Before Kanye and G.O.O.D. became the mega-force they are today, there was Can’t Tell Me Nothing: The Mixtape. In May 2007, there was Plain Pat co-hosting the show alongside the label’s face and ringleader. There was CRS, Common and the rest of G.O.O.D. friends and family joining in on the fun, debuting songs that would later become standout singles or at least memorable in some regard.
There was then newly signed Big Sean, watching his “Get’cha Some” single being worked into the rotation. There was Kid Sister, pushing “Pro Nails,” and GLC, who later ended up getting tired of waiting on the sidelines I guess. Malik Yusef, Fonsworth Bentley, Consequence, Really Doe, Tony Williams, SA-RA and 88-Keys, they were all there, too.
And, of course, there was Kanye rapping freely, jumping on remixes (Ne-Yo’s “Because Of You,” T-Pain’s “Buy You A Drank”) and going on playful rants about not being apolitical, how he could lose a Jet magazine cover for going to the AVN awards and other random topics. Bigger than anything, he was still Kanye, a representative of the average Joes, but not for too much longer.
And for the past several weeks, Can’t Tell Me Nothing has been a permanent fixture in my summer listening. Parts of it make me laugh when you look at how far the participants have come while other parts only draw a “man, what could’ve been” in regards to a few. Setbacks realized from the present aside, the tape’s fun. It’s full of energy. It’s G.O.O.D. Music in all the meanings of the word.