Pella-Freestyles Vol. 3: JoJo Pellegrino & DJ Doo Wop Drop the Mixtape of the Year

Pella-Freestyles Vol. 3: JoJo Pellegrino & DJ Doo Wop Drop the Mixtape of the Year

A PaperMedia Editorial Feature · By the PaperMedia Editorial Team

JoJo Pellegrino — "Three fingers, Vol. 3." Pella-Freestyles Vol. 3 hosted by DJ Doo Wop. Photo: DJ Doo Wop.

On September 15, 2026, JoJo Pellegrino released Pella-Freestyles Vol. 3, the latest installment in his ongoing freestyle mixtape series, hosted by none other than DJ Doo Wop — one of the most legendary mixtape DJs in hip-hop history.

The mixtape is available now. Click the link at the top of this article to stream it.

JoJo Pellegrino in the booth.

What Is Pella-Freestyles Vol. 3?

It's a mixtape in the traditional sense — not a playlist, not an algorithmic feed. A DJ-hosted, fully curated collection of freestyles from a rapper who has been doing this for nearly three decades. DJ Doo Wop provides the hosting, blending, and curation that made the mixtape era what it was. Pellegrino provides the bars.

Early tracks teased on Instagram include "PENNE ALLA VADKA (Entourage Song)," "FULL MOON," "Raindrops," and "LIVE FROM STAPLETON." The full project runs from street-level freestyles over classic beats to original collaborations, all delivered with Pellegrino's signature Staten Island intensity.

Who Is JoJo Pellegrino?

If you've never heard the name, here's the short version. JoJo Pellegrino is a Staten Island rapper of Italian-American descent who has been a fixture of the New York hip-hop underground since 1998. He calls himself "The Rap Tony Soprano" — Staten Island born, Italian to the core, operating by a code that puts bars above everything else.

His sound is unapologetically New York: raw, technical, street-authentic. He freestyles — not the casual, half-committed kind, but the real kind where words are constructed in real time with no written preparation, no safety net, no second takes.

Along the way, he's earned co-signs from the people who built hip-hop: Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Method Man, R.A. the Rugged Man, DJ Kay Slay, Conway the Machine, and most recently, the legendary producer Marley Marl.

Staten Island to the core.

The DJ Doo Wop Co-Sign: Why It Matters

The choice of DJ Doo Wop as host is not incidental. Doo Wop is a foundational figure in New York mixtape culture — a DJ who was there when the format was being invented, who hosted tapes for the biggest names in the city, and who represents the gold standard of mixtape DJing.

By partnering with Doo Wop, Pellegrino is making a statement: this isn't just a collection of freestyles thrown online. This is a mixtape — in the traditional, DJ-hosted, curated sense. In an era where the mixtape has been replaced by the playlist and the algorithm, Pella-Freestyles Vol. 3 is a deliberate act of cultural preservation.

In the lab — Pellegrino and DJ Doo Wop at the console.

The Marley Marl Connection

In 2026, legendary Queensbridge producer Marley Marl — the man who built the foundation of hip-hop with "The Bridge," Big Daddy Kane's "Ain't No Half-Steppin'," and Eric B. & Rakim's "Eric B. Is President" — came out of retirement specifically and exclusively to work with JoJo Pellegrino. Their collaboration centers on the track "Outside" and the broader "Top Tier" project.

For Marley Marl to come out of retirement to work with the kid from Staten Island is a validation that no chart position or streaming number could ever provide. Marley Marl doesn't just work with anyone. He works with artists he believes in.

Behind the boards.

"Do Bars Still Matter?"

The campaign behind the mixtape has been accompanied by Pellegrino's ongoing "Do bars still matter?" series on Instagram — a question posed through freestyle clips over beats from Nas, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and other legends. The answer, delivered in sixty-second bursts of unbroken rhyming, is always the same: yes.

After twenty-eight years, he still rhymes like he's trying to win a battle he hasn't won yet.

What's Next: The Full JoJo Pellegrino Story

If you're new to Pellegrino — if this is the first time you're hearing the name — this is only the beginning. PaperMedia is preparing a full editorial deep-dive into JoJo Pellegrino's complete music history: the Staten Island roots, the Violator era, the Chris Lighty management deal, the tracks that built the underground, and what he's building next.

For the new listeners, the ones discovering him for the first time through Pella-Freestyles Vol. 3 — look out for it. The full story is coming.

PaperMedia Spotlight · September 2026 · Updated for Pella-Freestyles Vol. 3 Release

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