The Blueprint 2009 Remix Contest: Week 12 Winner

We are this close to finishing up the remixtape. With Week 12′s winner being announced here, that means there are only 2 more weeks left for us to judge. Ya man Thomas was on vacation this last week, so it was just up to DJ BlacqueStarr and I to determine the winner. Though the majority of our picks were all over the place, the first place winner was unanimous. Check it after the cut…

DJ BlacqueStarr

“Momma Loves Me,” Of course she does. Like “Song Cry,” this was one of the situations where you hear Mr. Carter brings his personal life, in this case his upbringing to the forefront. The original was very soulful and a lot of you keep it that way when doing your remixes, which is definitely not a bad thing. For me, I was looking for ones that stood out from the pack with originality to make it authentic. Here are the ones that I personally thought brought that heat this
week:

5. 44th Parallel – Nice choice in percussion for this one. It immediately caught my attention. Just some variation with the instrumental would’ve made it even better.

4. DJ Tommy II Gunz – The flip was definitely dope once it kicked in. I was really looking for more layers to be added as the track progressed though in order to keep it fresh.

3. Bidiriddim – I thought a disco ball was about to drop down from the ceiling at the beginning. Haha. You really took a chance with the percussion on this one. It was something different but I digs it. And you used a different section of the sample for yours and you really made it your own. Great job.

2. Confidential – Trackwise I thought this one was one of the strongest remixes. You really did a great job of adding and subtracting layers when necessary to keep it fresh throughout. The vocals were out of sync from time to time, but overall a great remix.

1. G.C. – This one was very well put together. I was diggin how you put the sample of someone beating down on the table when it got to that part. You really let the vocals become one with the instrumental.

And of course, I can’t forget the ones that did their thing and still deserve some recognition.

Honorable Mentions:
Bezouro, BigFunkyGF3, CJ Fresh, ICEMANBEATS, Isbjerg, L.M.N.2., Mastamind, NATOWNLEGEND, PERFECT P.IIITCH, Phurcat, Rich Lee, RodLOOs, SCAM, Sec, S.T.T.R.E.S.S.

Kevin

This week was tough for me mainly because “Free At Last” has been sampled SO MANY TIMES. So of course I was looking for something fresh… something different. Sadly, I it was hard to find. A lot of you all did your thing, but I just wasn’t feeling it. In fact, out of all 30+ remixes that were submitted, there were only 4 that stood out to me. I listened and listened and tried to come up with a 5th favorite, but I just couldn’t. The following four remixes are the ones that stood out to me…

4. SCAM – A few people took some elements of “December 4th” and incorporated it here, which I thought was ingenius. You didn’t overdo it… nice touch. I loved the “Feelin It” sample you threw in and the “Brooklyn’s Finest” sample was cool too. Great job!

3. Confidential – I really dug the acoustic guitar in the beginning of the track. That plus the different layers throughout the track made this one a banger for me. The acapella lagged at times, but it wasn’t too bad. The one thing that kept me listening to this one over and over was the level of your drums… too harsh.

2. RodLoOs – I loved the portion of “Free At Last” you chose. That alone made this remix stand out to me as a lot of people sampled similar portions. The drums could have banged a little harder, but it was all about your flip to me.

1. G.C. – Pure perfection… them drums… wow! And yeah, you chose the same part of the sample as most, but I dug how you switched it up… and the banging on the kitchen table was really dope. Every little element counts, all the way to the police siren you used in the last verse… attention to detail. This was definitely the best overall mix.

Sorry, no honorables from me this week.

CONGRATULATIONS G.C.