We've all been waiting for it, and today is the day! Chris Avant, better known by his fans as AV the Great, is releasing his 15 track mixtape, Backpack Trap Muzik today. Not only is today his mixtape drop date, it's also Avant's birthday!

“I make music," Avant says, "I’m not a party promoter. I want to release music and spend that other time with people I am close with.” 

Backpack Trap Muzik is the appetizer to the full meal that will be the No Fake Handshakes album that Avant hopes to release later this year.  “I don’t want to do a gofundme page or a Kickstarter,” he says. “I’d rather sell the mixtapes to make money to finish the album.” 

“I need to put these songs out because they don’t fit the sound of the No Fake Handshakes album. That album is very special to me. But, these songs are special because they have helped me grow so much over this year.”

Avant says that if you are working on new music that you know won't be released for some time, to listen to it for two days and then put it up for a while.

“It was a lot of fun. Some of these tracks are features I did, just rapping. Nothing serious. Not trying to fit a creative direction. It was just, here are some songs, you know, I feel like rapping. Walk into the booth, or a night after a show with Fab Deuce, come over, and we knock this out.” 

Although the 15-track mixtape has several producers, two songs, "Living out Dreams" and "Small Giants" were produced by Velly, Timbaland's protege from Mosely Music Group.

Although his fans are always waiting for new music, Avant has not had an easy time promoting his upcoming mixtape due to problems with the restrictive nature Facebook Ads. “I’ve been going through this for over a month and a half, so it’s hard for me to promote,” Avant says. “Otherwise, I would have already said what was going on.”

The rapper has tried numerous times to boost specific posts made from his AV the Great Facebook page, but has failed each time. Avant says he made a new page for the upcoming album, No Fake Handshakes, and was able to boost a post on that page with the same words and graphics that he used on his AV the Great page. 

“I don’t know what’s going on, if I got reported by a hater or something,” Avant jokes.

Facebook promotion or not, AV the Great has 200 physical copies of his album for the next two weeks. CD’s are $10 a pop and you can only get a copy by getting in touch with Avant or running into him. Besides the exclusive “Tired of You Boys” track that has been shared with The Dentonite, and what AV has already released, nothing else will be available online just yet.

“You gotta get the physical copy,” Avant encourages. The money he makes from album sales will go directly toward helping fund the No Fake Handshakes album. “It’s not the Life of Pablo, it’s not Views. It’s a mixtape and it’s my birthday and I want to put out some music that I think should get heard.”

Until you can meet up with AV in person today, here is an exclusive track off of Backpack Trap Muzik that you can only hear on The Dentonite:

Track list for Backpack Trap Muzik

1. Run up the Guap - ft. Dj Biko x Lil Dre
2. BPTM Intro
3. Living out Dreams - produced by Velly
4. DFW Roll Call - ft. Gas House Smitty
5. Party Favors
6. Peter Piper
7. Fish Interlude
8. Small Giants - produced by Velly
9. Check The Score - ft. Mu$$
10. Best Underground Southern Rapper
11. Hope Nas Hear This
12. Pimpin
13.Tired of you Boys - ft. Fab Deuce
14. Mixtape is Over
15. Riding Clean ft. Wasted Klick Hook

Album artwork by Design by Plum
Header image design by Jason Lee