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Earlier this week, there was collective sadness from hip-hop fans online as news of the closure of mixtape hosting site DatPiff broke. The site, which launched in 2005, has been a hub for spreading underground rap music for nearly a decade.
While it may seem dated now, the way we’ve gotten used to artists — particularly those who fall under the hip-hop culture umbrella — uploading music on their own terms, whenever they want, is certainly influenced by the autonomy that DatPiff granted to the rappers during his rise.
Thankfully, news of the potential shutdown was dispelled by his team, though their website and app are still not working. “Despite the rumors, we’re excited to announce that we’ll continue to supply you with all the mixtapes you love. We are working on technical issues on our website and app, but continue to actively update our YouTube!” DatPiff tweeted on March 13 to his more than 650,000 followers. “Thank you for all the love and concern, but we promise we’re still here.”
However, it is worth unpacking the fear and agony.
In the mid-2000s, the music industry didn’t necessarily revolve around the needs of artists. Most had to submit their albums to their labels for approval months in advance. Samples had to be deleted. Surefire Radio singles were a must, as was the marketing plan to maximize the earning power of those singles.
When artists wanted to forego this process by releasing music without having to erase beats and samples already in use, they dropped mixtapes in physical form that circulated in their home regions or wherever they had relationships with DJs and bootleggers. When the projects showed up online, you had to download them from file-sharing programs like BearShare or LimeWire.
DatPiff has revolutionized mixtape by providing a central home to hear those passion projects from established artists and attempts by up-and-coming artists trying to win over new fans. You didn’t just download and leave; You’ve signed in and saved your downloads to create a digital collection.
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My early experiences of shaping a taste in music came from sites like DatPiff. Lil Wayne’s “Da Drought” series, Gucci Mane’s “Wilt Chamberlain” tapes, and hard-to-find Gangsta Grillz mixtapes were personal favorites in high school. When I wanted to avoid the inevitable malware from dubious download sites, it gave me a reliable place to turn to.
And when record companies suffered from the economic crisis of the late 2000s, DatPiff became even more powerful. The back end of the blog era exploded with artists like Drake, J Cole and Big Sean benefiting greatly from being appreciated by true rap connoisseurs.
The “Damn!” ringing out for so many of us in the digital rap sphere came not only because of the nostalgia the site carries, but also because a lot of what’s on there can’t be found anywhere else on the internet. Apple Music, Spotify and Tidals of the world have built such a monopoly on digital music that it’s difficult for alternatives to survive.
And considering that the majority of the mixtapes uploaded there (especially in the 2000s) gave rappers the opportunity to use unexplained productions and samples from other artists, many of the songs can’t even be uploaded to the major streamers without legal consequences.
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In essence, DatPiff is the most valuable digital archive of underground rap music today. Its closure would mean that much of hip hop would be lost in its purest form.
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The panic for me went further than the fear of losing deep cuts from some well-known rappers. My thoughts went straight to the local Baltimore mixtapes that lived on DatPiff, Live Mixtapes and Spinrilla, which are virtually impossible to find anywhere else.
If the big streamers are essentially pushing these trusted underground platforms to the brink, where do I find the early releases of the late West Baltimore natives G-Rock and Lor Scootas? Where can I find Lor Choc’s first attempts at making a name for himself? While I’ve gone to the trouble of downloading pretty much every Baltimore mixtape I know just in case those very things happen, that doesn’t solve anything for my fellow local rap fans who have done the same.
DatPiff can still be there even if it is currently not working. But I think the sadness earlier in the week came from knowing deep down that the internet isn’t as limitless and infinite as we sometimes think.
So much of what the digital world looked like when I was young in the 2000s is no longer recognizable in 2023. It is very likely that these relics will eventually fade away. My only advice is to stock up on some external hard drives and start downloading right away before it’s too late.