Artist: DJ Big Mike

Mixtape: Dead or Alive Part 2

Representing: Connecticut

The 411:Big Mike continues his consistency and follows up last week's Dead or Alive with a mixtape sequel.

Joints to check for:

  • "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" by Fat Joe and Remy Martin - Whoever thought the Terror Squad was dead needs to take a real close listen to Joe and Remy's instant street anthem. "Still n---as wanna go against Crack, but that's like Earl Boykins going against Shaq," raps Stephon Marbury's rotund best bud and the Squad's Presidente, while Remy backs up her Bronx compatriot with her brass-knuckle-braggadocio barrage of lyrics.
  • "Respect" by D-Block - It's Sheek Louch, J-Hood and Styles P paying homage to Notorious B.I.G. by spitting over Big's track for "Respect." Sheek, who on this freestyle may be the first MC to reference Dave Chappelle's now-legendary Rick James skit, proclaims that Biggie is still the king and that rappers should "kiss the ring of his dead hand."
  • "Live From Fight Club" by Remy Martin Vs. Lady Luck - Fight is actually a weekly gathering in New York where MCs battle for cheddar. These women prove ain't nothin' sweet about the new generation of female lyricists, and ain't nothin' sacred in this battle for bragging rights and five Gs. Rem and Luck threaten parents and each other and downplay one another's rhyme prowess. "I thought Amil was trash, but G--damn Ma, your flow is worse," Luck raps in one verse.

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week

  • DJ Clue's Thee American Idol Part 2
  • DJ Warrior and King Tech's Ill Street Dues II: Coast to Coast
  • DJ Exclusive's Luthaism
  • DJ Killatone's Out of Pain Comes Glory
  • Icarus' The Crowning

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

  • Fat Joe and Remy Martin - "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah"
  • J-Kwon featuring Chingy and Murphy Lee - "Tipsy (Remix)"
  • CNN featuring Thugged Out Militainment - "Boom"
  • Pastor Troy - "I'm Ridin' Big"
  • N.E.R.D. featuring Common, Q-Tip, Mos Def and De La Soul - "She Wants to Move (Remix)"

Celebrity Favs

Bow Wow, caked-up teen titan and star of the upcoming "Johnson Family Vacation," loves the drama. "My favorite mixtapes are by Kay Slay the Drama King, 'cause he always drops the hot new exclusives you've never heard. He's even got me on one of his tapes."

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

Diplomat capo Jimmy Jones is fast-tracking his debut LP, Jim Jones the Ghetto's Advocate on the Way to Church. We've been hearing Jim rap here and there ever since his boy Cam'ron came on the scene in 1998, but now we're going to get the full picture. "You'll get the whole progression from hustling. ... Rap is so cliché, but everybody has their own story. I came up hard," Jim said last week, sitting in his Manhattan office. "I'm just trying to put my story out there. You know, there were times I was not going home for four days straight, not showering for three days straight because I was on a serious grind. [On the album] I'm talking about all the hopelessness, the baby mothers, the fathers not there."

The first big serving of angst Jim is serving comes via "Certified Gangsters," which features Game and Cam'ron. (Lil' Flip is on a remix.) "A certified gangster is like Geronimo Pratt, Che Guevara, John Gotti, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King," Jones explained. "Anybody that's about that business, that real business, making a mark. It ain't have to be good, it ain't have to be bad, but it's about being a strong, powerful person. It ain't about love, it's about the respect factor."

Jones and company shot the video in Carson, California, a few weeks ago. "It was the Boo Yaa Tribe that let me do the video in their old 'hood," J.J. said. "The whole video was their houses, their backyards, their LoLos, their warehouses. They showed me nothing but love. The real players from Cali, the certified gangstas showed me what was good." Aside from the Tribe, real street figures such as Bone, who acted in "Training Day," also appears, as does the son of Eazy-E.

While Jones doesn't have a concrete release date for his LP, he does have a slew of guests lined up to lend vocals to the project, including Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Rell and Fiend.

For other artists featured in Mixtape Mondays, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines.

For a full-length feature on the role of mixtapes in the music industry, check out "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry."