Best of the Submissions, Volume 2
Why start with volume 2, you might ask? It's the first one I heard! I received this as a Christmas gift from my sister in 2006. The album cover is eye candy: bright colours and a style of graphic design that pops.
The intro track is kind of interesting, sampling songs from volumes 1 and 2 in this mixtape series. Soul Plasma brings the first full-length track with "5 Fingers," and in typical Soul Plasma fashion, he sounds pretty terrific. The funky guitar-based beat complements his style well.
While we're on the topic of production, Todd Collins handles the majority of it here. Collins' production has a very specific sound, and I've been mulling over how to describe it for some time: it's definitely not primarily sample-based, but it's not MIDI music either.
In an interview with FEED magazine from 2003, Collins mentions several pieces of music equipment that he uses. These include the Korg Triton, E-MU Mo'Phatt, Waldorf Micro Q, Roland XV-5080, Honer Clavinet, Roland Juno 80, Sequential Circuits Prophet 600, E-MU SP-1200, Akai S2800, and Akai MPC60.
Admittedly, I know virtually nothing about these instruments, but here's a quote from Collins that appears later in the interview that perhaps better explains his production style:
The problem I see with young producers is that a lot of them are not musicians. To me, there's a difference between a producer and a 'beat-maker' . . . There's much more to a song than a hot beat. What makes a good song great is the musicality of a track and the vocal arrangements.
As to be expected, the beats include a variety of instruments: guitar, organ, synth, and piano, to name a few. You get a few different flavours of urban music on this release as well. Some tracks are underground, others are radio friendly. Ziklag Boys bring some crunk on "Let It Go," while "Volumen" by Bobby Bishop, Guilloman, Ill Day, and Meccanism is reggaeton.
If I had to choose a favourite song from Best of the Submissions, Volume 2, it would probably be "You Gotta Love It" by Rob Hodge. It's got a nice bass-heavy, boom-clap beat, and Rob comes through with his signature style of instant-classic rhyming. (Check out my review of his album Born King if you haven't already read it!)
"Hungry" by Bobby Bishop is another track that stands out to me. In the intro he says, "Volume one's where I got my jump-off with Beatmart, man. It's all about your work ethic, man." Inspirational words for an independent music-maker such as myself! "Brr! It's Cold" by Fresh Digress is classic Beatmart material, so of course I also have to mention that, and "Light" by Dkun Frost is a thoughtful song to conclude the album with.
There's a lot to like about Best of the Submissions, Volume 2 on the whole. Whether it's beats, verses, or hooks, it's usually firing on all cylinders.
Best of the Submissions, Volume 1
So how does the first mixtape compare to the second? If memory serves correct, I only listened through this album about three years ago, via Apple Music while driving to my job at Home Depot. I liked it enough to buy a CD off eBay in December 2024. Best of the Submissions, Volume 1 has both strengths and weaknesses compared to Volume 2.
Looking for the best verses? Check out "Survive" by Rob Hodge, "How It Is" by Manchild of Mars ILL and Adan Genesis, and "Lord Lord" by Mark J and The Truth. Oh, and Wordz shows no verbal mercy on his "Scratch Freestyle" too.
I could go on and on about the good parts from Best of the Submissions, Volume 1. There are a lot of good things going for it!
Now on to the weaker moments. The most obvious weakness to me is that the hooks on Volume 1 generally aren't as strong as they are on Volume 2. The falsetto singing on "What Ya'll Thinkin" by Tony Stone and Sev Statik is difficult to take seriously. The choruses on "One Hit Wonder" by Bobby Bishop and "Who's That Boy" by Craig Nice also aren't the best, and although Japhia Life hits the right notes on "Love," the singing sounds too breathy at times. Donnie Lewis' chorus on "Single Mother" is too pop/R&B for my liking as well. Okay, this involves some clarification. Lewis is a good singer, and I don't mind listening to the track in my headphones, but if the mixtape's playing in the car, then this song gets a skip. It's just not the right kind of music I'm OK with playing out loud. Why am I making this so complicated? Am I a chauvinist or something? Anyway...
Conclusion
Best of the Submissions, Volume 2 is probably more solid overall, but Volume 1 is very enjoyable as well. Both are important compilations/mixtapes from the early 2000s Christian hip-hop scene. After all, Volume 1 was the first Beatmart album ever released. B's up!
It's worth your time hearing both mixtapes. On the one hand, Todd Collins' production offers a cohesive sound in terms of the instrumentals. On the other, most of the featured artists differ between the two releases. As well, these aren't the kinds of "mixtapes" that are a bunch of half-baked demos, or even compilations pulling from a bunch of different albums. Virtually all of the songs here are exclusives, and DJ Morphiziz is there on the ones and twos, hosting, scratching, and blending the songs to perfection.
If you're a CD collector, believe me when I say that these albums look great in real life. Volume 1 perhaps has an advantage in this regard, as it's an enhanced CD that includes a behind-the-scenes video and some other goodies. Plus, the cover/first page of the booklet has a pretty cool feature I've never seen before. You'll just have to visit eBay or Discogs and buy a copy for yourself if you're curious!