Alive On Arrival might be the mixtape of 2006, and it's only fucking April. If you guys aren't up on Green Lantern, here's a cliff notes edition on his career: rising to prominence on the mixtape circuit and on Hot 97, Green is a producer as well as a DJ. He has blessed the D-Block crew, and most recently hit Billboard status with Ludacris' "Number One Spot". He was accepted into Eminem's Shady Records fold, but due to a miscommunication, was featured on a DVD where Jadakiss was airing out his beef with 50 Cent. Once this hit the streets, so did Green Lantern. Flash to November 2005, and the Evil Genius has found a new home with Russell Simmons' RSMG (Russell Simmons Music Group). Since then, things have looked up for Green, and this mixtape is his resurrection.
This mixtape showcases his dynamic mixture of sounds. His impressive productions (I currently have "Get Ya Pay" by T.I. & Bun B on constant rotation), always have a distinct theme, whether it's the samples in "Shotgun Season" to the overly depressed mood of "All I Know", you never know that he laced the beat, they all sound different and fresh. In a recent interview, he speaks on his versatility on styles of production and sounds. He also has the ill exclusives, with Pharrell rocking over Raekwon's "Ice Cream" (peep the Eddie Murphy samples on that), Juelz (A?) over EVERYTHING, even Mike Jones coming correct (well, as correct as he can come) over Juvie's "In My Life". You get a good balance of what Green Lantern is working with production wise, as well as the regular mixtape exclusives. Here's how raw Green does it: you get him "flipping" the beat under Remy Martin's "Bronx Blocks": he takes the bassline to the classic Eric B & Rakim track "Juice (Know The Ledge)" with the Busta Rhymes club banger "Touch It", well one of the beats underneath it. Thing is, he then FLIPS THAT BEAT BLEND, to like a few simple bass hits and drum taps... it makes Remy's boasts that much iller.
It's just hard to find such talented DJs putting out quality mixtapes. Hip-Hop's own dubplate culture, the "exclusive", is basically either an advance track from a forthcoming release or a track made specifically for that tape. Problem is, most mixtape themes only exist on the cover of the package. Once you get into the tape, its not mixed, its not original, its just the same boring spitters over weak tracks. Green Lantern fixes that, and showcases his many talents with other talented artists. Hell, the last 2 tracks even feature winners of various contests he has put out, which just goes to show you that its not just about getting a rep for himself... he's pulling others up onto that platform. Hopefully, his long awaited Invasion album will not be delayed much further.
To sum it all up, you are playing yourself if you think that Green Lantern doesn't have that fire. He is in a New York State of Mind (shout out to Billy Joel), but has enough pull to feature Immortal Technique, dead prez and others rocking "Impeach The President", Juelz, T.I., Dem Franchise Boyz, Ghostface Killah, the underground wonderkid Papoose and many other heavy spitters on one tape. INVASION!
Be on the lookout for his collabo with Ghostface Killah, the "Internet Invasion" mixtape, which can be heard here. Exclusives and album cuts for your pleasure. Don't say I never gave you nothing.
And before anyone even says, no I'm not on salary, no I don't know Green Lantern personally... I just like shining light on hot shit. To quote Clinton Sparks, "GET FAMILIAR!"
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