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Life & Arts

Mixtape DJs feel government squeeze

Rap on Hip-hop

Dante Eglin and Eli Jabbe

Dante Eglin: The heat is on for record labels and popular mixtape DJs now after the office of DJ Drama's Atlanta-based Aphilliates Music Group was raided by state and federal investigators last week. DJ Drama and DJ Don Cannon were arrested on felony charges for allegedly using copyrighted material in their popular mixtape series.

Brad Buckles, executive vice president of the RIAA's Anti-Piracy Division in Washington, D.C., insisted that the RIAA doesn't have a score to settle with the mixtape industry. "Whether it's a mixtape or a compilation or whatever it's called, it doesn't really matter. If it's a product that's violating the law, it becomes a target," Buckles told MTV News.

Now that the RIAA has sent a defining message to DJs and their respective labels, what's to become of the mixtape scene?

Eli Jabbe: It's a major blow to the mixtape scene, and many Web sites and retailers have already moved to discontinue selling such albums. Even major retailers such as Best Buy also have carried various mixtapes recently. At the same time, the RIAA should place more pertinent issues at the forefront of their priorities rather than chasing down DJs.a

Eglin: In an interesting twist, Lil' Wayne had some succinct advice on VH-1.com for mixtape DJs everywhere. "Smarten up," Wayne advised, adding, "you gotta play the game fair. If you don't play fair, all kind of things can happen." Did Weezy possibly overstep his boundaries or was he simply stating some real talk?

Jabbe: The possibility of criminal charges always existed because of the copyrighted material being used, but an arrest was probably uncalled for. Lil' Wayne really has no place to be giving advice seeing as how he himself has benefited from collaborations with DJ Drama recently, 

Eglin: Lil' Wayne and Young Jeezy received mainstream and underground buzz from their Gangsta Grillz mixtapes with DJ Drama. Lil' Wayne's Dedication mixtape series propelled him to a popularity far greater than his Cash Money Records heyday. What Wayne said was on point and truthful but definitely was far from loyal from a business standpoint. 

Jabbe: It's not surprising to hear Wayne's lack of support for Drama after he's recently dissed Jay-Z, The Clipse, Pharrell and Young Buck within a short span of time.

Eglin: In the modern era of bootlegging, adaptation is the key to survival. Every major release is pirated, and record companies and artists have had to create new strategies to rebound from such setbacks. The tables have turned now, and the DJs are now left at the whiteboard to sketch a new strategy. 

Jabbe: With his new album, Waitin to Inhale, set to release March 27, Devin The Dude is riding a strong underground buzz, and the anticipation continues to grow at an exponential pace as the album nears. I hope he gets some success from the album, seeing as how he's worked with so many big name artists but still hasn't received much mainstream recognition.

Eglin: Being a Rap-a-Lot release, the album won't sell many copies, but it'll be a success in the eyes of his fans, similar to recent Rap-a-Lot releases such as Bun B's Trill and Z-Ro's I'm Still Livin'. 

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