As the landscape of hip-hop changes to account for the gift and the curse that is the Internet and the free download epidemic, local and national artists have been forced to adjust their promotional strategies in response. In particular the role of the mixtape, a constantly evolving pillar of hip-hop music, has been changed by the surge of the Internet. Some of the most popular hip-hop artists, most notably Lil Wayne, have started a trend of releasing mass amounts of music via mixtapes for free on the Internet.

Only a few years ago a movement that began with selling thousands of hardcopy mixtapes out of trunks and on street corners propelled Houston's Paul Wall, Slim Thug and Mike Jones to national prominence. In Tacoma, Gazmo the Gr8 and Doughkain are using mixtapes to generate buzz, and discovering how to maximize the power of the Internet to propel their careers.

Gazmo, real name Morio Montgomery, has released two mixtapes, The Gazmo Show and Ibeast, in the past year. Doughkain, a member of the local crew Blocc Rep whose real name is John Barnes, recently released two solo mixtapes: The Boombox Massacre and Bitch You Got Options.

Gazmo says mixtapes allow him the opportunity to display his raw abilities as a rapper without being judged creatively as the writer of an album. "Mixtapes show if you can rap or not," he explains. He hopes that his mixtapes will generate such a buzz that when his album comes out there will already be a demand. "One day when I put out an album there will be x amount of people who say, ‘Oh I already know Gazmo. He's straight. I can buy that.'"

Often local hip-hop artists feel a pressure to plan successful shows and perform as often as possible, but neither Gazmo nor Doughkain share that sentiment.

"As far as shows, right now I'm really not caring about them," says Doughkain. "I'm not at high demand to be seen right now." Both artists explained they feel shows should come after a fan base is established, and spending time promoting on the Internet is more valuable. "If you can go on the Internet and tell 500 people a day about your music, that's going to create way bigger buzz," explains Doughkain.

Gazmo has been successfully using a mixtape hosting website (datpiff.com) to host and promote his tape, and he maintains a constant presence on social media websites like Twitter and Facebook. Doughkain focuses on reverbnation.com. The unlimited potential of Internet promotions excites Gazmo.

"You put yourself out there and see what you get," he says. 

Both artists still burn hard copies of their mixtapes, but they value hard copies differently. As far as Gazmo is concerned, downloaded files or hard copy CDs are interchangeable, as long as his music is reaching new listeners. Doughkain, on the other hand, still prefers fans receive hard copies.

"It's more important to me to have hard copies because hard copies are more personal," he says. Doughkain's feelings are also business driven. He says a lot of the people he is trying to reach don't have access or the desire to download music.

"A lot of people aren't even on the Internet," he explains. "They might not be on the Internet, might not be able to download it, might not have the credit card for that, might not want to pay for it, whatever."

There is no one way to jump-start a hip-hop career, but doing so without making strategic use of the Internet seems impossible now, and doing it with mixtapes alone seems improbable. Gazmo and Doughkain are just examples of many hip-hop artists in Tacoma utilizing the Internet and mixtapes to build their fan base and sharpen their brands.