Favorite Rap Mixtapes of November & December 2016 From K9 and Rome Streetz to Lil Durk and Yung Lean

Boosie Badazz - Happy Thanksgiving & Merry Christmas

“Cancer couldn’t kill me/ Bullets missed at close range/ Prosecutors couldn’t get me/They was tellin’ hoes name,” Boosie raps on “Angels All Over Me.” At the close of a marquee year for a one-of-a-kind performer who overcame both cancer and the United States criminal justice system, the Boosie recently christened Badazz is feeling festive, and we should be equal parts thankful and fearful. Where that slow, snarling, and scattershot flow returns alongside his familiar lyrical sensibilities, both hit with greater impact thanks to some extremely crisp production. Particularly in the eschewing of rhythmic convention on tracks like “Big Shot” and the time signature-bending “PWA,” you can hear Boosie channeling his most unique strengths with more focus than ever. Straddling as always the line between piety and profanity, the Bible piece-sporting Badazz has served a potent batch of beautiful contradiction like a Christmas present the world wanted but didn’t ask for. –Will Neibergall

Rome Streetz - I Been Thru Mad Shit

Rome Streetz bridges the gap between grim urban mundanity and surrealist menageries of escapism. The Queens-based rapper has an ornate flow that pours profusely from beats that propel tales of intoxication, violence, narcissism, and romance, which gives this tape gravitas, as though we are on the precipice of something grand and supreme. Streetz’s flow is almost unsettlingly confident, gliding through the rickety pulse of “Acid Reflux,” the mawkish dirge of “Leroys Fist,” and the gnarly bombast of “Trill Street Bluez” — it’s a gripping combination of styles that’s kept impeccably tight with Complexx Productions at the helm. And with at least two mixtapes already under his belt, I Been Thru Mad Shit is somewhat of a crowning chapter in 2016, making Rome Streetz a rapper to keep firm tabs on in the new year. Mark it. –birkut

Morgue! - 1990Morgue

Philadelphian dark-trap architect Morgue!, 5 Finger Posse’s most crepuscular digit, channels the restless pneuma of Memphis Horrorcore’s heyday while riding dense, forward-thinking production to the forefront of SoundCloud’s avant-garde. 1990Morgue is propulsive and precise; though the tape’s sinister, fragmented patchworks of excess can drag listeners into strange and harrowing depths, rubbery constrictions of sub-bass dispatched by OogieMane and Forza keep Morgue’s material suspended in aural deprivation. Morgue flirts with the underworld that houses the grime-encrusted, occultish output of SpaceGhostPurrp and co., but is ultimately tethered to to the more energized sense of play that drives the creativity of Lil B and Lil Yachty. Although initially jarring, 1990Morgue displays aggression’s ability to give way to comfort after sustained periods of time. It’s the tornado siren that soon fades to the the back of your conscious — the fan’s oscillating hum that you can’t sleep without. –Jude Noel

Sh3llz - Black in Amerikkka

G-funk is most immediately associated with the West Coast, but if you know your history, you know the style spent some very formative years in the Midwest and South as well. On Black In Amerikkka, Sh3llz shows up for Detroit g-funk with scrappy irreverence. Here, the kinds of bass lines that turned out hits for Iggy Azalea and Kendrick Lamar are brought to trial by fire, found guilty of criminal negligence, and sentenced to community service. Think that’s getting off easy? Think again. Sh3llz’s tragic tribulations may translate seamlessly, but it’s hard labor all day in these parts.–Samuel Diamond

Yung Lean - Frost God

Dropped in December without any prior promotion, Yung Lean’s Frost God channels lessons learned from the thrilling debut full-length of his punk side-project (Död Mark’s 22 minute Drabbad av sjukdom) with a concise, eight-song package of hip-hop reinvigoration. The sonic equivalent of an igloo trap house, Lean’s newest blends the gritty undertones of his recent work with the chilling atmospherics of Gud’s and Whitearmor’s production magic that defined his earlier treasures. Synths glisten like fluttering snowflakes amidst clattering hi-hats on the anthemic, A$AP Ferg-featuring “Crystal City,” while “Head 2 Toe” finds Lean injecting genuine swagger into a track that would have otherwise fit comfortably on Unknown Memory. The rapper’s poise is not always conveyed via posturing bravado, though, as album standout “Hennessy and Sailor Moon” manages to deliver airy, R&B goodness with his sung vocals front-and-center. On the hook, Lean declares, “I could be your savior, with everything we’ve been through.” Like many of his lines, it’s a bit awkwardly phrased, but it’s a defining moment of confidence renewed for a young frost god as he continues to find his footing in a cold, cold world. –Mike Giegerich