The 11th Annual Mixtape Awards to be held on April 29th

The 2008 11th Annual Mixtape Awards, honoring the most recognizable names in the music industry and mixtape genre, will roll into New York City on Tuesday, April 29th with an entirely new venue untying it from previous year’s awards shows. Crowd-controlled guests can anticipate special guest performances from hip-hop legends Melly Mel, Afrikka Bambatta, Soul Sonic Force and other surprise performances. This unforgettable evening promises to be jam packed with more music and more celebrities than ever before.

A red carpet, invite only, star-filled affair, the 11th Annual Mixtape Awards will feature a plethora of first-time winners alongside familiar faces. This year’s improved four phase voting process, accompanied with new initiatives such as the Street Album category, afford world-renowned Hip Hop legends, such as Funk Flex and young, brilliant, respected DJs such as Me$$iah, equal victor opportunities. Last year’s Mixtape Top Executive and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Steve Rifkind expressed that receiving an award from the Justo Faison-founded Mixtape Awards was an exceptional, distinctive honor. “It means a lot to me,” Rifkind stated.

This year’s ceremony will celebrate our honorees Chuck Creekmur and Greg Watkins, founders of Allhiphop.com and honor DJs for breaking new records and artists, as well as creating promotional branding tools for indie artist and established acts.

Heralded by MTV News as "the Grammy Awards of the streets,” this show will set a new standard in the world of awards shows as it is the first and only awards show to feature live online streaming, allowing fans around the world to take part in the festivities by logging onto www.themixtapeawardsonline.com and Hip-Hop's premiere website, www.thatshiphop.com . Cameras placed in selected areas of the Mixtape Awards venue will provide coverage of artists and DJs throughout the night. This ground-breaking technology will also grant as many as 2000 viewers the opportunity to interact with their favorite artists and DJs during the question/answer segment of the show. “MTVs Mixtape Mondays and Vibe's new Mixtape Awards category confirm that Mixtapes have progressed into the mainstream," stated Stacy Lynch, President of The Mixtape Awards.

Creator of the awards, Orpheus “Justo” Faison, recognized, “The importance of the mixtape subculture, which has since become recognized in pop culture.” DJ Kool Kid once described Faison as a “motivator who put visions into reality,” while DJ EFN called him an instrumental part of the mixtape game. Awards show producers have partnered with new event management teams to ensure that this fitting celebration is a success. Experience this influential reality at the 2008 11th Annual Mixtape Awards show in New York City. “Justo Lives On!”