Ante Up: Mixtapes That Went From Free to a Fee

The-Dream isn't the first to repackage Web leaks for sale.

The-Dream on marriage:  - “That word ‘marriage’ changes who you are. Immediately you’re not that forgiving and it’s just like, ‘We fought all the time when we were boyfriend and girlfriend and we never broke up.’ You have a good fight when you’re married and it’s like, ‘I’m out of here. Peace!’”  (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Gucci)

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Ante Up: Mixtapes That Went From Free to a Fee - The-Dream's long-delayed Love IV MMXII still isn't on the horizon, but he's making it up to fans—sort of. Instead of a new album, The-Dream will be releasing his lauded 2011 mixtape, 1977 (released under his birth name, Terius Nash), in December as a commercial album, featuring two new tracks. It's not an unprecedented path for a mixtape to take though—many artists have re-released their online leaks as for-sale projects. Read on to see other mixtapes that went from free to a fee. —Alex Gale   (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Gucci)

Drake, So Far Gone - Drake's So Far Gone, released in February 2009, broke through like few mixtapes ever before. "Best I Ever Had" became a major radio hit and landed a Grammy nomination, and Drake signed a deal with Young Money in the aftermath. A stripped-down EP version of So Far Gone was released in September to capitalize on the buzz, eventually going gold.   (Photo: Young Money)

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Drake, So Far Gone - Drake's So Far Gone, released in February 2009, broke through like few mixtapes ever before. "Best I Ever Had" became a major radio hit and landed a Grammy nomination, and Drake signed a deal with Young Money in the aftermath. A stripped-down EP version of So Far Gone was released in September to capitalize on the buzz, eventually going gold.  (Photo: Young Money)

Yelawolf, Trunk Muzik - Yelawolf dropped his Trunk Muzik mixtape in January 2010, which helped him ink a deal with Interscope two months later. In November of that year, Yela reupped with his major-label debut, Trunk Muzik 0-60, an EP that featured six songs from the OG mixtape and six new ones.  (Photo: Interscope)

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Yelawolf, Trunk Muzik - Yelawolf dropped his Trunk Muzik mixtape in January 2010, which helped him ink a deal with Interscope two months later. In November of that year, Yela reupped with his major-label debut, Trunk Muzik 0-60, an EP that featured six songs from the OG mixtape and six new ones. (Photo: Interscope)

The Weeknd, Trilogy - The Weeknd major-label debut, Trilogy, which dropped Tuesday, combines all three of his earlier free releases—House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence—into one album, along with three new tracks.  (Photo: Universal Republic)

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The Weeknd, Trilogy - The Weeknd major-label debut, Trilogy, which dropped Tuesday, combines all three of his earlier free releases—House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence—into one album, along with three new tracks. (Photo: Universal Republic)

Turned Up - In 2008, Wale signs a joint deal with Allido and Interscope Records for $1.3 million. The following year, his fifth mixtape, Back to the Feature, was released.  Guest appearances on the mixtape include Talib Kweli, Joell Ortiz, Curren$y, J. Cole and Bun B.  (Photo: MMG)

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Wale, The Mixtape About Nothing - Wale's 2009 pre-MMG album, Attention Deficit, may have flopped, but his mixtapes were holding him down. In May of the year before, Wale dropped the acclaimed, Seinfeld-themed The Mixtape About Nothing for free; just three months later, he was (and still is) selling it on iTunes. (Photo: MMG)

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Wale, Back to the Feature - Wale pulled the same trick with 2009's Back to the Feature, which featured beats from 9th Wonder and a long list of features including Black Thought, Royce Da 5'9", Lady Gaga and Big Sean. The mixtape dropped in July 2009; the following February, the album version hit iTunes.(Photo: MMG)

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Wale, Back to the Feature - Wale pulled the same trick with 2009's Back to the Feature, which featured beats from 9th Wonder and a long list of features including Black Thought, Royce Da 5'9", Lady Gaga and Big Sean. The mixtape dropped in July 2009; the following February, the album version hit iTunes.(Photo: MMG)

Game, BWS Radio Part 5 - Game and his Black Wall Street crew pimped their free 2008 mixtape with DJ Haze, BWS Radio Part 5, on iTunes the following year.  (Photo: Universal Music Group)

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Game, BWS Radio Part 5 - Game and his Black Wall Street crew pimped their free 2008 mixtape with DJ Haze, BWS Radio Part 5, on iTunes the following year. (Photo: Universal Music Group)

DJ Drama & Young Jeezy, Can't Ban the Snowman - Young Jeezy and DJ Drama's collabo mixtapes from the early 2000s are classics—you can't blame them for thinking folks would be willing to pay to hear them together again. Their 2006 joint mixtape Can't Ban Dan Snowman hit iTunes three months after they leaked it for free.  (Photo: Dej Jam)

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DJ Drama & Young Jeezy, Can't Ban the Snowman - Young Jeezy and DJ Drama's collabo mixtapes from the early 2000s are classics—you can't blame them for thinking folks would be willing to pay to hear them together again. Their 2006 joint mixtape Can't Ban Dan Snowman hit iTunes three months after they leaked it for free. (Photo: Dej Jam)

DJ Drama and Bump J, Chicagorilla - Bump J is a legend in Chicago thanks to his hardcore mixtapes from the mid-2000s. Hopefully the proceeds from this Gangsta Grillz mixtape, which iTunes started selling in 2006, are going to his commisary—he's currently serving 10 years behind bars for a bank robbery.  (Photo: Aphilliates)

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DJ Drama and Bump J, Chicagorilla - Bump J is a legend in Chicago thanks to his hardcore mixtapes from the mid-2000s. Hopefully the proceeds from this Gangsta Grillz mixtape, which iTunes started selling in 2006, are going to his commisary—he's currently serving 10 years behind bars for a bank robbery. (Photo: Aphilliates)

Wiz Khalifa, Flight School - Wiz Khalifa's mixtapes have always been of album-level quality. Back in 2009, when he was one of rap's fastest-rising upstarts, he and Rostrum Records tried to have the best of both worlds, releasing Flight School as a both a free mixtape and a digital album for sale the same day.  (Photo: Atlantic)

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Wiz Khalifa, Flight School - Wiz Khalifa's mixtapes have always been of album-level quality. Back in 2009, when he was one of rap's fastest-rising upstarts, he and Rostrum Records tried to have the best of both worlds, releasing Flight School as a both a free mixtape and a digital album for sale the same day. (Photo: Atlantic)