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Behind the Project: Why Buzzard Dust Mixtapes Became What It Was Always Meant to Be

By EmmittOwens.com Staff

Every music project starts with an idea.

Buzzard Dust Mixtapes started with a question:

What if every small town had its own soundtrack?

But the story begins much earlier.

I’ve been writing since 1999. It started as poetry before evolving into rap when I began experimenting with music on a Windows 98 computer. At the time, hip-hop wasn’t common where I lived, and that’s exactly what attracted me to it. I was always drawn toward the road less traveled.

Years later, while reading The Foxfire Series, I came across an old Appalachian remedy that mentioned “buzzard dust.” The phrase immediately grabbed my attention. It sounded mysterious, rugged, and deeply connected to Appalachian folklore. I tucked the name away, knowing I’d eventually build something around it.

In 2011, that became Buzzard Dust Mixtapes.

The original releases, created between 2011 and 2013, were short, roughly ten-minute rap mixtapes. They were experimental and independent, but even then I used to tell people that if I ever had the tools to do it the way I envisioned, Buzzard Dust Mixtapes wouldn’t be rap—it would be folk/bluegrass.

Then life got busy, technology changed, and the project faded into silence.

When new creative tools arrived in 2024, they didn’t just allow me to make music more efficiently—they finally allowed me to create the project I’d been imagining for more than a decade.

Today’s Buzzard Dust Mixtapes is a completely different genre.

Some people have asked why I walked away from rap.

The answer is actually simple.

When I started making rap, it was uncommon in my corner of Appalachia. That made it exciting. Over the years, independent rap exploded. Suddenly, everyone seemed to be recording verses in bedrooms, mattress forts, closets, and dining rooms. What was once uncommon became the norm.

I found myself looking for the road less traveled again.

Meanwhile, another genre I’d always loved kept calling me back.

Gospel, bluegrass, old-time mountain music, and Appalachian folk have always been close to my heart. They’re rooted in storytelling, family history, faith, and tradition. Those themes reflect not only where I come from (Northern Michigan, North Alabama) but also who I’ve become.

As my Christian faith grew stronger, I realized those musical traditions expressed my worldview far better than rap ever could. Appalachian folk music carries a spiritual weight that feels natural to me. It leaves room for stories about redemption, struggle, grace, hard work, and home.

In February 2026, I made a conscious decision.

I wasn’t simply starting another music project.

I was writing a new chapter of my creative life.

In many ways, I’m intentionally replacing my identity as a rapper with the identity I always felt was waiting underneath it. Not by denying where I came from, but by building on it and moving toward something that better reflects my values, my faith, and my love for Appalachian culture.

Today, Buzzard Dust Mixtapes is finally what I imagined back in 2011.

It’s no longer just music.

It’s a growing Appalachian universe filled with several artists, towns, newspaper articles, radio broadcasts, mixtapes, podcasts, folklore, humor, and stories inspired by my life between Northern Michigan and the Appalachian foothills.

The artwork, the songs, the characters, and the places all exist to celebrate rural America—not as nostalgia, but as something still alive and still worth preserving.

This isn’t about chasing trends.

It’s about finally creating the project I always hoped Buzzard Dust Mixtapes could become.

Sometimes dreams don’t happen when you first imagine them.

Sometimes they wait until the right tools, the right experiences, and the right season of life come together.

For me, that season is now.

Listen on ReverbNation: –
Music – http://www.reverbnation.com/buzzarddustmixtapes
Instagram – @buzzard.dust.mixtapes – http://www.instagram.com/buzzard.dust.mixtapes
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/tumbledweeeb
Twitter – www twitter.com/buzzarddustmix