Are rappers taking the underground thing too far?

So many rappers decide to give their fans a "taste" of what can be expected from their album by creating mixtapes and making them available to listeners for download on the internet. I did not really think about this until I listened to new mixtapes by Rick Ross and Fabolous. Fabolous released a mixtape called "There Is No Competition 2: The Funeral Service". It is a Gangsta Grillz project where half of the songs are original cuts by Fab and the other half is a collection of freestyles on popular beats.

Rick Ross just released " The Albert Anastasia EP" which in my eyes is not an EP because it has a 13 song tracklist. This mixtape has all original music including the songs assisted by John Legend and Ne-Yo called Sweet Life and Super High respectively that are supposed to be the first two singles for Ross' upcoming album "Teflon Don".

Don't get me wrong both mixtapes have a lot of good music and do showcase exactly what these rappers can do when they get focused but they, Rick Ross especially, are putting out  too much for free. If I download Rick Ross' mixtape, I will see no purpose in purchasing his album because he has satisfied my craving for his music with the music he released without charge. I know I am not the only one who feels this way so this method of promotion is taking money out of his pocket.

"Teflon Don" is supposed to come out in July. After listening to this new mixtape by Ross, which by the way is pretty outstanding, I can now adjust my attention to Eminem who has kept much of what he plans to release to the public this summer a secret. "Not Afraid" is not the best song Eminem has ever done but it is one of the few new songs available by Eminem right now, the true fans have no choice but to listen and love it.

Artists need to continue to make quality songs but hold them for their albums in order to leave their fans to curiously and impatiently wait on the final product. With all of this being said, gather a few minutes and listen to Rick Ross' new "ep" called "The Albert Anastasia EP". Mixtape below.

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