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The MCs who held it down during the second half of '04 ...
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The mixtape DJs who spun vinyl into 'hood platinum ...
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 Bands Main
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Recognized, Respected And Reliable (DJs): During the second half of 2004, these guys kept their weight up and kept the market on fire.
Turntable Terror: Clinton Sparks
Scouting Report: Sparks made everybody wake up, didn't he? Guess there was something to his whole "get familiar" mantra. Not only did he have the blends, produced original material and had some hot concepts coming with his street CDs, he was able to parlay it into a recording deal and hosting spot on satellite radio.
Highlight Reel: Kill Yourself (with Kay Slay), If I Could Start From Scratch
Turntable Terror: Drama
Scouting Report: You can't front on consistency, and Drama's stock has been steadily rising for the past few months. Not only does he stay on the road as T.I.'s personal spinner, but he's kept his Gangsta Grillz brand popping on the streets.
Highlight Reel: Gangsta Grillz XI: Generation Now, Gangsta Grillz Legend, Gangsta Grillz: Down With the King
Turntable Terror: Sickamore
Scouting Report: Sick came into his own during the second half on the year. The young homie owns his own record store, is an A&R man for Just Blaze's new label, Fort Knox Entertainment, and still consistently drops his street heat. Dude's artwork is also on point. We're on the lookout for one he's got coming up called The Wire Wars with none other than DJ/actor Idris Elba, who played the murdered star of "The Wire," Russell "Stringer" Bell.
Highlight Reel: Overnight Celebrity, Ignorant Shiii...
Turntable Terror: Green Lantern
Scouting Report: The Green Machine kept chugging along and maintained his elite status. When he wasn't on the road spinning for the world's most known music star, Eminem, the evil genius was either in the lab concocting his brand of musical ether or brokering big deals. He also just signed on for on his own syndicated radio show, "Mix-Tape Radio."
Highlight Reel: Invasion Part Three, Shade 45: Sirius Bizness
Turntable Terror: Big Mike
Scouting Report: Somehow Mike continued to drop new material almost every week. Now, when you drop that often, there's no way every CD is going to be a must-have, but the Connecticut DJ flooded the streets with world premiere tracks, and being down with Mobb Deep and D-Block also helped him out. Who do you think was the first one to get most of their freestyles?
Highlight Reel: Professional Hood Sh-- series (with DJ Envy), R&B Jump Off series, Something for the Radio series
Best Of The Rest
Desert Storm's Clue And Envy: Clue continued to stack big chips. He and Timbaland partnered up to open New York's newest hotspot, the Cherry Lounge. Clue's Desert Storm label saw Fabolous open big his first week on, and the Question Marked Man still managed to stay knee-deep in the mixtape game. Meanwhile, Envy is heard every morning on New York radio with one of our personal favorite ride-or-die chicks, Ms. Info, and the Queens native has also tag-teamed with other DJs, like Big Mike, to put out much-copped product.
Smallz: Smallz's Southern Smoke was no smoke and mirrors, he's the real deal. His series is a mainstay as one of the game's most popular. Smallz is making us really wonder, though — he's one of the few DJs who doesn't put himself on his CD covers or talk throughout his CDs.
Whoo Kid: It should be "How Kid?" How can he go wrong with a roster so deep as the G-Unit. Whoo did branch out a little and make CDs with cats like Tego Calderon, but his most popular CDs continue to be the G-Unit Radio series. You never what's going to pop up on one of those.
Kay Slay: Kay Slay really lived up to his nickname of "Smack Your Favorite DJ" — thankfully it was only on his CD cover artwork. Kay may have made the biggest move of any DJ, though, in the past few months, aligning himself with Mr. Miami Moneybags himself, Shaquille O'Neal, and starting up a new indie label. One of the first up: that young rhyme lion Papoose.
Warrior: There's not too many holding it down for Cali like DJ Warrior is. Not only does he shed light on the West Coast staples like Snoop, Kurupt, Game and Daz Dillinger, but he's also letting some of the lesser known acts get some shine.
Check back with us next week for our annual Mixtape Monday Awards, and for a look back at the first half of the year, check out "Mixtape Monday: The Mid-Season Report."
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