The year 2005 has continued to see the phenomenon of the Mixtape. The most recent addition to this genre is Trailblazers release "100 Rupee CD". For those of you in the dark about Trailblazers; they are the production outfit for the majority of The Sona Family's work, and also work on various mainstream desi influenced mixes. This Mixtape is an opportunity to get most of those mixes as well as getting your hands on some original Sona Family tracks. The outfit are no strangers to the Mixtape scene having brought out 'The Family Hustle' Mixtape a while back. But is it all worth it? Can Trailblazers hack it in the Mixtape industry? Read on to find out.

The Mixtape kicks off with the mandatory intro. This time it takes the form of a phone call from 'the1shanti' to one of the Trailblazer members informing him of the bootlegging off his material in Mumbai. A fact the artist doesn't take too kindly to. Shaanti then challenges them as to 'What you going to do', which sets the stage for the Mixtape nicely. Guess this is just the message as to why the Mixtape was made.

A gunshot and some nice string accompaniment signals the first proper track. Rapping is courtesy of the1shanti. The track is entitled 'Don't Lie' and is a decent track. The beat is fresh, and shows the production qualities of the Trailblazers. The1shanti's rapping flow is certainly different to most other rappers out there. He's a proper rapper and just shows how pathetic the majority of other MC's in the industry are at the moment. The track comes to a slow stop after just less than two minutes.

The next track we are treated to the biggest hip-hop joint of last year - Terror Squad's 'Lean Back'. This is, of course, the Trailblazers mix. The production is not outrageously different to the original. There is a hint of desiness in this, with some Hindi vocals also present. If you liked the original, you won't be disappointed with this, but it doesn't do enough as a remix, to warrant a release in my opinion.

The good old searching for a radio station kicks off the interlude entitled Desi Hits radio. Wonder whether people will continue using the scanning of the FM frequency when everyone finally has DAB. All that the interlude has is a girl requesting Trailblazers on the radio, which is denied by the joker of a desi DJ, citing it as not being desi as his reason.

Another gunshot and we have the soulful voice of UK RnB talent Nathan, with his current track 'Come into My Room' This tune's been around for ages, and it finally looks like getting a release date now. This remix by the Trailblazers was done all the way back in September. Unlike the Lean Back remix, this mix is definitely a different take on the original. There's even a rap by Mr Riz as an added bonus. Certainly thumbs up for this one. Pity we get less than two minutes of it, but guess that's what a Mixtape is about.

Voodoo Doll's are the guest singers for track 6 - 'Back and Forth'. The girls used to be part of the band known as DeVoted. The production is on a different tip to the previous tunes, and complements the vocals well. All in all, it's a nice tune. For those of you not in the know, a nice tune means exactly that - a tune doesn't have to always be either great or shit - there is an in between you know.

Next up is another interlude entitled Blow Out Records, which involves the Trailblazers going to some record bosses office, who declares he loves there 'ranjan' music - read on to see what he is referring to. The Trailblazers state that their talents stretch to more than just the remixes the record boss has heard, and that they do they have their own original material, with Riz on the vocals.

So quite predictably, the next tune is one of Mr Riz's solo joints. This one's called Relax 'n' Party. Mr Riz is singing on this one. Although he does a commendable job, I'm not sure this is the area in which he excels. Maybe he should stick to the MC'ing. Still, it's good to hear artists trying something different. The beat is a great original funky R'n'B beat. 'What else you got?' is the record bosses response, requesting some proper 'ranjan'

The next of Mr Riz's solo efforts is entitled 'Electric'. This one's a totally unique idea. It kicks off with an electric guitar, which continues throughout the tune, and fits in well with the lyrics of the tune, which are about how 'electric' a girl is. Again, in my opinion Riz's vocal ability let's this track down a bit. Still, a great concept and hopefully this beat will see the light of day in some form. 'Really good' the record boss comments towards the end of the track before declaring he's really looking for some proper rang-a-changa-chang-a-changah in the flow of the tumbi, which took PMC to fame with MTBK. This is met with a big F U from the boys. Think there is a message from the boys here - I'll leave you guys to figure it out yourselves.

Track 10, and another new name in the form of the 'Mili Brothaz' grace us with their MC'ing skills on 'Nasty Girl'. The beat is a decent one again - supplementing the MC'ing perfectly. The Mili Brothaz show their upbringing in Hip Hop with some tight lyrics. Another NICE tune. Hopefully, hear more of these guys in the future.

Track 11, and time for another interlude, entitled Southall Bootlegger. Think the title speaks for itself; you can guess what it's all about.

Sona Family team up with Blitzkrieg and Basix, for track 12, 'Fast and Furious'. Some top rapping from the Canadian boys on this one, but don't hear much of the Sona Family. Guess that's what you lose by having the track at just over a minute. A great beat, with some nice rapping. A bit of a cheesy chorus, but it's all good.

Deep AKA Da1 (who the hell is he?) makes his appearance on the Mixtape alongside Mr Riz on 'Burning Hot' Deep is another rapper, and sounds like he is from Houston, Texas. First impressions of this rapper are promising. Funnily enough, Mr Riz's singin in the song actually greatly enhances the tune in my opinion. Maybe there is still hope for the singing side of his game. A decent tune again.

The track fades out and we are transported to another interlude where some boys are outside a club, trying to get in via the Guest List. C'mon, we've all tried it.

J-Kwon's infective Tipsy beat kicks in for Track 15. This time it's been treated to the Trailblazers effect, which have added some clever Hindi lyrics. Again, the backbone of the tune is similar to that of the original. However, got to big up the guys for using a sample that actually relates to the lyrics of J-Kwon.

A Nihal skit introducing the following track by Hard Kaur in his own unmistakable rhyming style is the basis of track 16, lasting a mere 11 seconds.

Onto the actual track, which is by the newest member of the Sona Family, yes Hard Kaur. The tune's called 'Glassy' and you can guess what the lyrics are about. This one's doing serious damages in the clubs around London at the moment. Hard Kaur will bring a fresh injection of talent to the Sona Family. This will be a much-needed boost as The Sona Family ain't the same without Usmaan, who has unfortunately hung up his mic for the time being. This track is a banger, and hopefully signals the beginning of something special.

Dr Tantra is the title of the skit, which comprises track 18. It's quite an amusing interlude, but I'd rather not describe it to y'all.

Track 19, and we are introduced to Rhian Benson with the aid of Slum Village on the vocals. The beat by Trailblazers is again something nice and fresh. I can't judge the quality of Rhian's vocal ability on this outing. The beat seems more suited to the rapping by Slum Village than Rhian's smooth vocals. The music seems to drown her out somewhat. An average track all in all.

Boogie B makes his first appearance (where did they pick up all these unknown artists from?). Boogie B is another singer and his vocal ability shows little promise, and I think he needs to work on his lyrics a bit if he's to step to the next level. A needle scratching across a record means the end of the tune.

A more upbeat track in the form of "What The Hell" is the platform for Bobby B to continue with a totally different angle of his vocal skills. The change in tempo does little to alter my view though. A very average track again.

Another interlude, and we continue with the story of the Southall Bootlegger. This shows what happens to the bootleggers, when the boys get their hands on them with their mafia style actions. A warning to all you pirates out there. Quite a funny sketch.

Roach Killa's unique voice kicks off Track 23 - 'Overdose'. The tune also features Skelitor. The Trailblazers lay down a wicked beat, but Roach Killa's vocals get a bit boring after a while, and it's refreshing to hear the accompaniment of Skelitor. However, the repetitive chorus by Roach Killa still has the ability to annoy.

'Radio Ad' is the final interlude, and serves to introduce the final track.

Onto, the final track of the album, and yet another new name in the form of Bansi Ria. She brings something totally different to the Mixtape though, as she is the only female vocalist on the album to sing in Hindi. Unfortunately, the choice of song is Naiyon Dil Lagda. I say unfortunately not because I'm not a fan of the song, but due to the fact that we have heard it all before and are used to the glorious vocal skills of Gunjan. While Bansi Ria, show some encouraging signs in this - she is still some way off getting to the level that Gunjan is at. The beat is a slow melodic one, and goes well with the song. Not quite on the level of the Bally Sagoo version though.

Overall, the Mixtape presents us with a variety of music styles and genres. The different sides of Trailblazers production are here for all to hear. It's by no means a classic CD that will be in your CD changer for months. However, the Trailblazers have definitely stepped their game up, and have produced some great unique beats here. You can't even compare it to the Family Hustle Mixtape - it's head and shoulders above their previous effort. At times, the vocals don't do the beats justice but it's great to see a Mixtape being used to give opportunities to artists we have not heard of before. Hopefully, this will provide the platform for a few of them to go on to some more ventures. The Mixtape does not have any actual mixing between the tracks, which is a bit disappointing, but the skills of the DJ appear to have been made redundant in Mixtapes lately. As for the CD - who needs 50 cent when you've got 100 rupees!