Problem- The Separation (Mixtape)

I've been following Problem since about '07 or '08 and he has consistently been putting out hype L.A. party music since, although I've only truly dabbled in his work, never dove in head first. Well errbody, take that dive, cause his new Gangsta Grillz mixtape with DJ Drama, The Separation, is absolutely phenomenal. No he doesn't speak on deep, intellectual matter; Problem loves twisting fingers and banging his gang. But if you need a ride-out soundtrack to the summer, here it is. This project is absolutely filled to the brim with bangers, but none stand out as distinctly dope as "Roll Up" with T.I. and Snoop Dogg, er, Lion, a track with a beat that just gets better and better, making you want to drop whatever you're doing and blaze the day away. But the whole thang has cuts on cuts, so cop it on Datpiff; here's the selects.

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire- Kismet (Mixtape)

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire is nothing if not consistent. He recently signed a major label deal and flirted with shortening the "Muthafuckin'" in his name to MFN, but decided "without the Muthafuckin' / it's nothin'". And with that mantra in mind, the NY rapper's new opus, Kismet, touches all the bases an eXquire fan is looking for in one of his projects. Raunchy, dirty bars about ass-shaking share an uncomfortable adjacency to introspective, and highly personal, lyricism creating a compelling and multi-dimensional mixtape. And the production is powerful and dynamic, especially on album-opener "The Cauldron" produced by Raider Klan's Key-Nyata. "I Was Drunk When I Wrote This" is a classic eXquire jam that encapsulates him, and the album's, post-party feel. I'll grant you those two tracks, and leave it up to you to pursue the rest of the record.

YC The Cynic- Molotovs At Poseidon (Video)

"Do you know who you fuckin' wit?" YC The Cynic came up in the NY rap scene after dropping his 2011 mixtape, Fall FWD, which had a couple gems on it. YC, shedding the frustration of being associated with that "Racks on Racks" guy, had shown himself to be a capable, even deft rapper with sweeping topical ambition and a limitless capacity for stringing complex rhyme patterns together with his mouth-full-of-marbles voice. The guy spits lines like "You belittled my presence without a litter of evidence / Your illegible lettering is proof of illiteracy, no wonder my supremacy ain't nearly as evident". He has a new EP out, the solid Good Morning, Midnight, but it's his promotional video for the single "Molotovs At Poseidon" that has the internet abuzz. The clip plays out like a an operatic short film, but I won't give away the ending, just watch- and respect the select.

Ethelwulf & Bones- ダサい (Mixtape)

Repping that Raider Klan name, Ethelwulf has recently disassociated from his Florida / Memphis crew and delved way deeper into drugs and the psychedelic side of life. His new Japanese-titled mixtape with white dopeboy and LSD dealer Bones is a straight cloud rap gambit. The project is filled with airy, spacey beats that come through in tye dye and the lyrical fare doesn't stray far from a theme of "I take acid, your bitch wants me, my parents hate me, I'll kill you with a katana". But I'm feeling it; these boys are definitely speaking on some real shit as they combine their Three-6-Mafia flows with Green Ova-esque acidic beats. Gone is some of Ethelwulf's lyrical ferocity and technicality that we saw on The Wolf Gang Rodolphe but the adjustment fits the mixtape's aesthetic. Overall, this tape is fantastic to sit back and spark to on a sunny morning. My selects are "House Shoes" with it's slick guitar riff and no-fucks-given weed raps along with the ominous "Blood Rain" and a track that Bones absolutely kills "Bloody Gown", so make sure you get to his verse.  Whoever Bones is, I want to hear more from a dude that says "No matter what I say, my skin is white / So they always gon' hate me".

Maxo Kream- Whitney Houston (Video)

Maxo Kream hails from the God-forsaken ghetto of Houston, Texas where he mobs, smokes and generally forgoes the establishment. His chant of "fuck the institution" is a slice of reality in the wake of  Rodney King, Trayvon Martin (and Paula Deen?) and he and his crew don't seem to be kidding around about their nonconformity. This track may force you to throw your sofa, be forewarned. I'm loving the starter jackets, 90's sports gear and Maxo's raw, bearded aggression. He goes in on the mic for sure, so peep his mixtape Retro Card over on Datpiff. I've also included the audio for a track called "Lewinsky" (with similar lines like "motherfuck the prosecutor and the D.A.") that has a video floating around the web as well. Both these cuts are from an upcoming tape entitled Quicc Strikes.