemed to cohere: the improvised punchlines delivered with a straight face, production that seemed to take up physical space, and strong conceptual songwriting that reflected a glint of the humor that pervades his lyrics. Rude, crude, and undeniably bawdy, BeatKing's barrelling rap style hit without a wink, letting the jokes dawn on you in time delay. —David Drake

Childish Gambino

Kauai

[Glassnote]

Childish Gambino: "Pop Thieves (Make It Feel Good)"

"III. Telegraph Ave. ('Oakland' by Lloyd)", an infectious slice of straight-up R&B from last year's Because the Internet, offered a way forward for Donald Glover's musical project Childish Gambino. Glover uses that template as the foundation for Kauai, the second (and much better) half of his STN MTN / Kauai project. It's a savvy artistic move—Glover has never sounded as comfortable as he does here, revealing the kind of natural gift for songwriting that makes you wonder why he was so insistent on rapping in the first place. Now when he slips into MC mode on "Retro (Rough)", it not only feels earned but actually welcome, something that wasn't the case a mere 12 months ago. But it's the pure pop head-rush of "Sober" and the slick surfaces of "Pop Thieves (Make It Feel Good)", which nips at the heels of "Telegraph Ave.", that prove Gambino is finally discovering a voice of his own. —Renato Pagnani

Doughboyz Cashout

__We Run the City 4

__[CTE]

Doughboyz Cashout: "Boss the Fuck Up"

Doughboyz Cashout have not updated their official Twitter account in over a year and they presumably do not give a fuck that the fourth installment of their We Run the City series was basically critically ignored this year. The Detroit group is signed to Jeezy’s CTE label, but Jeezy doesn’t show up on the tape, which is made up of 75 minutes of raw but well-crafted humanist hustler music, more indebted to Y2K Mannie Fresh or Beats by the Pound than any of the dominant narratives in 2014 rap. Although, this year did make a pretty strong case for the enduring relevancy of the rap group: Migos and Rae Sremmurd deservedly dominated the radio, and Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan found inspiration in one another as Rich Gang.

Many of the individual Doughboyz’ solo careers thrived this year, too—Big Quis’ My Turn, full of clever, workmanlike motivational anthems, was a highlight—but they’re at their best together on We Run the City 4. There are definitely hooks here ("Boss the Fuck Up"), and a bounce that sits somewhere between B.G. and YG. But the narratives are the glue, with plainspoken detail that perfectly cuts to the chase: "My plans after high school simple, get scrilla/ My heroes ain’t wear no capes, they’re chinchillas/ Living in a city where a nigga with a job is a nobody, while the dealers treated like gods." Doughboyz are capable of making a crossover hit; with the right push, it could’ve been "My Young Niggaz" with Jeezy and YG, off last year’s CTE comp #ItsThaWorld 2. There’s actually a song by the same title on We Run the City 4, but its completely different, scrapping the DJ Mustard slickness for more Cash Money worship. Fuck a single. —Meaghan Garvey

Future

*Monster

*[self-released]

Future: "Monster"

After the refreshing success of the Auto-Tune ballad "Turn on the Lights" and a highly publicized and envied-by-all engagement to Ciara, Future was recast as rap’s Fabio, a masculine heartthrob unafraid to let his guard down in the name of love. Then the R&B love story of our age dissolved, and Future reminded us he’s still the guy who once said, "If that’s your hoe, that’s my hoe, too." The majority of Monster, released in October, finds Future shifting his own narrative back to the perpetually leaning, carnal-driven stoic street-rap fans fell for on early tapes like Streetz Calling and Dirty Sprite. He unapologetically showcases his indulgent narcissism ("Fetti", the title track), but as usual, it’s the rapper’s idiosyncratic and unpredictable approach to writing hooks and verses that keeps the tape from drowning. He floats over "My Savages" while reflecting on success and his incarcerated friends not there to see it in person. And on the arresting second half of the batshit "Throw Away", the tape potentially reveals its true identity as an angry and confused break-up record. —Wesley Case

Future

*No Sleep

*[self-released]

Shy Glizzy: "So Awesome"

Though No Sleep came out in 2013, it spoke to the trends of 2014 perhaps better than any other street mixtape from this year's rap calendar. The project was headlined by Future, but the real star of the tape was a then relatively unknown producer Metro Boomin, who did Future’s ghastly and excellent "Maison Margiela" and "How Can I Not". The tape showcased the young producer and featured lesser-known trap rappers: Casino ("Killin Shit"), Johnny Cinco ("No Choice"), PeeWee Longway ("Sneakin and Geekin"), Shy Glizzy ("Awwsome"). DJs and rappers enjoy boasting that they speak for "the streets", but No Sleep truly encapsulated the many disparate directions of trap rap even before the calendar year turned over. —David Turner

K Camp

*In Due Time EP

*[Interscope]

K Camp: "Pass the Reefa" (via SoundCloud)

Let’s address the unavoidable first: Atlanta rapper K Camp’s hummable hit "Cut Her Off" bested Chris Brown’s "Loyal" as this year’s ugliest ode to dismissive misogyny, an unendearing accomplishment to say the least. It would be disingenuous to ignore this, just as it would be dishonest not to admit K Camp can write one hell of a catchy song. On In Due Time EP, he does so repeatedly, whether it’s adrenalized instructions to turn up ("Turn Up the Night") or effortless love letters to his sole source of motivation ("Money Baby"). The hope is K Camp will shed the immature attitude toward women fast, while continuing to refine his strong pop-minded sensibilities. "'Cut Her Off' is a great song because it's an emotion, and he's being true about it in that moment,” André 3000 said in an interview this year. K Camp has the melodic half of the battle won, which is enough to keep a skeptical eye on him in 2015. —Wesley Case

Kari Faux

Laugh Now, Die Later

[self-released]

Kari Faux: "No Small Talk" (via SoundCloud)

It is hard to know what will cause an artist to break. The right co-sign, a hit song, and perhaps, in 2014, maybe just a Vine. Recent Los Angeles transplant Kari Faux, who got a boost being featured on Childish Gambino’s STN MTN/Kauai mixtape, is still trying to figure that much out. Laugh Now, Die Later, her brief, sharp, and mostly self-produced mixtape from earlier this summer, features a snarky and wise-cracking personality that feels unique, especially amongst the rap world. She best captures herself in the track "No Small Talk", about refusing to waste one’s time on lesser men and opportunists. The cover of Laugh Now, Die Later even includes a skull emoji in case her middle finger with a wink message was lost in translation. —David Turner

Kehlani

*Cloud 19

*[self-released]

Kehlani: "As I Am" (via SoundCloud)

This was an undoubtedly great year for R&B; Beyoncé's solo debut, released at the very end of 2013, loomed large, a show of strength and power. At the level of radio, a counter-trend was the demure demeanor of Tinashe, whose Aquarius is one of the year's best R&B records, an encapsulation of long-gestating interest in the coy intrigue of millennial artists like Aaliyah. In an environment like this, an artist who stands against the grain is apt to get lots of attention.

Nineteen-year-old Kehlani Parrish is a Bay Area singer, dancer, and songwriter for herself and others. Her new and refreshing approach on the remarkably consistent debut tape Cloud 19 is one of bold sincerity and vulnerability. She's said it was a tape about falling in love, and it feels like it, stomach butterflies and all. While her approach is informed by the pop R&B hits of the early '00s, she also grew up a longtime fan of Lauryn Hill and neo-soul, and is in many ways more of a classicist than her peers. Yet her lyrics are written with the honest, upfront, down-to-earth perspective of a kid who has a preternatural understanding of the world her peers are living in. —David Drake

King Louie

*Tony

*[Lawless]

King Louie: "Tony" (via SoundCloud)

Though Chief Keef's explosion drew national attention, people were paying attention to the drill scene before he was a known quantity, and it was King Louie who was at the sound's center. His 2011-era work had a wide sonic range, a musical diversity that contrasted with a nearly single-minded focus on the kinetic behavior of bullets and blurred, brutal punchlines that snapped into place with unexpected rhythm. In many ways, Keef upped the ante, taking a disoriented sound even further into darkness; this year's Tony surged to meet that sound's energy, the beats seething with tactile surfaces and unpredictable motion, while Louie's verses rat-tat-tatted through the storm clouds for a feeling of unsettling, portentous energy. When the album lets a little sun break through near the end ("Ambitions as a Rider") it serves to humanize Louie, to hint at the stories playing out behind the music and let the album's heart show. The city responded in kind, making "To Live & Die In Chicago" its unofficial 2014 anthem, and ultimately garnered the attention of Drake, who has reportedly signed Louie to his OVO imprint. —David Drake

King Mez

*Long Live the King

*[self-released]

King Mez: "Morris" (via SoundCloud)

In the last decade the biggest rap names to emerge from North Carolina have been the duo Little Brother and, on a major scale, J. Cole. Both share a working class consciousness that's not lost on rappers in the state looking to follow their steps. Raleigh's King Mez explores those compassionate depths on Long Live the King. The producer/rapper’s approach is understated—he rarely raises his voice to express these concerns with this community and people. Instead he is comfortable allowing his word to carry his message and sit comfortably in the headphones of his listeners. —David Turner

Kool John

*Shmop City

*[Shmoplife]

Kool John: "RNS" [ft. Jay Ant & Iamsu!]

The Bay Area-based HBK Gang dropped two big debut records this year with Sage the Gemini's Remember Me and Iamsu!'s Sincerely Yours. Along with Kool John's free Shmop City mixtape, it makes a strong argument that the Gang is in some sense the closest to the spirit of hip-hop's Bronx origin stories as any crew working today: party records with slumping beats, copious X-rated sex raps, and funny, arrogant punchlines. Like many Cali rappers these days, Kool John is often drawn to production that flips older Down South or West Coast gangster rap classics and rebuilds them in a Bay style; opener "R.N.S.", for example, is a redux of Juvenile's "Gone Ride With Me". The effect, though, isn't recreating the past as much as building upon it, using familiarity to anchor the unfamiliar. —David Drake

Lil B

*Hoop Life

*[self-released]

Lil B: "Fuck KD (Kevin Durant Diss)"

In a year where Lil B fans insisted he follow through on his hoop dreams, the rapper obliged with Hoop Life, one of the most balanced and fun collections he’s released in years. Running with the basketball theme, he delivers this year’s biggest cross-culture kiss-off—"Fuck KD (Kevin Durant Diss)"—and sketches out an earnest account of his (mostly fictional) ascent to the NBA. While that dream fell short, with Hoop Life, the prospect of Lil B sticking to his day job(s) isn’t so hard to swallow. —Corban Goble

Lil Herb

*Welcome to Fazoland

*[self-released]

Lil Herb: "4 Minutes of Hell Part 3"

__

This was the year "the underground" died its thousandth death, when Vice killed DIY or something. But the underground never really dies, it just evolves—something fundamentally misunderstood by those who declared Chicago drill "over" this year. If anything, Interscope dropping Chief Keef was a blessing: It gave him carte blanche to pursue his increasingly abstract impulses, removing the weight of outside pressure to make whatever a Chief Keef radio hit in 2014 even means.

And though the national spotlight has gradually drifted away from the Midwest since Keef’s 2012 crossover success, Chicago street rap felt as vital as ever this year. Scene mainstays Katie Got Bandz and Fredo Santana hit new strides, and GBE affiliate SD exceeded expectations on debut album Truly Blessed. But it was Lil Herb’s Welcome to Fazoland, a debut project two years in the making, that breathed new life into the drill subgenre. On the tape, Herb appraises his surroundings, absorbs its pain, and asks questions: Why am I still so drawn to violence, even as I recognize that it hurts the people around me? Why did I talk back to my mother, who had nothing but the best intentions? "Why the cops hot on our block? Man, there’s violence everywhere!" Claims that drill music lacks lyricism are officially put to rest: look no further than the hookless, blistering "4 Minutes of Hell Part 3". And though Herb may not have gotten the shine he deserved this year, his influence looms large: Nicki Minaj’s flow on Pinkprint bonus track "Shanghai" (not to mention "Chi-raq", her collaboration with Herb from earlier this year)? That’s pure Herb homage. —Meaghan Garvey

Mouse on tha Track

*Air Time

*[self-released]

Mouse on tha Track: "Liberation (The Cut)"

From opening cut "Liberation (The Cut)"—a heartfelt concept record about the emancipatory power of cutting off his dreads—it's clear that rapper-producer Mouse on tha Track is doing things a little differently. The Baton Rouge-based artist came to acclaim through his beats for Trill Ent acts like Lil Boosie and Foxx, but the past few years his succession of solo tapes have been some of the most consistent in hip-hop writ large. This summer's Air Time is one of his best full projects to date, with unconventional sound effects, affecting melodies ("Bye Bitch"), and grooves unlike anything you've heard outside Louisiana. With the success of artists like Kevin Gates and Lil Boosie on the national scene, here's hoping the rest of the country acknowledges what real heads already know: Baton Rouge has some of the genre's most potent talent, and Mouse should be recognized among it. —David Drake

Rome Fortune

*Beautiful Pimp 2

*[self-released]

Rome Fortune: "Money Memories"

Rome Fortune might be the name attached to Beautiful Pimp 2, but its successes belong equally to CitoOnTheBeat, who produced the entire mixtape. His expressive and warm beats sound like he was born and raised in Atlanta and not New Jersey, and they fit Fortune like a pair of well-worn leather gloves. The result is 29 minutes of some of 2014's goopiest production, as if CitoOnTheBeat took a bunch of trap beats and let them roast in a slow-cooker for 12 hours. Fortune sinks into these surroundings, finding open pockets and using pauses, feints, and quick left turns to create an unpredictability that gives his laissez-faire rapping style a deceptive density. He doesn't tell stories or boast so much as spend the tape convincing himself his hard work will pay off; Beautiful Pimp 2 is rap as motivational speaking, generous and all-inclusive. The last words said here: "Do you want to spend your life winning or being miserable?" The morning after I heard that line for the first time, I hit the gym at 6 a.m. —Renato Pagnani

Shy Glizzy

*Young Jefe

*[self-released]

Shy Glizzy: "Mula" [ft. 3 Glizzy]

In an era when rap co-signs could catapult unknown SoundCloud toilers to the Grammys, Washington, D.C.’s fastest rising rapper Shy Glizzy crafted a star-making turn the old fashioned way, with a Gucci Mane-inspired, appropriately titled street smash called "Awwsome". Before it reached Billboard, the single landed on February's Young Jefe, his strongest project to date. The tape displays the charismatic rapper’s increasingly effective sing-songy flow ("Mula", "Medellin") and penchant for memorable imagery ("I made a snow angel from all the salt you throwin’", Glizzy tells a hater). Most affecting is the reflective tribute to locked-up friends, "Free the Gang", which features the observant detail, "We had some BB guns/ We ain't never used to wrestle." Jefe proves Glizzy didn’t simply catch lightning in a Styrofoam double-cup with "Awwsome". Months later, it—like most of Jefe—feels like a chest-pounding announcement of a promising arrival. —Wesley Case

Travi$ Scott

*Days Before Rodeo

*[Grand Hustle]

Though the exact boundaries of Houston rapper and producer Travi$ Scott's skill set are still being determined, know this: His fans fuck with it heavily. On Days Before Rodeo, a mixtape Scott released over the summer, you get a good sense of what he has working for him—dark, hard-snapping beats that work well in these post-Yeezus times and a flow that favors the starry-eyed shapes of Kid Cudi and Kanye's knack for stretching syllables. Songs like "Mamacita" give you a good idea of just why Scott's star has risen so quickly as the sonic elements—the shadowy, pulsing synths, a sample of a guitar screech, drums rattling like an ATM dispensing cash—pile up to deliver something promising. —Corban Goble

Ty Dolla $ign

*Sign Language

*[self-released]

Ty Dolla $ign: "Lord Knows" [ft. Dom Kennedy & Rick Ross]

"Had her drinking and smoking on the tour bus/ Last year I remembered they ignored us," croons Ty Dolla $ign, the stoned genius responsible for the most fluid and exciting melding of rap and R&B since Drake, on "Lord Knows" from August’s Sign Language. While Ty’s big year will rightfully be remembered for his debut EP’s singles ("Paranoid", "Or Nah"), the 11-track Sign Language shows the accomplished musician’s ability to create a fully formed project meant to be experienced in its entirety. The record establishes its intoxicating insularity with minor-chord progressions, unexpected cameos (Dom Kennedy! Mike Posner! … Ed Sheeran?) and extended outros and interludes that seem to have minds of their own. The topics are familiar for Ty ("Drank N Cranberry", "Missionary", and the all-too-literal "Stretch"), but its his commitment and willingness to travel down these rabbit holes that makes Sign Language an encouraging precursor to Ty’s anticipated debut album, next year’s Free TC. —Wesley Case

Various Artists

*Lobby Runners

*[self-released]

Young Thug: "Danny Glover" (via SoundCloud)

Released quietly at the tail of 2013, Lobby Runners was a primer on the freewheeling corner of Atlanta inhabited by Young Thug, Migos, Peewee Longway, and friends, whose degree of influence and amount of fucks to give were inversely proportional this year. Right from the jump, Thug lets you know how weird this thing will get, introducing the tape in a disorientingly crisp fusion of patois, bougie receptionist-speak, and the language of Based World over elevator music, in between hacking coughs: "I want all of you guys to feel free, in the whole wide world, to come join the Lobby Runners. We running round the lobby, RUNNING ROUND THE FUCKIN’ LOBBY! OK. Bye." There’s "YRN", a Migos/Thug "Mario Party" cabana jam more compelling than just about anything on either tape Migos released in 2014. "Ounces" introduces Quavo’s fear of koalas, which he naturally rhymes with "enchiladas." A cute, boppy MPA Duke and Skippa da Flippa song called "Intro" appears in sequence as track 16.

But novelty aside, this was a tape that housed "Stoner", "Danny Glover", and "Get TF Out My Face", not all of them as premieres but a perfectly curated collection nonetheless. It felt like a tipping point, a scribbled constitution of an Atlanta mini-movement often celebrated for its "weirdness" but defined more by the genuine camaraderie of its members. Thug shined and became a spotlight for his less-acclaimed friends; his Laurel and Hardy routine with Longway on "Loaded" was the perfect entry point for those unfamiliar with the latter (who coined the sweet, evocative "running round the lobby" mantra). Over the course of the year, there would be many permutations of "new Atlanta," "weird Atlanta," or whichever superfluous qualifier you prefer to effectively distinguish trap’s avant-garde from the old people; next year, there will be more. But there was something pure about this movement, even on tracks without much redeeming value beyond friends having fun bouncing ideas off each other. —Meaghan Garvey

Woop

*Woop Lingo

*[self-released]

Woop: "HMC" [ft. YG Ivy]

This year Rick Ross snuck out two major label albums to increasingly diminishing returns, but Orlando rapper Woop appears to be on the opposite trajectory. Both occupy an established trap lane, but Woop Lingo demonstrates that Woop knows how to maneuver within it. His high-pitched voice provides him an easy-to-overlook melodic quality that helps songs like "HMC" or "Molly Mudd" linger in one’s mind. The tape boasts known-quantity trap producers like Zaytoven or Sonny Digital, but Woop's nimble verses weave between their plodding beats in a way that few other rappers ever attempt. (He also had one of the best rock videos of 2014 with "Rock Out Woop".) —David Turner