Datpiff: The Mixtape Site That Changed Music Forever
Hip-hop’s 51st birthday was just a few weeks ago, and it feels like a good time to reflect on how much The Culture’s changed in just over half a century.
One of the biggest changes is probably that music ownership has now become second to streaming — a given when you look at how rapidly technology has changed the landscape.
We often discuss streaming and even the sites that led to its inception (i.e. music blogs), but another component is slowly making its way back to the forefront, and that’s… Mixtapes.
Mixtapes were always the premiere way to break an artist in the early 2010s. They often included material that the record labels either 1.) couldn’t clear because of copyright or 2.) wouldn’t clear because they didn’t believe in it.
Despite that, the artist felt like their fans needed to hear these records, and thus mixtapes became the place where they lived.
When it comes to the mixtape era, one website stood tall above all of the others, and Hip-hop heads know which website I’m talking about. It was called:
DatPiff.
Datpiff was essentially THE place to go for mixtapes for over a decade, and its importance to Hip-hop culture can’t be overstated.
Unfortunately, the site was shut down a few months ago, but the archive is still available online.
That said, there’s a new generation of music fans out there who should know about the impact of Datpiff, so let’s talk about it.
THE BEGINNING
Datpiff was launched in 2005 by Marcus Frasier and Kyle KP Reilly with the original idea centered on bringing mixtapes online replicating the physical markets in popular areas like Canal street, and Little Italy in New York. 1
Marcus was a programmer who was already looking to launch a mixtape site, and after connecting with KP, the two began divided up duties; Marcus focused on building the site, and KP used his connections to convince artists to release their music on DatPiff.
Keep in mind that when Datpiff was started, there was no Spotify, or Apple Music. Fans still downloaded music to their iPods or Zune players, and highly coveted releases could be bought online as MP3s.
In order to buy a project, you had to go an online store like iTunes and even then, you could only listen to a 30 second “preview” of the song(s) that you hoped to buy.
Which brings us to the crux of their impact.
I. THEY WERE STREAMING BEFORE STREAMING
Datpiff democratized distribution not only for independent artists, but also artists who were at war with their labels and searching for a way to reach their fanbase.
From a consumers lens, it was also the height of convenience.
Rather than search online for the right zip file on Mediafire, or scour YouTube for a low-quality leak of an anticipated freestyle, Datpiff provided a trusted middle ground where they could listen to the hottest music free of concern.
And the best part?
There were no 30-second previews. It was the full song — you could choose to listen or download it at your discretion. The only caveat was a daily download limit. But it was worth it for what they offered.
II. DATPIFF BROKE ARTISTS
Let’s go to 2009 for a sec…
In ‘09, Hip-hop’s Blog Era was coming into fruition, and with that came the rise of stars like Drake, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar — essentially the entire generation of rappers considered legends now found their popularity during that era.
The Blog Era solidified the belief that you didn’t need a label or radio to break an artist anymore. Through blogs and emerging media, artists had direct access to their fans for the first.
The cadence of Blog Era releases would see artists vying for a premiere of their singles on popular blogs like 2Dopeboyz or XXL
But as for where fans would go to hear the project…
It was Datpiff. Hands down.
While there were a ton of blogs online where consumers could listen to loosies and underground releases from artists, it was practically understood that the most coveted real estate was Datpiff’s homepage and that it was THE place to catch a buzz, no matter how established of an artist you are.
For artists like Meek Mill…
DatPiff helped launch their career into the stratosphere.
KP notes in multiple interviews that DatPiff was based in Philadelphia, which led to him connecting with Meek Mill early on.
He noticed that Meek’s digital presence was almost non-existent, and approached his manager Charlie Mac about hosting Meek’s mixtapes on Datpiff, which helped to grow his popularity online.
This all culminated in a massive moment in Meek’s career when his highly anticipated mixtape Dreamchasers 2 dropped.
It easily became one of the most popular DatPiff mixtapes of all time. It was so anticipated that it crashed the site on release day, and ultimately amassed over 4 million downloads.2
In many other cases, DatPiff is home to many artists most cherished projects, and those releases have defined their entire careers:
Some of those DatPiff releases include:
Drake - So Far Gone
J. Cole - Friday Night Lights
Big Krit - Krit Wuz Here, Return of 4eva, 4eva & a Day
Big Sean - Detroit
Wale - Mixtape About Nothing
Wiz Khalifa - Kush & Orange Juice
Curren$y - Covert Coup, How Fly (w/ Wiz Khalifa)
There are quite literally too many to list here.
DatPiff was that important to what the Culture would eventually become.
Even for established artists…
III. DatPiff Became an Accelerator
As is the case with most creativity, corporate interests tend to stand in the way of consumers getting the best product.
Often, an artist wouldn’t be successful because of label politics.
If you couldn’t find the right single, you couldn’t release an album. If nobody was excited about you in the building, your album could get shelved. Everything was at the discretion of the label.
The mixtape circuit helped circumvent this process because it became the place where the rawest form of an artist's talent would appear, free from label concerns, fear of copyright issues, and more.
When fans saw an artist drop a mixtape they knew they were in for something special.
So while DatPiff helped create the careers of budding acts like Meek Mill and Wiz Khalifa, it became an accelerant for established acts looking to reignite themselves in the market.
It became a crucial part of the story for artists like Lil Wayne.
The Dedication series, Da Drought 3, and the numerous leaked mixtapes that would go on to define Wayne’s ascent as the best rapper alive were floating around in gas stations, random websites, and so many other places.
But if you didn’t feel like doing all of that searching around for music, all of Wayne’s work that didn’t make the album could be found on DatPiff.
Below is just a small amount of his most popular (official) mixtape releases — all of which premiered on Datpiff. According to KP, Dedication 5 broke tons of records and is one of the most popular mixtapes they’ve ever had.
Even someone who wasn’t looking for Lil Wayne’s music couldn’t help but go to the homepage of Datpiff and be bombarded with at least 3-5 lil wayne “mixtapes” — most of which carried unsanctioned, leaked material that ironically helped solidify his standing as the best rapper alive.
EPILOGUE
When you go back to Datpiff, even just for the nostalgia, you are immediately plunged back into the Blog era.
It was a time when an artist may not have sold any records, but the prestige that came with seeing hundreds of thousands of downloads next to their name along with a gold, or platinum sticker told you everything you needed to know about them.
The Legacy of Datpiff still lives on today, and you can find the archives for the site online.
Although the OG website is down, you can ask any Hip-hop fan from the early 2010s and I’m sure they’ll tell you about the power of Datpiff.
With that in mind, knowing that Hip-hop just turned 51, take a second to go through your own hard drives and look for those mixtape gems that you haven’t heard in a while.
I know I’ve got a bunch of jams from that era that I can’t wait to revisit.
One.
we have to talk about 4 shared, contributed a lot in the same era.
I loved this site. Quiet as it’s kept they also had some of the best R&B mixtapes you could find. Especially in the blog era when the sound turned monochromatic.