FAT RAPS (REMIX)

“Fat Raps (Remix)” by Big Sean ft. Chuck Inglish, Dom Kennedy, Boldy James, Asher Roth, Chip tha Ripper

Finally Famous Vol. 3 [G.O.O.D. Music, 2010]

Once a separate entity built to work around traditional mainstream media, the blog became part of the PR machine during the early part of the 2010s. The rap mixtape seemed to follow a similar path: it soon became indistinguishable as a format to a proper commercial album, the designation existing more as a promotional tactic as well as a loophole.

2010 already saw the mixtape change from how it existed during the previous decade. King Chip, then known as Chip the Ripper, filled his 2009 mixtape Cleveland Show with all original tracks as a free download, including the original “Fat Raps,” featuring Curren$y and Big Sean, and delivered it to rap blogs who would then promote the project. Both featured rappers on “Fat Raps” worked that same blog-mixtape circuit as Chip as well as the rest of the names that appear in the 2010 remix. With blogs no longer holding as much power or relevancy as they did, that circuit is a path that’s virtually nonexistent today.

Because they sidestepped the labels one way or another, Cleveland Show and like projects from other rappers have yet to show up on streaming services. “Fat Raps” and its remix don’t. The only Finally Famous available from Big Sean is his proper debut album while none of the three mixtapes leading up to that release are available. In terms of keeping archive, it’s a huge void that, depending on the demand or lack of, perhaps will never be filled.

Big Sean is the only name out of the rappers in this remix who really thrived out of the blog-mixtape circuit. The careers of the rest would be sustained within its niche audience. That lineup more so represents the last breath of a wave of internet-bred rap during the late ‘00s while the generation that follows it would inspire an entirely new model.