DJ Smallz and Yo Gotti

DJ Smallz and Yo Gotti, Hustle & Flow: Southern Smoke Special Edition

It won't be much of a surprise that the South dominated the mixtape game this past year, as they generally ran the game on all fronts in 2005. While it was the year of the stars, from Three 6 Mafia to Young Jeezy to the Clipse, Yo Gotti was a voice that stuck out to me immediately, thanks to DJ Smallz.

Gotti comes out of the Memphis scene, which hasn't drawn the attention of the world the way that Atlanta and Houston and New Orleans have been able to. That's in spite of Three 6 Mafia's biggest hit ever, "Stay Fly", which brought the group national airplay. This lack of spotlight on Memphis seems to be the only reason Gotti hasn't gotten more buzz, more blog discussion, more press, as he has everything else. He has the coke game raps, the Southern voice, the bass beats. Listen to the mixtape, and hear for yourself. I hope that 2006 is the year that Yo Gotti rises to the level of Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne, making coke money on his rhymes.

Anyway, here is the mixtape that came out during the summer, compiled by DJ Smallz as a Southern Smoke: Hustle and Flow edition. It's one of the five best mixtapes to me this year, and definitely my favorite thing that DJ Smallz was involved in. I hope that people will leave some thoughts in the Comments section this week on their favorites street tapes, as I am sure that I missed a lot of great stuff.

-Jack Abramoff agreed to cooperate with the federal authorities and plead guilty. You heard it here first, if you look at nothing else and don't read the newspaper or watch television. Talking Points Memo is the best source on this story, especially this round-up of the day's events. Firedoglake also has a nice guide for those just getting interested in the story.

The key aspect that people must learn is that this is the modern Republican Party. This is not a bipartisan story. Here is a good start by the Washington Post. (Update: The Wall Street Journal reports that Abramoff could implicate up to 60 lawmakers. [Via Think Progress])

-Make sure to start your new year off by grabbing the last lemon-red mix of last year. This one features the work of Nick Catchdubs, the blog legend, Fader scibe and reputable DJ. It's a nice varied mix, taking in B-more club, dancehall, indie, club bangers.

-Tonight we head to H-town, PAT, specifically, for a look at Rapid Ric and Bun-B for the next mixtape.