You can count on some rappers to celebrate 420 because of their affection for Mary Jane. Wiz Kalifa is probably in the top five of that list, and he didn’t disappoint today, April 20, as he’s released his classic 2012 mixtape Taylor Allderdice on streaming services.
This is the first time that the mixtape, one of the many that helped seal his spot in the limelight, has been released on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and TIDAL. The best news for fans is that there were no sample clearance issues as has happened in the past with similar types of releases, which means the mixtape can now be streamed in its entirety.
Fans can take in the original 17-song tracklist with some monster features, including the likes of Rick Ross, Juicy J, Smoke DZA, Chevy Woods, Lola Monroe, and even his ex-wife Amber Rose.
Taylor Allderdice was the Pittsburgh native’s tenth mixtape released on March 13, 2012. The project was named after the high school that the “Black and Yellow” rapper attended. This latest rerelease comes just a little over a month after the tenth anniversary of the original mixtape, which came about a year after his 2011 major label debut Rolling Papers.
It’s undoubtedly a fan favorite, especially since hits like “My Favorite Song” and “Blindfolds” showed the rapper’s lyrical diversity and were well received by fans. It seems the rapper has been on a push to get his retro classics back out into the open market as in 2018, the Taylor Gang chief reissued 2010’s Kush & Orange Juice and 2011’s Cabin Fever.
Wiz Khalifa’s 2009 How Fly collaboration with Curren$y was also reissued in 2019. There’s no doubt that for rappers to stay ahead of the game in these times, they most times have to embrace streaming platforms. These platforms have become the way the entire world easily accesses music, and so it’s one of the only ways that they can get their voices global which, of course, usually means more income for them.
It also comes as rappers are moving away from the DatPiff model, which is an online distribution platform that was launched in 2005 that specializes in hip-hop, rap, and urban music. The model is not very lucrative for rappers as unregistered users are allowed to download any mixtape uploaded to the site that has been sponsored for free and registered users are permitted a limited number of downloads of non-sponsored mixtapes per day.
Many rappers have been exploring Digital Service Providers like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and YouTube Music. These providers collect mechanical royalties and performance royalties and pay those royalties directly to the artist, a more sound business model.
Some of the artists who have followed the DSP business trend include A$AP Rocky, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Future, Mac Miller, Big K.R.I.T., and Joey Bada$$, to name a few.
Khalifa is still keen to make big business moves. As such, he’s looking beyond just his old mixtapes and recently got together with Smoke DZA, Big K.R.I.T., and Girl Talk for the collaborative album Full Court Press. He’s also expected to go on tour soon with Logic for the Vinyl Verse Tour.
