THE RESULTS ARE IN! The first week proved to be a little bumpy, especially on the judges side, but we’ve finally decided on a winner. Before we announce the winner, let me just fill you in on some changes to the judges panel. As most of you know, Ivan (from Hip-Hop Is Read) has been out of pocket the last couple of weeks due to an emergency. Because of this we had our very own This Is Hip Hop fam member Thomas fill in. Hopefully when Ivan gets back, he’ll be able to join us. Next, Speek Greene had to drop out due to some personal obligations. This happened at the last minute, so I was not able to find a replacement right away. Thankfully, we got Remot to step up to the judges plate starting this week. So for week 1 it was just myself, Thomas, MIDIMarc, and 100dBs on the judges panel. Well, lets see what everyone had to say…

Thomas: Thirty-six remixed versions of Rakim’s “Guess Who’s Back.” My head is spinning after listening to the same vocals at least sixty times over the last five days, but I was able to pick a clear winner.

To me Rakim is the GOD emcee, he fathered a lot of our favorite rappers, favorite rappers style. When I listen to a Rakim song or album (or anyone I consider a lyrist) I’m listening to what is being said first then going back to analyze the track to see if it matches the vibe the artist is trying to create. The vibe of this particular song is to re-introduce the GOD emcee back to the masses.

So it’s simple for me….does the track help Rakim’s lyrics convey to that message of re-introduction or “Guess Who’s Back.”

The track can’t have distracting elements, can’t be overproduced (i.e., having a vocal sample playing throughout the verse that doesn’t seem necessary), a beat that doesn’t fit the mood of the song, etc; for me to consider it as the winner of week 1.

Many tracks were eliminated because the producer couldn’t match Ra’s vocals to the track. Second if I thought there were unnecessary elements or weird sounds playing throughout the track (i.e., one track had something playing in the background that sounded like fire crackers going off) or the track takes away from the lyrics it was eliminated. Some tracks were hot, but I didn’t think they fit the mood/concept of the song/lyrics. The track had to be something that would re-introduce Rakim to the masses or introduce him to hip-hop fans who didn’t know about him. I only thought three tracks accomplished that out to the thirty-six: Tuche’s, 20 Key’s, and G.C.’s.

These songs to me didn’t have any of the negatives I discussed above.

Tuche’s Remix:
This track is simple, laid back, and smooth. There aren’t any unnecessary sounds or drums drowning out Ra’s lyrics. This track feels like theme music for an important character in a movie. Theme music contained in movies are introducing or making the viewers know that someone important is going to be introduced or something important is going to occur. This track makes me feel like something special is gonna happen or in this case I’m gonna hear some fire. I think it capture the essence of the original…a reintroduction of someone important.
20 Key’s Remix:
20 did something that I thought others would do…try to find a way to eliminate the hook because it is terrible in my opinion. I like that after Ra says “I control the crowd” the hand claps come in. Again, I think this captures the essence of the original and picks up on the message of the track….Ra saying I’m back to rip this mic. Track isn’t over produced. Just enough to it to let the lyrics do the work.
G.C.’s Remix: (My Pick)
I think G.C. hit it perfect. He matched the lyrics up with the beat, his track didn’t drown out Ra’s lyrics, and the track had that “knock” to it that made me wanna snap my neck. His track wasn’t over produced had the essentials to me, bass, drums, main loop, and perfect scratched vocals. I think the Royce vocal sample “put the microphone in the shop for repair” sealed the deal for me; it let everyone know that the GOD is back.

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100dBs: Here are my notes for the ones that showed promise…

• EB - decent but not really making me press rewind
• C17 - again, really solid but doesn’t do it for me. a bit boring
• G.C. - pretty good but needs a lot of EQ work
• Mystro - nice but needs more variations
• Selfish Slave - great EQ work, a bit boring on the composition side
• Dutchmasters - really fucking dope, love the breakdown and the changing beats, but the acapella should really be tightened up a bit. it sometimes drags… this is true also of the samples in the breakdown. great ideas but not executed perfectly.
• Falcard - nice and smooth, a bit too mellow
• Tek - excellent arpeggios but needs more variations and a more dramatic hook
• Tommylux - very dope melodies and such but needs more change-ups. love the beat but the acapella doesn’t match up… a real shame. this is the only one out of those with non-synced acapellas i even pressed rewind on
• Tyrese M - definitely a Just Blaze clone but i can roll with it. really well done.
• BLINKY - nice use of “pump up the volume” sample… good EQ… needs more variation
• info - dope idea but needs a shorter intro.. the bassline should drop WAY sooner, and the drums need to be less robotic. the synths are great.
• Isbjerg - really tight loop but where’s the low end? also change it up for the hook!
• Merk Haze - minimal and cool. EQ it better and make the hook go somewhere new
• One Mic - old Kanye style chops. change up the drum parts once in a while and build to something. sync up the acapella a bit tighter.

My pick… i have to go with Tyrese M even though it’s a JB bite. He made the beat coalesce with Ra the best, and so the product was nicely packaged. Good work!

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MIDIMarc: Man….you don’t realize how many remixes there are until you sit down with all of em in your lap…….
I’m goin with G.C.As far as comments go…the most important part of remixing in my opinion is having the acapella on beat. Its not as simple as just matching the acapellas bpm with a beat you already have…you want to build a beat around the acapella and make it sound like the artist originally rapped to your joint

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Kevin: My biggest problem initially was getting through all the remixes where the beat didn’t sync up with the acapella. I was a little disappointed in those. Then once I weeded those out, I listened for beats that had replay value. Some of the beats were really good, but didn’t go anywhere. For example, when the hook comes in, I would expect the beat to switch up some how… different melody or something. But it seemed that some cats just made a 16 bar loop and put it on repeat.The ones that stood out for me the most were…

• EB Productions
• G.C.
• C17
• S.T.T.R.E.S.S. (minimalistic, but I like how it grew)
• Dutchmasters
• One Mic (dude, that beat is HOT, I’d like to hear someone else besides Rakim on that)
• BLINKY.

Most everyone brought their game, but those were the ones that stood out the most to me.With that said, my pick was tough, but I ultimately went with G.C. The production, to me, fit Rakim perfectly and the scratched hook was one that I could not get out of my head… super dope! Definitely reminiscent of DJ Premier. I do agree with 100dBs that your track does need a lot of EQ work. I don’t know if it was the quality of the mp3 or the mastering of the track itself.

So the winner is G.C.!

Congratulations G.C., you are the first one to make a spot on the remixtape. I would like to ask you to play with the levels of your track and see if we can get a better sound quality for the final mix… cool? Thanks to everyone else and good luck with the rest of the contest!

Rakim: Guess Who’s Back (G.C. Remix)