We're still not sure what to do with the label "hipster rap" because, umm, it just sounds stupid. However, Jon Caramanica, in his recent New York Times story on this strain of rap, briefly touched on these dudes' and ladies' descendance from Kanye and Andre 3000. Kanye obviously birthed the Midwest scene that includes the Cool Kids, Cudi and company. But it wasn't until we heard this new mixtape by Atlanta's Proton that we were convinced of Three Stacks' primogenitor status. Larry and Kamikazbi aka Thomasan (or their publicist) describe their music as "the missing link between Southernplayalistic and ATLiens" on their MySpace bio, so it's not like we had to work too hard to figure that out. But even their own description sells them short—the original songs on Red & Purple are actually pretty unique. Plus, with the cast of friends and crew contributing on here, it seems like there's a nice, new little scene developing once again in Atlanta, which can never be a bad thing. Download the tape below and get the tracklist after the jump.
Proton's Red & Purple Volume 1 Mixtape
1. Passkey - Proton ft. Mykal Monroe and Vanity 6
2. Laptop - Proton
3. Freaks - Lil' Vicious ft. Doug E. Fresh
4. Juicy Fruit - Mtume
5. Magazine Dreams - Proton
6. Ice Cream - Raekwon ft. Ghostface and Method Man
7. Come Alive - Slick & Rose ft. Proton
8. Inside My Love - Minnie Riperton
9. The Bee RMX - Jessica Tonder ft. Proton
10. 1-900-HATE-PRO - Mykal Monroe
11. Because, Because - The Bird & The Bee ft. Proton
12. Blue Jay Way - The Beatles
13. Hot Sex On A Platter - A Tribe Called Quest
14. Playboy - Proton ft. Amanda Diva
15. Good Look - Proton
16. Roxanne - The Police
17. M.I.A Sh** - M.I.A ft. Proton
18. Ready To Go - Proton ft. Muffy
19. Kiss You Back - Digital Underground
20. Wait A Minute - Proton ft. Roxy Cottontail and Maggie Horn
21. Poison - Bel Biv Devoe
22. Feenin' - Jodeci
23. Candy - Cameo
24. Just Put It In My Mouth - Akinyele
25. Annie Mae (Sweet RMX) - Muffy ft. Kamikazbi
26. I Love My Baby So - Janelle Monáe ft. Proton
27. If I Love You Tonight - Gayle Chapman
28. Funky Ride - Outkast
29. Fade Away - Santogold ft. Proton