Back in the day, before streaming became the standard for media consumption, mixtapes were a massive thing. Yesterday Director Omar Acosta dropped a trailer for a documentary examining and celebrating the mixtape.
Mixtapes were free or independently sold, self-released tapes that artists spread to gain a following. The mixtape game was mostly dominated by rappers and DJs, but many artists were concerned about copyright infringement. Later, it became a free tool for publicity or place holder between official projects. Moreover, since the 2010s, the mixtape has morphed. It has become blurred with the studio album and extended play.
Acosta (Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives) is directing “Mixtape: The Movie”. Mercury Studios and Saboteur is producing the film in collaboration with Def Jam. It will also feature many music icons such as A$AP Rocky, Brucie B, Bun B, CeeLo, and more.
https://youtu.be/u1–qKHVkZ0
According to the Tribeca Film Festival, “Mixtape tells the story of mixtape culture and its role in spreading hip-hop around the world. This is a film about the outlaw DJs who, for the love of the music, turned a criminal enterprise into a creative and commercial backbone of the music business.”
The festival is going to be where the world premiere of the documentary is going to happen. They will show “Mixtape: The Movie” at 8 pm on April 7.
“Mixtape” was first announced in 2019. Paul Rosenberg, Eminem’s manager, as well as the CEO of Def Jam told Variety about it in an interview. Rosenberg described it as “a vital part of the history of the culture and the genre we don’t feel has been really examined thoroughly and properly enough or given its day.”
Written by Justin Acosta
Twitter: @hahalacka