mixtape

noun

mix·​tape ˈmiks-ˌtāp 

variants or less commonly mix tape

plural mixtapes also mix tapes

1

: a noncommercial compilation of songs copied (as onto a cassette tape or a CD) from various sources

In high school, I'd be making mixtapes for friends and girls instead of doing my homework, spending hours perfecting how a Smiths song and Joy Division song and Pixies song would convey the way I feel.

—Aaron Axelsen, quoted at SFGate.com

Writers like Nick Hornby have imbued the cassette tape with considerable romance, in particular the mix tape created for a loved one. In practice, these were often recorded directly from the radio, requiring your typical suburban suitor to sit around for hours on end, waiting for the desired track to appear.

—Richard Glover

2

: an album that is usually recorded and distributed without the involvement of a record label

The mixtape is an unofficial release. It might be tied to an imprint or a label, but it doesn't necessarily appear in stores. In fact, most of them can be purchased only on the streets, at the clubs, from the trunks of cars or from the artists themselves.

—Lance Scott Walker

Long before rap got any radio love, mixtapes were the main form of distribution, the currency that kept everything in rotation as the culture evolved.

—Sidney Madden and Rodney Carmichael

High-fidelity and laden with hits, So Far Gone had the sheen of a professional studio album, and it popularized the idea of mixtapes as low-pressure showcases for burgeoning artists.

—Jonah Bromwich

Examples of mixtape in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The experimental, 10-track mixtape sees Balvin playfully expand his signature reggaeton sound with fusions of hip-hop, merengue, salsa and drill rap. —Edward Segarra, USA Today, 23 July 2025

The experimental singer-producer released her Fancy That mixtape in May, which reached No. 4 on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 23 July 2025

Set in 1987 Oakland, Freaky Tales is a multi-track mixtape of colorful characters – an NBA star, a corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teen punks, neo-Nazis, and a debt collector – on a collision course in a fever dream of showdowns and battles. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 22 July 2025

Since Negro Swan, Hynes has released the mixtape Angel’s Pulse and an EP called Four Songs. —Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork, 17 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1985, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mixtape

• agape
• escape
• landscape
• lenape
• reshape
• seascape
• soundscape
• ape
• cape
• crape
• crepe
• drape