(2.5 Cassetes out of 3)

In the press kit for "BLING FREE VOL. 3" GRAFFITI ask, what does "bling free" mean to you? Everyone has his or her own interpretation. I think I’ll start this review with my explanation of "bling free". What is the meaning of "underground"? I believe that the word "underground" has a historical meaning even when it comes to HIP-HOP. When I hear "underground", I think of HARRIET TUBMAN. When her name is mentioned, I think of freedom. So inadvertently HIP-HOP has linked "underground" and freedom. You have the freedom to create without following trends when you are an "underground" artist. You don’t have to succumb to over priced producers when you are an "underground" artist. You don’t have to wear huge platinum chains that are reminiscent of slave jewelry, when you are an underground artist. Without all of these aspects of modern day HIP-HOP; you are "bling free". "BLING FREE" has everything. GRAFFITI cuts in between almost every track and when he isn’t doing that, he blends. There are a ton of exclusives, but he differentiates himself from the rest of the mixtape community by using so called "underground" artist. Although, many of them you may know by name and if not, you know of their music. "BLING FREE VOL. 3" jumps off to an excellent start with a track from ELZHI of "SLUM VILLAGE" and continues the adventure with the DILATED PEOPLES. I never heard the song "BOSOM", but the remix with J-LIVE and WORDSWORTH is HIP-HOP at its best. This is what the game should be. I’m not saying that the "commercial" artist shouldn’t have a forum as well, but DJ’s lack diversity today. One guy plays an exclusive and then it becomes a common track by the following week. Let’s see if you hear IZREAL and MF DOOM "POP QUIZ" on your next BIG MIKE release. With all of the hot tracks on "BLING FREE VOL. 3" it would be difficult to find anything that I thought could have been improved, but at times the CD lags. There are tracks that weren’t horrible, they just didn’t compare to the rest of the material. I would name them, but honestly I don’t think most of you are in the know. I want you to pick up a copy of "BLING FREE VOL. 3" at blingfree.com, because it’s timeless.