What makes a hip-hop mixtape different any other mixed tape?
The mixtapes discussed below differ from the more common homemade compilations of the same name traded by music fans since the 1960s. (Moore) Although those mixed tapes and CD-Rs leverage many of the same consumer technologies as hip-hop mixtapes, they are typically produced in very small quantities and intended only for a very limited circulation. When Robert Christgau made “his own personalized Clash record” in 1978, he may have written about it in the Village Voice but the tapes themselves were strictly friends-only. (Moore) The mixtapes produced by hip-hop DJs, on the other hand, circulate in more diverse economies. As the examples below illustrate, ambitious production, distribution, and circulation among fans distinguishes hip-hop mixtapes from other types of homemade compilations. As the dominant global pop idiom, hip-hop’s complex economic, political, social manifestations have inspired considerable scholarship across disciplines. Surprisingly, there has been comparatively less
