Finally, we’ve come to a conclusion for the winner of week 2.  Some of the judge have been busy on other projects so we couldn’t get everyone’s input for this week.  But from the ones we did get, it was unanimous; which actually surprised me cuz there was so much heat.  Let’s let the judges break it down…

First, I want to welcome new judge, Remot, to the panel.  It’s safe to say Remot has some experience when it comes to remix contests.  Here’s what he had to say…

Remot:

Deciding the best remix out of 40 deserving candidates was almost impossible. Almost urrbody came with heat so it was hard to narrow it down. There were too many hot mixes to only recognize the very best one, so I commented on my honorable mentions

HONORABLE MENTIONS

G.C. - I immediately recognize those claps from the Fruity Loops sound bank so I’m not crazy about that. But it really picks up when the hihats kick in, and I love the sample that was used. Interesting spin on the song… it’s not a particularly happy song to begin with but G.C. turns it into a feel good summer tune here.

InFo - this is just a dope use of a sample. Sounds like something off early Rawkus, Soundbombing or something. Kinda grimy with a very different feel from the original

Husan Husani - starts off sounding like a subtle Runners joint with the claps but hot dayum does it pick up with those drums. Live as hell. Groovy as hell. Only thing is the beat somewhat overpowers the vocals for me. This is really good production but I’m not sure if it’s a really good remix.

Watchmen - Like the percussion on this track. I felt the particular sample worked well with the lyrics. Has a happy, soulful feel but still manages to illustrate the come-up aspect of the song.

RUNNER UP

Keyz Fargo - these are probably the hottest drums of all the remixes. All the sounds were very appropriately used. Very mellow groove. Sounds like something that could have feasibly been on Southernplayalistic or ATLiens so it really works. The song doesn’t change up too much, and isn’t as melodic as some of the other remixes, but it doesn’t have to be.

WE THE BEST

20 Keys - I felt this was the most polished remix which says a lot cuz it still has a very organic sound. Great sampling, great percussion. Tambourines are a nice touch. Bass is dope. The way he does the chorus is what makes it a winner tho. He chops it up to make it sound like part of the Al Green sample. The melodies blend perfectly and the transition from verse to hook is smoother than any of the other remixes.

Thomas:This week has been extremely difficult to narrow the field down to ONE winner. Everyone brought their best this week; maybe it was the classic song or the stipulation of using the soul legend himself (Al Green) in the mix, but the results were beyond my expectations…they were great.

The issues that plagued last weeks contest weren’t as evident to me this week so I could focus more on the music. The following producers’ tracks immediately caught my attention on first listen:

Atlas, RNP, Isbjerg, Tommylux, SND, D.Bruce, InfO, Keyz Fargo, Lil Champ, Abstrakt Soundz, 20 Keys, S.2ITA, and Reason.

The above tracks (for me) captured the essences of the original and were creative in using the Al Green samples. The above tracks weren’t over produced or had missed placed or weird elements. The above are my recommendations for inclusion in the Instrumental mixtape that Kevin is planning.

Out of the above batch the following were in my “finals.”

RNP, SND, D.Bruce, InfO, Lil Champ, Abstrakt Soundz, and 20 Keys.

After listening to the “final 7″ Abstrakt Soundz and 20 Keys were the strongest of the seven.

Both tracks are addictive and use Al’s voice as a helpful tool. Abstrakt beautifully weaves it in and out of the track and 20 Keys uses it to change up the hook.

Abstrakt killed the introduction to the song. I like the way he lets the beat ride for a bit before bringing in the vocals. The little chimes throughout the track works, but I didn’t like the use of the high pitched vocal sample during the hook. It takes away from the beautiful track some what.

20 Keys’ track sounds “RZAish” circa ‘95-’96 which is a good thing. Plain/simple loop with minor change ups throughout the track. 20 Key’s changes in the track were more subtle than Abstrakt’s. I’m feeling the way he adds the vocal sample to the hook to give the track a different feel than the original.

So who’s my pick….20 Keys. The subtle background elements and the use of the vocal sample in the hook is what separates the two tracks…however, both are strong, strong tracks.

Kevin:

Like everyone else has mentioned, this was a really, really tough choice. I liked everybody’s sample choices and more or less how everyone decided to use the sample. I was looking for something where the Al Green sample was easily recognizable, which most everyone did. I think I had a final 16 in my list that I kept going over and over. It finally came down to my top three: Abstrakt Soundz, Watchmen, and 20 Keys. I ultimately went with 20 Keys, cuz I felt Al Green’s “Free At Last” just went perfectly with the Outkast track. I wasn’t too keen on the chopped chorus at first, but it eventually grew on me and I think it worked out really well. I was really feeling Beewirks’ beat, but the acapella ran away from the track quite a bit.

So it’s unanimous…. 20 Keys is the winner for week 2!

Outkast: Elevators (Me and You) [20 Keys' Al Green Remix]

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