The Blueprint 2009 Remix Contest: Week 8 + 9 + 10 Winners

I know a lot of you have been waiting a lot time for us to announce the winners of the last few weeks of the Blueprint Remix Contest. Well this past week while everyone has been concentrating on the Michael Jackson tribute contest, DJ Blacquestarr, Thomas, and myself have been listening to nothing but Jay-Z remixes. So before we kick off Week 11 of the contest, let’s find out who came out on top for weeks 8, 9, and 10…

WEEK 8

DJ BlacqueStarr

“Heart of the City” has been considered a difficult track to flip but a lot of you have put your foot in it and seamlessly brought something new and fresh to the record. As always, there can only be 5 though there were many great submissions. Let’s get to it.

5. 20 Keys – Nice choice of percussion with the sample. Diggin it.

4. Que R!CO – The percussion had me bobbing my head. It definitely sounded like something that ?uestlove would bring out at a live show.

3. Bidiriddim – Versatile with the drum pattern in the beginning, I would have just added some cuts/drops to keep it fresh

2. SCAM – Very well put together, Sounds like something from the 50’s. Like a soundscape for a black and white movie.

1. Rodloos – I was diggin the D.O.A. clip at the beginning. The track itself was layered nicely so you can tell where the verse and chorus were.

I’ve noticed a lot of new blood in this week’s entries which is not a bad thing by any means. And a lot of them deserve some recognition as well.

Honorable Mentions:
Bezouro, CharmWorka, Brendan Campbell-Craven, Cory Hall, Day with Wine, Dj Tommy II Gunz, G.C., Half-Centric, Isbjerg, Matthew C. Hatt, RNP, S.T.T.R.E.S.S., Scam, Tictoc, Tokyo Cigar, VULTCHA

Thomas

5. EB Productions – Overall vibe of the track would fit in with The Blueprint. Beginning of hook had too much going on for my liking, but that was minor compared to the rest of the track.

4. Que R!CO – Bouncy feel to the track that works well.

3. 20 Keys – Great use of the sample. Drums hit hard. Jigga’s vocals are flawless over track.

2. 44th Productions – Drums knock with good use of the sample.

1. SCAM – Very theatrical and soulful sounding at the same time. Track and vocals fit perfectly.

Honorable Mentions:
Bidimridim, Cory Hall, G.C., Isbjerg, S.T.T.R.E.S.S., 44th Parallel, Mike Aee, Rashid Hadee

Kevin

5. S&G Beats – I loved how you chopped this one up… and the drums hit nicely… props!

4. Tenth – Another nice one.. great job!

3. 20 Keys – I really, really dug this remix. Great use of sample and drums fit perfectly.

2. Isbjerg – Man, when I first heard this remix I thought it was clearly going to be the winner. Excellent job… you did your thing with this one!

1. SCAM – wow, I was totally blown away with this remix. So many of the remixes this week hit similar to the original. You brought a whole different feeling to the track, but made it just as good as the original.

Honorable Mentions:
Rashid Hadee, QueR!CO, Brendan Campbell-Craven

CONGRATIONS SCAM!

WEEK 9

DJ BlacqueStarr

Week 9 brought in some new faces to the mix, and I’ve noticed the same can be said for this week. “Never Change” is a soulful track, which I thought soundwise was a standout on the album. What I was personally looking for was who brought out the most soul. A number of you really came hard with this one, but here are the 5 that stood out the most to me.

5. AdamBomb – Diggin the choice of percussion and the flip of the sample itself. It meshed really well.

4. LAKIM – The percussion put me in the mind of “Dead Presidents.” You really did a great job of adding the drops as well as incorporating other vocal samples in order to keep the track fresh from beginning to end.

3. Ransom Notes – Nice flip right here. I would’ve just added some more instrumental layers to help to make it sound fuller. Also, I really dug the 2Pac sample towards the end, I would’ve went ahead and just put it in to the chorus or something.

2. Bidiriddim – Your versatility has been consistent throughout the entire contest and this week is no different. One of the best flips of the sample that I heard all the way through. I would’ve added some drops or cuts to help distinguish the verses from the chorus.

1. G.C. – The sequencing of the instrumental was on point and it fit well with Jay’s vocals. The choice of percussion was tight and gave the track that extra bit of knock.

Can’t forget about those that need to get some special attention as well.

Honorable Mentions:
CharmWorka, Cris Amos, DJ Tommy II Gunz, Half-Centric, Isbjerg, Kingimi Productions, Kobe tha French, manz, Perfect PIITCH

Thomas

5. Adambomb – Head nodding track. Has a knock to it that is addictive.

4. Tokyo Cigar – Chop game and drums are on point as usual. The placement of the vocal sample enhances the track.

3. Kingimi Productions – Very somber track that works for the vocals. The addition of the female vocals adds life to the track.

2. Bidimridim – Track is dripping with lots of nuggets. I hear something different every time I listen to it. Jay’s vocals sound natural over the track.

1. G.C. – Track knocks. Soulful vibe is kept from the original, but with your twist to it. Transitions from verses to hook is on point as usual.

Honorable Mentions:
Cory Hall, Half-Centric, Kimo Beatz, Kobe Tha French, Manz, S.T.T.R.E.S.S., Tenth, Ticto, Yokuzih

Kevin

5. PERFECT.P.IIITCH – this one was interesting, real light and bouncy… I dug it.

4. Bidimridim – this remix is straight wicked… I love the little touches you laid all throughout the track.

3. Ransom Notes – this joint is nice and smoothed out. Minimalistic, but it works.

2. EkZakT – I was a little hesitant at the beginning of the track, but it slowly built up and the more I listened to it, I dug what you were doing. Very theatrical!

1. G.C. – wow man, you never cease to amaze me. The beat itself stands on it’s own and fits perfectly with Jay.

Honorable Mentions:
Chris Amos,  S.T.T.R.E.S.S., YoKuzin, DJ TommyIIGunz, AdamBomb, LAKIM,  D7, razorSHARPE, RNP

CONGRATULATIONS G.C.!

WEEK 10

DJ BlacqueStarr

“Song Cry” to me was one of the best records on the album because it was one of those rare situations where you heard Jay-Z reveal his most personal thoughts and the track itself was epic to me. So when this week came up, I was really looking for the ones that could capture that same essence but brought their own originality into the mix as well. Here are the ones that I thought fit those qualities:

5. Mrs.Ameryca – I was really diggin the strings and piano in this one. I just thought that the percussion kinda made the vocals sound out of sync. The Lauryn Hill sample was a nice touch, but I would’ve tried to fit in the chorus a bit more.

4. Day with Wine – I have no clue what vocal sample you used but I was feeling it. The original sample could’ve went up a couple of pitches to make it sound more in place with the rest of the track. It just sounded off-key to me but great track nonetheless.

3. JaeHavoc – Nice chopping of the original and the percussion and kicks fit the vocals nicely. You also did a great job of adding and subtracting parts to help distinguish the chorus and verses as well as breaking when necessary.

2. L.M.N.2. – Two words. Michael Jackson. It came out of nowhere but I was really diggin the “Man in the Mirror” sample in the chorus. My only thing was the bit of overhaul of pianos in the second verse. It just seemed out of a place. And I would’ve tightened up the samples to make it sound more consistent either speeding your track up to fit or slowing it down. Other than that, great job.

1. Vol – To me, this felt the most like a real-deal like Holyfield remix. Very original. You didn’t have to lean on the sample to make it a great track. Your track brought a very different vibe as opposed to the original. Left field and I digs that.

There were a lot of great submissions. Here are the ones that deserve some recognition as well.

Honorable Mentions:
Arizona Heat Recordings, CharmWorka, Chris Amos, CoryHall, D7, dkellaway, ESPYONE, getnyce, Isbjerg, ISO, Junky Romania, K-MO Beatz, Mkeacc, PERFECT PIIIITCH, razorSHARPE, RNP, SCAM, Tokyo Cigar

Thomas

5. Mike Aee – Drums knock and love the chop of the sample.

4. Razorsharpe – Kept the soulful vibe to the track.  Love what you did with the hook.

3. RNP – Love the “live” sounding feel to the track.  Very complete track.

2. Bidimridim – Every week your tracks stand out from jump. The use of the sample, drums and other elements make the track enjoyable to listen to.

1. Sound Scientist – Made this introspective track real gritty and grimy with those drums and the wailing vocal sample. Wu-tang’ish with its sound. Jay sounds natural over the track. This ish knocks. I’m not sure what happens about a minute in, but that doesn’t take away from a bangin track.

Kevin

5. Sound Scientist – nice chops on the sample and you put in those boombap drums. Yeah, what was that about a minute in? lol

4. Phurcat – I liked how you just kept the original sample untouched at the beginning. I could listen to that song all day. But then when you switched it up into the first verse, I was totally not expecting that. Real nice.

3. EkZakT - I loved how you built the track up from the beginning and then went into the beat. You gave it more of an upbeat groove. Nice drumwork.

2. Vol – yeah, this remix was hot… you really embraced the original and added to it.

1. Phloeboy – I really dug this one… the drums gave this one more of an upbeat feel and I think that’s why it stood out to me.

Honorable Mentions:
LMN2, SCAM, Mrs Ameryca

CONGRATULATIONS VOL!

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