Three DJs from Philadelphia moved to Atlanta for college in the late 1990s. DJ Drama, Don Cannon, and DJ Sense ended up at Clark Atlanta University by coincidence, found each other, and built something no one has been able to duplicate since. They called themselves the Aphilliates: Atlanta, Philly, affiliates.
What they built was Gangsta Grillz, and the hosted mixtape format has never been the same.
Before Jeezy had a deal, Drama hosted Trap or Die in 2005. Mostly original music, produced by Shawty Redd and Don Cannon. Basically a debut album released before any label had officially signed off on it. By the time Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 hit stores, the streets already knew every word. That was the move: build the audience before the industry decides you are ready.
They did it for Wayne too. Dedication 2 in 2006 gave him a platform worthy of the argument he was making. Wayne came in swinging and did not stop. Don Cannon built the beat for Cannon and Wayne turned it into one of the most quoted verses of the era. The tape sold through iTunes and retail despite using unlicensed instrumentals. It charted. It made year-end best-of lists alongside major label releases. For a street tape hosted by two DJs out of Atlanta, that had never happened before.
Dedication 2 is now in the mixtapekings.com archive. The full story breaks down how Drama and Cannon built the Aphilliates from three Philly DJs at a historically Black university in Atlanta, what the Gangsta Grillz platform did for Jeezy, Wayne, and Meek Mill before the labels caught up, and why this tape specifically changed what the hosted mixtape format was capable of.
From the Crate
Dedication 2 made Kelefa Sanneh's year-end list at the New York Times. A street tape with unlicensed instrumentals, hosted by two DJs from Philadelphia living in Atlanta, sitting alongside the best albums of 2006. That is what Drama and Cannon built.
One More Thing
Dedication 2 is in the archive now with the full tracklist and streaming. Put on The Best in the Business from the top and let it run. If you make it to Cannon and do not go back and play it again, I do not know what to tell you.
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