UPDATES: (10/25/2024) Another unheard track from the tape 901 - Orangemound 4 Life has been recently uploaded to YT / Hittman Hamp's rare demo tape has been fully leaked in YT after a bootleg reissue was released missing the track "Fuck Yo Hoe" / Long sought after R.A.N. (Ruthless Ass Niggas) - Gotta Be Lyrical has been reissued in both digital and vinyl! / Site is currently under construction, planned section for "Most Wanted" tapes/album (at the bottom of the page) is currently being worked on.

LOST IN THE UNDERGROUND: Missing Memphis Rap Releases

WARNING: Some tapes/albums might or not exist, due to the poor information gathered over the years.

INTRODUCTION:

For years, people from around the world have gone through-out various discographies centered around Memphis, Tennessee. Artists like Juicy J, Blackout, Tommy Wright III, C-Rock, Eightball & MJG, and groups like The Frayser Click, 10 Wanted Men, and of course, the Three 6 Mafia have been proving for years how timeless their music is how much the new generation is trying to mimick the way they made their tapes sound without much success.

But it's well known how underground most of these releases were due to the cheap equipment used to create the music and the format they were released, not to mention the limited quantities they were released. This raises the question: Is there any tape or album that has never been released, finished or even ripped online for everybody to enjoy? The answer unfortunately is yes, be ready for a long journey you are about to take in this place.

For example, one of the most infamous lost tapes highly sought after is the Soul Takers underground tape. This tape is known that had been apparently released by Street Smart Records around '96, even having promotions in tracks like the Intro of On The Run w/D.J. Squeeky. Despite the background where it came from and the heavenly like production, to this day only few tracks had been found spread around other releases from the label, to some point, it's said that in reality it was never released. Here's a fanmade tracklist with all the known tracks featuring Evil Son & Crucifix off the Soul Takers:

Let's change our focus to another known producer, D.J. Live Wire. In recent years, a member from the Butcher Squad: Hardcore Montana, has shared a photo online of some tapes from his collection. Although the photo had interesting alternative presses for some tapes, the one that basically stole the show was D.J. Live Wire's Volume 7. Fortunately is known that the tape is currently being worked to be reissued, who knows when it might come out but you best believe the wait will be worth it.

Now let's go back to the early days of member of the Three 6 Mafia: D.J. Paul. It's known that he made mixtapes just as most producers once did. But only from the Volume 10 to the 16 are known to not only exists but also been ripped online. And many are left with the question: Where's the rest of the tapes? The thing is that they haven't been ripped. Here's for example D.J. Paul's Killa Mix #7 original pressing. It seems these tapes still exist despite the years that been passed and the damage that could had been taken right now, around the globe. All it needs is someone willing to upload it online which in most cases they won't...

Before we can look at these missing tapes, I gotta warn everybody about another issue, bootlegs. During the recent years many wannabe collectors have been trying to remake these tapes as how the original pressings looked like, this to trick the amateur collector into buying them for insanely high prices. When in reality, they are far from the real deal and most of the time they'll use mp3 rips to make them. A good example is the previously mentioned: Soul Takers underground tape. Which uses a fanmade tracklist along some extra tracks that have nothing to do with the tape, one of them, a mix coming from the S.P.V. Click tape. Some going even to the degree of creating made-up names for unheard tapes such as Cloud 9 Click's first and second tape. The average listener and even some veteran collectors might be fooled by how accurate they look to the original pressings but there's always something that gives it out, there's always something...

With all this being said, let's take a look at what we have found over the years, what it had been lost to time, and what has yet to be confirmed to exist...

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MOST WANTED/HIGHLY-SOUGHT AFTER

Cloud 9 Click - On Da Come Up [Pt. II] [unknown year - LOST]

[WARNING: This image is a mockup and it might not look like the original pressing]

D.J. Squeeky - Gotta Get The Bass [Pt. II] [1994 - PARTIALLY FOUND]

D.J. Flex & D.J. Squeeky Presents: 901 - Orangemound 4 Life [1995 - PARTIALLY FOUND]

[$200 Bootleg sold in Mercari and possibly other places]

S.M.K. - Undaground Game [Mixed Tape] [1999 - LOST]

[Poster from Mr. Z, a remixed version of a track called "Hell" Mary, possibly "Hail Mary" by 2Pac can be seen indicating the poster has a tracklist]

[Alternative pressing(?)]

D.J. Sound - Volume 12 [2004 - PARTIALLY UNRELEASED]

Ruthless Ass Niggas - Gotta Be Lyrical [1993 - FOUND]

Soul Takers - Underground Tape [1996 - PARTIALLY LOST]

Eternal - Coming Real [1997 - PARTIALLY FOUND]

C-Roc - Rock It Up [unknown year - UNRELEASED]

[2nd cover found in TW's Ashes 2 Ashes, Dust 2 Dust '06 remaster]

Player 1 And Player 2 (Bloody Bones) Are Back Broke [1993 - LOST]