This Is Hip Hop Remix Contest Part II: Week 13 Winner

This final week of the contest was pretty tough to judge.  It’s been fun, but I’m glad it’s over for now.  A lot of you really brought that west coast flava to your beats this week and that’s exactly what we were looking for.  As you can see from our list below, Thomas and I pretty much had different favorites.  That made it even tougher to come up with a winner.  Read on to see what I mean…

Thomas:

Honorable Mentions: D3FC0N9, kinetic, Now-D

5. Isjberg – I think this intro works. Adding a Game verse doesn’t hurt the track at all. Last few weeks your tracks have been strong, another good submission.

4. S.T.T.R.E.S.S. – This track is hot! Lots of variation in the track. Transitions were smooth. Nothing bad I can say about this.

3. JFKmusik – Can’t go wrong with Zapp over something from the West. The “news report” in the middle of the track was a nice touch. Track sure to get the head/neck snapping.

2. Phurcat – Sample used better than the previous entry. Sounds like something they would spit over. Lots of energy in the track yet doesn’t outshine verses.

1. Tokyo Cigar – This track takes a different approach than the previous four and goes away from the “West Coast feel” for the song. This caught my attention because of the contrast to the previous four. The repetitive loop is borderline addictive! Lots of energy to the track and background sounds are subtle, but add to the track. Love them horns! Volume on the track seems low, wish it was louder, but that’s minor to me. This sounds like something from the “Iron Flag” era. Good work.

Kevin:

Honorable mentions: Phurcat (nice use of sample), RNP (loved the beat, but doesn’t work for this song)

5. SND -I really liked this beat, but it lacks variation.  It just got repetitive after a while.  Good beat though!

4. Dutchmasters – this was a funky track.  Although there was a lot going on sometimes (percussion-wise), this was a really nice track.  Lots of variation… very nice.  A little loud though… bring your levels down a bit.

3. S.T.T.R.E.S.S. – this one is probably the exact opposite from the previous (Dutchmasters).  It’s very minimalistic, but it works.  And levels could have definitely been brought up.  Nice west coast flavor without overdoing it!

2. JFKmusik – I totally agree with Thomas that you can’t go wrong with Zapp for this track.  But I disagree that Phurcat used the better sample.  His was good too, but there’s something about this track that really did it for me.

1. Now-D – this track wasn’t your typical west coast flavored beat, but something about it is just addictive to me.  It gave a whole new perspective on the song.  Very original and one of my favs from the whole competition.

Congratulations JFKmusik!

Westside Connection – Bow Down (JFKmusik Remix)