While New York's mixtape scene was racing to be first with the exclusive, the freestyle, the leak, a kid out of Cleveland was building something completely different. Instead of chasing "first," MICK built full concept tapes, entire projects wrapped around one artist's catalog, treated like an album, not a collection of leaks. It led to a J Dilla tribute Busta Rhymes himself called "hip-hop historian" work, a decade-long run with DJ Jazzy Jeff built around a single 1991 record, and eventually, dropping "DJ" and "Boogie" from his own name entirely.
That Dilla tribute, "Dillagence," just got a sequel. Busta released "Dillagence II" this past August, approved by Dilla's own estate, proof that the tribute MICK built almost twenty years ago is still shaping the culture today.
Our fourth Collector Spotlight is a conversation about building the opposite career from everyone around you, and why treating catalog like history instead of content is the whole difference between a mixtape that lasts and one that's forgotten in a month.
From the Crate
"Treat catalog like history, not content."
MICK, on the whole idea behind Dillagence and everything he's built since.
One More Thing
MICK's pick for who we should spotlight next: DJ Wally Sparks, a name already headed into our pipeline.
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— Diony C.