Staff - Letter from D.Bail

Peace and greetings to everyone out there. I'm sure the new Owner & Chair, DJ Slayer and the new CEO, A.R., share my sentiments of happiness to see the support and love generated thus far to the memory of Justo Faison, who established the Justo's Mixtape Awards. We continue Justo's commitment to recognize the over looked, hard working and most talented DJ's and Artist. For me, it has been a honor to be working with The Justos since 2005 and I'm thankful for the continued opportunity to be apart of such a certified legacy.

With that being said, I believe the Mixtape has been the ultimate survivor through the ups and downs, from the bootlegs to the officials, the street corners (shout out to Amadeu) to the Internet, through federal raids and needless industry attacks and is still standing on both feet. Mixtapes are more important now as they were ever before in the music industry. They have boosted new artists profiles to mainstream success, kept the veterans relevant while waiting for their release date or a new deal and has transformed itself to new dimensions ala "Street Albums". Mixtapes has also created other options for artist who were either rejected or released by a label to still have an outlet that satisfies their fans. The rise of several mixtape websites has greatly impacted the way we get music today. Record labels went from shunning mixtapes away to actually promoting them and even re-releasing them at retail as EP's. Labels are even using mixtape songs for album cuts after they garnered radio success or enough heat in the clubs, streets or Internet. Mixtapes singles have become the new white label.

A mixtape use to go for $5 at your local swap meet or bodega but now many of them are free, courtesy of the artist themselves, and you can get them through the click of button on your favorite Hip-Hop sites. To those who complain about the lack of music I recommend you broaden your horizons a bit. Theres nothing wrong about a New York cat checking for some West Coast artists or a Down South listener checking for whats new in the Midwest. As a Hip-Hop dude born in New York and raised in Jersey, I just love good music period. If I can relate to it and be entertained by it, cool. If it educates me or has some soul and pain to it, I love it. If its conscious and questions the solutions to life's drama, thats what's up too. Maybe another day I may want to party and celebrate or be amped up for whatever reason. Then other times I may want to lounge and chill out to sounds that are laid back. There are different artists from everywhere that all create different styles of music to enjoy!  

There are great emcees and DJ's coast to coast as well as internationally who are putting in work in the studio and are quietly or loudly creating solid catalogs. Myself personally, I always look for new music in different regions through the blogs, hip hop forums, clubs, open mic's, beat and rap battles and also what I hear in the street. There will always be ways to find something fresh. Shout out to the DJ's on satellite, Internet and territorial radio who break new acts. I appreciate Hip-Hop and most definitely the contributions YOU ALL are making right now to THEJUSTOS.COM. The community is growing and this should be a forum for us to address issues that effect us all as a whole in the industry. We should talk to each other instead of talking about each other!

I remember the last award show Justo was alive for in 2005 at BB Kings and seeing DJ's and Artist from all over the country supporting and celebrating each other! It was a historic night in Hip-Hop where the love was real and present in the building. Lets get back to that. I am the Host of Mixshow360 presented by The Justos Mixtape Awards which is debuting soon on THEJUSTOS.COM and MIXSHOW360.COM. We got some never seen before footage, coverage of the upcoming Justo themed events, as well as this years upcoming 15th Anniversary Award Show so stay linked and stay tuned! 


I can be reached at dbail@mixshow360.com, here on The Justos site through My Profile, or on Twitter @dbail1.