Texas (Screw, Ron C& Watts being the biggest) started it in the South, but Sqad is definitely when the digital “new generation” started really doing it themselves.
Sqad was literally dropping new mixtapes every week over the latest beats and brought that 50 Cent energy to the South in 2002.
They’re also probably the first that really dropped only digital and not hand-to-hand pressed up physical copies. Wasn’t no cover art or nothing and it spread organically without a major DJ name behind it.
What a time to be alive and a yungin.
SIDE NOTE: Sqad Up vs BG might be the record for the quickest back and forth beef ever. They were literally replying back in 24 hrs
and it was before mixtape sites existed.