After silence for so long, Zii’s opening up the floodgates. The Dat Heat-affiliated local rapper, who’s set to release his long anticipated full-length in October, told me a couple weeks back that he’d been cutting loads of songs over the last couple of years, most of which weren’t destined for his debut. With “The Mixed,” curated by local DJ King Akeem, he’s found an outlet for a batch of those, plus several brand new ones and some old standouts he makes guest appearances on like “Biggie” and “Athletics.”

Like most mixtapes, it’s fairly uneven — throwaway tracks side by side with bangers. But you can’t listen to it without appreciating Zii’s elastic flow and oddball charisma. Lots of potential here.

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After a couple of listens, here’s my favorite:

“24 Thicky” This is way NSFW, an ode to a girl with a big ass with a lot of club-jam-typical qualities: It’s lewd as hell. There’s lots of “let me see it” and “make that ass clap.” But the synth-heavy production and the way Zii rides the beat are awesomely atypical. You gotta make it through King Akeem shouting out all the “local businesses…Cricket!” at the beginning, but it’s a small price.

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Download “The Mixed” for free here.

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