Limited Edition: The Fixtape might not be a best-of-both-worlds kind of thing, but it does bring together two rising entities who’ve shown consistency in all their endeavors. And though the mixtape format is familiar to both, they introduce enough nuances to keep this project fresh for longtime fans, while keeping the best elements of their previous works.

The original plan for this collaboration was as follows: Che Grand selects his favorites from his catalog; Che Grand records a couple of exclusives and freestyles; and DJ Low Key compiles the whole thing into an undeniable mix. In the execution process, fans weighed in with their picks, more exclusives got recorded, a few remixes got added, a few Che-mixes got considered, and DJ Low Key compiled the whole thing into an undeniable mix.

The resulting tape works well as cleverly-placed familiar joints are sure to jolt the knowing fans’ enjoyment and win over the curious people trying to get a feel of Che’s persona. Speaking of which, another clever move was to pace the tape with Che Grand commentaries. The uninitiated will quickly discover that, not only is Che “drama-free like stand-up,” he’s also quite the funny guy.

Represented here are all of Che Grand previous opuses, which chronologically include the mixtapes Introducing… (In My Delorean), A Sensual Evening with Grand (Nights Over Egypt, Private Parts, Sex Shooter) and Final Countdown (Wrap It Up, On Your Box) along with the Official Bootleg Import EP (Soul Glow). Two additional joints off of the EP, Vigilante and Work Flow, are present in remixed form.

The rest of the mixtape is filled with a generous offering of new songs and Che-mixes, where Che Grand slots verses on other artists’ songs – in this instance Lupe Fiasco’s I Gotcha and Justin Timberlake’s SexyBack. Altogether, the mixtape serves to show how far Che Grand has grown musically and personally and gives a glimpse at what to expect for his debut album. (At this point, it’s titled Everything Good’s Ugly and its predecessor Conceptus Opus got canned.)

Noteworthy joints include the C.R.E.A.M.-reminiscent Cash Rules, where a Che Grand in “beast mode” blasts thru two venomous verses admonishing under-qualified emcees; Make You A Star, a bright example of electronica-meets-hip-hop in which Che Grand and guests Donwill and Aeon don their playa suits and engage in some playful discourses; and African Rhythms, where Che Grand, Ilwil, a background of bongos and rhymes about home and the motherland prove to be a winning combination.

Indeed, with The Fixtape, Che Grand offers a topically and sonically varied platter of songs and much credit should be given to DJ Low Key for arranging the platter into a sound, comprehensive and delightful manner. There’s little doubt this mixtape would have been as enjoyable otherwise. The only knock you might find would be inclusion of the two truly random skits and the two final tracks. And that’s not reason enough to keep your ears closed.