Mixtape: The Weeknd x Chi Duly - Balloons of Haus

The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) was a very busy boy in 2011, releasing three full-length mixtapes; House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence (all of which you can download for free at his official website). All three mixtapes were received with much acclaim and have set The Weeknd up nicely to enjoy a very successful 2012, where we will hopefully be graced with a debut album.

Mixtape: War of Words - Free Your Minds

OK, everyone makes mixtapes nowadays, but this mixtape from War of Words is simply brilliant. Featuring classic tracks from SNAP!, Black Box, TLC and Rosario Ralphi, as well as three tracks from the duo themselves, pop perfection is the only thing on the agenda. War of Words are set for a magnificent 2012 ("isn't everybody?" you say), but tracks like 'Panic', 'Battleground' and 'Sympathy' speak volumes for the girls' potential to be the next big thing in pop music.

MP3: Bashy - Heart of Stone (Feat. Dot Rotton, Lady Leshurr & Black The Ripper)

A track from Bashy's The Crunchie Mixtape was my Song of the Day the other week, and now I'm bringing you another track from the brilliant London rapper, and this tune is straight fire. Bashy has teamed up with Dot Rotton, Lady Leshurr and Black The Ripper, to create 'Heart of Stone', an impressive track, where everyone goes hard. The track comes from the upcoming The Great Escape EP, a collaborations project that Bashy has been recording in-between filming the movie The Man Inside, in which he has secured the lead role.

Song of the Day: #2

G-Eazy, hailing from Oakland, Californina, provided us with what was, in my humble opinion, one of the best mixtapes of 2011, The Endless Summer. His retro samples (most notably the use of 'Runaround Sue' by Dion DiMucci) and laid-back delivery really set him apart from the slew of new rappers to appear in the last year. I've got my fingers crossed for a few UK shows from G-Eazy this year.

Today's SOTD is:

G-Eazy - All I Could Do (Feat. Skizzy Mars & Devon Baldwin)



Let me know what you think, in the comments section below. Also, if you like what you hear, you can download the entire mixtape for free from his website here.