save the dj drama 4 ya mama

So as Idolator and XXL have already reported, the Feds busted T.I.'s go-to-guy, DJ Drama and his partner, DJ Don Cannon for selling mixtapes, i.e. "bootlegs" or "illegal CDs." While I'm not the biggest DJ Drama fan (it's Kay Slay or nuffin'), as a mixtape enthusiast and practitioner, I'm a little irked.

See, back when dudes like DJ Clue, Funkmaster Flex and Kid Capri were releasing mixtapes on major labels, the record companies were absolutely ecstatic. These DJs were basically putting out promotional material for labels that didn't cost them shit. Meanwhile, DJs got exclusive songs and everybody was happy. During the heyday of major label mixtapes (1996-2002), the RIAA didn't say shit, perhaps because these mixtapes were under the radar or because they were selling. Who knows?

With the Internet rapidly becoming the source for music fans and sales of physical content declining, the RIAA is running around like a headless chicken looking for someone to catch heat, where better to begin than with hip-hop's biggest criminals, the DJs.