Mixtape 3512: Summer of '97 - Art of the mixtape

Growing up DJing meant mixtapes... lots of mixtapes.  At some point in my life i started numbering them... to be honest I didn't start at mixtape #1.  I think I did some rough math and started in the neighborhood of 3200.  

I used to pump out mixtapes like at least one a week... this is when mixtapes were actually on tape (yeah, like as in a cassette.) You had two 45 minute sides of blank canvas to work with and you pretty much only got one shot..  more advanced mixtape artists (such as your boy jesse) could work the 'punch-in' pretty well in the later years, but you pretty much tried to do it all in one rip.

For some reason I decided to go all out for mixtape 3512...  original beats, guest appearance talksets and some songs that were remixed special for this one tape.  It ended up being one of the more refined and well-crafted mixtapes that I had put together..  I must have made at least 30 copies to send out to friends (who remembers high speed dubbing?)

I've got to thank fresh for ripping this one.  The digital era has definitely changed the art of the mixtape into something a little more accessible (however in my opinion unfortunately less personal.)  Hope you like it:

mixtape 3512

Dear Atlanta: Please Clean Up the Old 4th Ward

Let's talk about Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward, or as I like to say "the oh-four-dubb."  For a city like Atlanta where most of the tourism revolves around new, less-historic venues such as the aquarium, the World of Coke, the CNN center, the the High museum and Centennial Park it's really great that there exists an area that can boast a strong history with southern roots and an attachment to the civil rights movement.  The O4W is the area where Dr Martin Luther King grew up, was a reverend at Ebenezer baptist church, is now buried and is commemorated in the MLK center.  Visitors to Atlanta and residents alike can come down to the O4W and take a tour of the MLK birth home, see the church where MLK preached, pay respects at the burial site and then go across the street to learn about MLK's role in the civil rights movement at the King Center all within a radius of about 4 blocks.  It's a very powerful and inspiring tour that I recommend anyone in Atlanta check out.  The Old 4th Ward is possibly the area in Atlanta with the most impressive resumé and should be something that evokes a sense of regional pride.

Then why is it such a shithole?

I drive through the area on my way to work every day.  From Decatur st i take a right on Boulevard and then a Left on Edgewood and go right through what is undoubtedly one of the nastiest, ugliest areas in metro Atlanta.  The O4W or as I like to think of it "Crack City" .. At all hours of the day you can see the most disturbing, cracked-out and generally fucked up sights that Atlanta has to offer.  Yes, I know it's an "up and coming" area with some new bars and restaurants..  cool spots like Soundtable, the Village Theatre and the Corner Tavern etc ..  I can dig it.  I am not however letting my girl walk around there at night alone, HELLS NO.  Is the Atlanta department of tourism suggesting that visitors to our fine city take the Marta to the MLK stop and walk to the MLK center?  That is a joke...

"Hi, welcome to Atlanta.  On your stroll from the train you'll be passing by historic Oakland Cemetery and the beautiful Hilliard Street Hotel.  Notice the Elizabethan boarded-up windows and barbed wire around the parking lot.. oh, and please watch your step as you walk over the passed out crackhead.. all part of the lovely charm of the O4W."

How about Selena Butler park?  It's completely fenced in with a "Park Closed for Renovations" notice on the fence.. only there are no signs whatsoever of any renovations.  no bulldozers, no trucks, not even an orange cone.  The notice should read "park closed due to too many crackheads occupying this space."

Kasim, you are a solid guy.

Do the city a favor and get the O4W back to a respectable level.  Seriously... what should be one of the nicest, most well-kept areas of the city is a dump.  With all the great things that are in the area it is unacceptable that it is in the state that it is in.

my 2¢,

~jesster

p.s. if your answer is "we are currently in the process of blah blah blah" they my answer to your answer is "sorry but your small effort is not enough."

Not Sure Why I Think This Is REALLY Funny

for some reason this had me in tears..

Heartbreak: Falcons And Pats Lose Home Playoff Games

what could be worse than your two favorite teams getting knocked out of the playoffs at home after a bye week?  the fact that you had both of 'em winning the superbowl through caesar's palace:

Crazy Guy On Marta: Rambling Nonsense vs Profound Dialogue

so this morning i was riding marta..  it's a saturday but we've got a ton to do here so off to work we go.  at the five points station you could hear this guy talking to his friend from across the platform.  he wasn't exactly screaming but he was definitely one of those guys whose conversation level was loud enough that everyone within 40 yards could hear him.  his voice was way raspy... like he started smoking at age 8, and now 50 years later he's still smokin' a pack a day.  

the train comes and we get on and he's still talking to his friend.  at this point i didn't think he was that crazy guy, because at least he was talking to someone.  well, at the next stop his friend gets off the train and he stays on... and he stays talking... only now he's not talking to anyone in particular.  he's now the crazy guy that talks real loud to the whole train and hopes someone will listen to him.

since his voice was interesting i thought i'd whip out the iphone and record him.  as soon as i start rolling the guy gets into the auspicious subject of death.

so was he just a crazy guy on the train rambling on about living to die and talkin' shit?  or was he one of those really deep dudes that speaks mad profound monologues disguised as a crazy dude on the train?

upon further review the ruling on the field stands: crazy.

marta guy will be charged a timeout.

DON'T NOBODY DIE FOR NO REASON

YOU DIE, YOU DIE CAUSE IT'S YOUR TIME

I MIGHT DIE TODAY

IF I'M A DIE I'M A DIE

I CAN'T STOP IT

YOU TRY AND FIGURE A REASON WHY YOU DIE

DON'T NEED NO CONVERSATION

WE DIE

THAT'S IT

THAT'S WHAT WE DO WE DIE

WE DIE

WE LIVE TO DIE

YOU GON' DIE

Fridge Intruder

Song made for the VT. this is the dope "fridge intruder" song that you wish you made (psyche.)  mad props to clabo, bleezy, officer longshore, sarge and my dogg mike king.

link to the video edited by chelsae

Posted on LetsMix.com "Party Princess Pop" mix

Party Princess Pop from jesstermix77 at Letsmix.com.