Before I put the post up for Week 8, let’s go ahead and announce the winner from Week 6. These weeks are just getting harder and harder to judge. A lot of you all are really steppin up your game and wow, there were some good ones this week. Hit the jump to see who the judges picked…
DJ BlacqueStarr
We’re only 6 weeks deep and the competition has gotten even tougher when picking a top 5. It is not a bad thing by any means. All of you are not pulling any punches with these mixes but I can only choose 5. Haha. So let’s get to it.
5. deligenius – This one had that bit of a jazz cafe vibe to it. I kept expecting Jill Scott to come through and sing on the hook or even do a verse. Kinda like some vintage ATCQ goodness going on with this track.
4. MOFUWALTERRS – I really dig this one because it had such an eerie but relaxing vibe to it as if you were dealing with an Herbal Essence experience and I’m not talking about the shampoo either. Haha.
3. S.T.T.R.E.S.S. – I felt like Barry White had an influence on this track. I could just see him and the Love Unlimited Orchestra going in and making it an epic production as well as him adding his on sultry voice to it.
2. Ransom Notes – If Jay’s track “Say Hello” had a prequel, this would be it right here. I kept thinking about that track when listening to this one. Not a bad thing because that’s one of my favs off American Gangster. You did a great job of adding drops as well as adding/subtracting elements in order to keep the track fresh. Great job.
1. Rashid Hadee – I chose this one because I felt like this one kept the structure of the original track as far as to what to add/subtract beatwise but giving your own spin on it. I just thought this one was well-layered and it was consistent from beginning to end. I could see this one being on like a “Lost Jay-Z Remix” compilation or as a B-side on an import. Beautiful work.
Goodness gracious there were a lot of great submissions this week. The ones that didn’t make my top 5, they definitely earn some recognition for creativity.
Honorable Mentions
Ben Brown, 44th Parallel, DJ Tommy II Gunz (I wasn’t expecting Pac and Biggie to be added to the mix!!), Don Substance, EB Productions, J. Fizz, L.M.N.2., Nomadic Soul Productions, Perfect P.IIITCH, QueR!CO (track but me in the mind of the 50s and 60s on American Bandstand), RNP, razorSHARPE, Tokyo Cigar, Young Strike$
Thomas
Due to limited time this week, I wasn’t able to comment on any of the beats, but here’s my Top 5…
5. Don Substance
4. Tokyo Cigar
3. RNP
2. Rashid Hadee
1. Confidential Production
Honorable Mention
Razorsharpe, Isjberg, G.C., Ben Brown, Ransom Note, 44 Productions
Kevin
5. S.T.T.R.E.S.S. – This was nice and soulful. I dug the parts of the sample you chose to use. Nice job!
4. Tokyo Cigar – I’m lovin your chops more and more man. And the drums were nice, though they could have hit a little harder.
3. Phurcat – Now THESE drums hit! That’s what did it for me with this beat. Nice drumwork.
2. Rashid Hadee – Yeah I admitted before that I’m a Hadee fan. This remix is just pure heat, fan or not. The drumwork is amazing and sample flip is incredible.
1. Confidential Productions – Out of all the remixes submitted this week, this one stood out the most for me. You found a different part of the sample and made this remix a totally different song. The drums banged and I like the subtle “pump up the volume” after Jay says, “Turn my music higher.” Great job!
Honorable Mentions:
Ransom Notes, G.C. RNP, Que R!CO, SCAM, Young K, DJ Tommy II Gunz
CONGRATULATIONS RASHID HADEE!
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Peace to Rashid. Props on the win. Good looking out to the judges for the shout outs. Peace
Dope flip by Hadee!
I used that sample for a Soul Occs joint called The Raw, I think it was in the Snippet last year, Kev… Yeah, the album will be out this summer, lol. finally
well…congrats.. On with the next week..
good stuff Rashid.. dope remix
woa thanks everybody! it was definitely a lotta dope remixes submitted. i know i heard at least 15 dope ones. but good lookin out cause i was really feelin the way i flipped that joint with the 808s and bongos and stuff. drums were from rah digga’s come again
good work Hadee! definately dope..
As always, thanks for the mentions, definitely appreciate seeing my name pop up on the lists every week considering the judges know their music!
Peace,
RNP
Congrats Rachid !
Congrats Rashid! 2 all contestants big ups & 2 the judges. I didn’t submit but I still made a remix which doesn’t matter now, but all yall keeping me grinding on my beat/producer game! 1 Love!
Congrats
another week another failure what’s new.
@Cory – This forum, whether in remix contest or other form, is a chance for producers to learn from each other. This is the perfect (and probably the only) place where we can build, collab, and get genuine feedback for our work…like GZA used to say, use it to sharpen the swords, you know?
well to be honest, i’m not getting any feedback, nor am i learning anything. All I have gleamed from this is: the judges don’t like my remixes. period. i want to know why at least. I enjoy doing the remixes but it always sucks to have work go for nothing.
I’m sorry, I will try my best to give feedback from now on. I know some people give great feedback and others don’t say much. Isbjerg is one of the greatest feedback people I have associated with, you might want to ask him for honest feedback too.
Word, I hear you Cory. Understand that the judges have bundles of Remixes to sift through.
Sometimes though, the beats just aren’t clicking with these particular judges. I can tell you these are three of some of the most approachable cats you will ever talk to and if you message them, chances are you’ll get what you need to hear. If i didn’t have to sift through 20 albums a week, I wish I could give more in depth feedback, but I can’t.. hence why I’m not a judge here. Hopefully you get the answers you are looking for.
Its extremely difficult for me to comment on everyone’s remixes. I feel bad because I’ve gone 2 or 3 weeks in this contest not giving feedback on the winners when I’ve been consistent with that since I started helping Kev with this.
If the vocals aren’t syncing with the beat…that’s an automatic gone for me right off. I can live with the vocals running away a little, but not being totally off.
I listen to see if the track compliments the vocals…does it have the original vibe to it, but can be called its own? Does the track have a lot of variation in it, lots of change ups, good smooth transitions, etc. Do all of these things work? Sometimes the vocals call for something simple….not a lot of extra sounds/noises.
If someone used the same part of the sample who did it better? Also, does the track get me hype…does it make me snap my neck.
This is what I do.
1. Listen to about an hours worth of the remixes. If I listen any longer I lose focus on the tracks. It takes me three days to go through the mixes. I have a list of “Yes” and “No’s.”
2. Once I get my list of “Yes” and “No” I go back through the “No’s” and delete them off of my iPod. I keep my list of 15-20. These are the ones that I really like.
3. I listen to the new list (15-20) at least two times to weed about the ones that I don’t think are good enough for “my final list.”
4. My second list is “my final list.” I normally listen to these at least 2-3 times to be sure I pick the best one in my opinion. Every mix in my top 10 that isn’t top 5 goes into the honorable mention. Then I pick 3-5 additional mixes from the second list to go onto the honorable mention.
5. When I pick my final five I go back and listen while I’m doing my write up.
6. So all in all I’ve listened to every mix at least once and the winner at least 7 times.
7. We all put a lot of time into this.
My best suggestion would be to get feedback from your peers. They are the ones doing the work. They can provide the best advice for you.
Hope this helps.
@Thomas – Real talk. Thanks for clearing that up! Side note – had no idea you were from MD too…damn I miss my hometown!
Just holla at me, Cory…. I also wanna have you in on aproject… I need your skills..
And you know, I will always comment on your raw energy drum petterns…