

Nine tracks that channel the anything-goes spirit of 2010. Long before streaming, there once was a time when unknown rappers in skinny jeans built cult followings overnight, bypassing the major labels by releasing their mixtapes on burgeoning hip-hop blogs. Rawness, experimentation, and self-promo ruled the day, setting the foundation for a new generation of independent artists who would follow. Of the artists who defined what we now call the “blog era,” mgk and Wiz Khalifa have each evolved in unpredictable ways: The “Black and Yellow” rapper has since branched into acting, while the artist formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly underwent a full rock reinvention. On their joint mixtape blog era boyz (their first collaboration since 2013 fan favorite “Mind of a Stoner”), the boys take it back to 2010 with nine tracks that channel the anything-goes spirit of the time over dreamy cloud-rap beats. There are odes to full-body tattoos and joints the size of baseball bats, but below the surface, the pair raise questions about what lasts in the long run. Money? Well, it’s nice (as evidenced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque “fill my pockets”), but it’s not everything. Fame? It’s fickle. Love? Don’t get them started. Weed? Well, that goes without saying. But after two decades in the game, the duo can agree that the only thing that really matters in the end is family, however you define it. “Already made a few classics/I’m focused on raising a man,” Wiz raps on cloud-rap anthem “family > everything,” while mgk marvels, “I barely graduated/Now my daughter is going to college.”