mixtape

noun

mix·​tape ˈmiks-ˌtāp 

variants or less commonly mix tape

plural mixtapes also mix tapes

1

: a noncommercial compilation of songs copied (as onto a cassette tape or a CD) from various sources

In high school, I'd be making mixtapes for friends and girls instead of doing my homework, spending hours perfecting how a Smiths song and Joy Division song and Pixies song would convey the way I feel.

—Aaron Axelsen, quoted at SFGate.com

Writers like Nick Hornby have imbued the cassette tape with considerable romance, in particular the mix tape created for a loved one. In practice, these were often recorded directly from the radio, requiring your typical suburban suitor to sit around for hours on end, waiting for the desired track to appear.

—Richard Glover

2

: an album that is usually recorded and distributed without the involvement of a record label

The mixtape is an unofficial release. It might be tied to an imprint or a label, but it doesn't necessarily appear in stores. In fact, most of them can be purchased only on the streets, at the clubs, from the trunks of cars or from the artists themselves.

—Lance Scott Walker

Long before rap got any radio love, mixtapes were the main form of distribution, the currency that kept everything in rotation as the culture evolved.

—Sidney Madden and Rodney Carmichael

High-fidelity and laden with hits, So Far Gone had the sheen of a professional studio album, and it popularized the idea of mixtapes as low-pressure showcases for burgeoning artists.

—Jonah Bromwich

Examples of mixtape in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What would hip-hop be without mixtapes like DJ Clue’s Clue for President or 50 Cent’s 50 Cent Is the Future? —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 8 May 2024

This is a far cry from the Hip-Hop conflicts of the 90s and early aughts, fought over months and years through mixtape responses, single b-sides, and comments made in magazine articles and radio interviews. —Rivea Ruff, Essence, 7 May 2024

Kendrick Lamar and Drake (Image by Chris Panicker, photos via Getty Images) Pitchfork writer Alphonse Pierre’s rap column covers songs, mixtapes, albums, Instagram freestyles, memes, weird tweets, fashion trends—and anything else that catches his attention. —Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 6 May 2024

The one-day festival, which was supposed to begin at noon on Saturday in Las Vegas, was shaping up to be a millennial mixtape dream come true with headlining sets from Usher, Backstreet Boys, Janet Jackson and Alicia Keys. —Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 4 May 2024

MCs could release mixtapes on file-sharing sites like Megaupload. —C. Brandon Ogbunu, WIRED, 19 Apr. 2024

If anything, most of the mixtape’s collaborations were welcome, but unnecessary, reminders of how great the chemistry is between Dreamville artists. —Angel Diaz, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024

Pitchfork writer Alphonse Pierre’s rap column covers songs, mixtapes, albums, Instagram freestyles, memes, weird tweets, fashion trends—and anything else that catches his attention. —Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 12 Apr. 2024

Bad Bunny has also competed at a WrestleMania; this week Def Jam dropped a special mixtape celebrating WrestleMania’s 40th anniversary. —Shaheem Reid, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1985, in the meaning defined at sense 1