But this mixtape has something crucial that so many records of its type lack - it has a point of view. Which isn't to say that it's one of the best albums of the year the simplistic synth lines and staid beats of 'What You Doin'' and 'Brainwash By London' sound clumsily amateurish, and even in the tape's best tracks, there's a sense that Volpe is holding something back. And his first mixtape, culled from instrumentals he's made for various rappers over the last few years and made available for free download this past April, is one of the most exciting records I've heard all year. Volpe produces from his mother's attics, culls samples from file-sharing websites, and has taken a stage name from a Rhode Island seafood dish that he's never had. Not that 23-year-old New Jersey resident and physical therapy student Mike Volpe is particularly eccentric in any way rather, the entire concept behind his work making beats for an impressively high-profile group of MySpace-era rappers like Soulja Boy and Lil B stands out in the increasingly crowded field of hip-hop production.
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