Temperatures are nearing 100°F here in New York City. (They’re probably even higher if you’re reading from elsewhere.) And over the next thirteen days, the northern hemisphere will tilt even closer towards the sun. In short, it’s disgusting outside. You know what you need? Summer mixtapes! Here are your three best bets:
1. DJ Bedbugs, Teenpop, Lock, and Drop Vol. 1
Bedbugs, aka music writer and former Pitchfork contributor Dave Moore, combined 1998-2001-era teenpop instrumentals with 2009-2011 rap a cappellas for an LP-length re-examination (via recontextualization) of the last (so far) cultural peak in teenpop. Think of it as a high-concept mashup record, only way better than that description sounds. Bedbugs also helpfully offers a bit of background information about the mix.
3. The Weeknd, House of Balloons
This mix came out in late March, but the extra-wavy smooth-R&B is, strangely, perfect for the heat—it sounds equally good whether or not you have air conditioning, so long as your motive is to chill. Plus it’s got cosigns from not only Drake, as MTV’s Rapfix noted, but also Kidada Jones—the late Aaliyah‘s best friend and backup dancer—who said that the mix “feels like old Missy, Aaliyah, mixed in with like, techno, falsetto.” What an endorsement!
