REVIEW GAMES
Week 4
Video Reviews by First Born Art
Written Reviews by The Lurker
YOU SUBMITTED
WE REVIEWED
WE CHOSE TOP 4
NOW YOU VOTE (Twitter Poll coming soon)
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ROUND 1
by First Born Art
FEATURING
ROUND 2
Reviews by the Lurker
Top 4:
1 777 x JUNYII - Yu
While Listening:
This is a ‘just go listen’ type of deal. 1 and a quarter minutes of some old classic hiphop vocals, cut up and put over a chill, swinging, lofi beat. Again, just go listen.
Real Talk:
-The vocal effects (the 64th-note stutters or w/e), I am really into; I want more
-The random sounds and effects that come in are used effectively
-Artists making art.
2 Echo - Toffee ft Qari
While Listening:
Lovely vintage feel, vibing with the sound. The vocals sound great, I hear 2 takes on top of each other and some reverb and that shit works. The radio-ish effect on the callbacks is great. ‘Fucked around and died today’ that line hits hard. Feature takes advantage of a change in the beat to switch up the tone, fits well with the first vocalist. At like 2:55 it gets really real. I had a very nice time listening to that.
Real Talk:
-The beat could have dropped out some before the second hook, however..
-The beat has a unique and interesting sound. Chill vibes, calm vibes.
-Lurker approved.
3 FAT MAC - Warmup prod. (Xerml)
While Listening:
When the waveform on Soundcloud is that thick, you know you’re in for some shit. That intro gives me no idea of what’s coming, but I’m ready. This goes so hard, oh my god. It’s like I’m listening to Witch House again. I don’t even know if you’re on beat or not, but I truly do not give a shit. This is a hell of an experience packed into 2 minutes.
Real Talk:
-Creativity on 1000%
-Technically, it’s too loud, BUT I DISAGREE. Overmastered to perfection.
-This made my whole night.
4 415Matic - Flowers in the Spring prod. Beatz Era
While Listening:
Here for the talking intro. Shit, I’m here for it all. Damn smooth. That every-line-is-differrent flow. Lyrics are next level, very authentic and introspective. Wonderful listening experience, truly. I just let it ride, you should too, hit play!
Real Talk:
-Make 10 albums like that so they have to listen.
-Your rhythm, when the drums drop out, is off at times.
-Again, wonderful listening experience, highly recommended.
**NOT RANKED BUT STILL FIRE**
Shy Balenci - Forever (feat. 3rdivision) prod. @blackmayo
While Listening:
That guitar intro is getting me hyped. Classic beat-tag/beat-drop. That guitar was begging for some good autotune vocals, and they arrived! The flow is exceptional; there is the perfect amount of time that the instrumental is playing alone between the vocals. The feature is a nice additive, changing up the tone right after the hook. Personally, I could do with less ‘drip’ ‘whip’ ‘swag’ ‘grind’ etc. in the lyrics.
Real Talk:
-Shy is killing the guitar beat + autotune game with this one
-In the mix, less high end, more low end. ‘P’ and ‘S’ sounds hit real hard.
-Your sound is rock solid; continue to explore your creativity.
KJ - Tarly prod. Wat3r
While Listening:
It’s difficult for me, KJ, I mean, I loved the beat, and I can imagine this song sounding pretty good. I hear some nice melodies in there and some interesting lyrics in there too. BUT...
Real Talk:
...the volume difference between the vocals and the beat is so offensive that I can’t make much of a judgement on this one. My deepest apologies.
Dre Coltrane - Big Bag
While Listening:
I’m liking how the beat fits with the sound of your voice. Beat, cover art, profile pic, voice- all of those are working together. There’s a lot of high end in the mix. References Bey, James Brown, others. Tasteful amount of reverb on the vocals. The parts where the beat drops out are really working for me, handled that well.
Real Talk:
-Fits well in the current market.
-Lyrics could be more engaging.
-Overall aesthetic is clean as fuck.
AZURE THE PARADOX - ELEVATE ME (feat Little Distractions)
While Listening:
Nice spacy intro. Oh wow a vocalist! We don’t get clean singing vocals here often. Beat drops out to give Azure his chance. Steady flow when the beat comes in, easy listening. The delivery could be more deliberate. The lyrics are exceptional, I’m interested the whole way through and you touch on a variety of subjects. More time for the singer, some time for the beat, another hook and we’re out!
Real Talk:
-The vibes are heavy, good choice on beat, feature, and subject matter, it all works together.
-Some ‘P’ and ‘B’ sounds hit too hard.
-This is on your debut album. You’re on the right track.
Decay - ONEONEONE
While Listening:
That melody is hella interesting. I wish the bass and kicks hit harder. The hook is effective; first word is ‘fuck’, how could you not pay attention? The flows are dope, lots of variation and some unique phrasing, but some of the faster ones may have been too ambitious with the given amount of syllables.
Real Talk:
-Best Irish rapper I’ve ever heard
-Your rhythm/timing could be improved some
-ONEONEONE lives up to that all caps title.
Reclusiveboys - 24b prod. Creek Indigo
*click this! no embed code though :(
While Listening:
Ok so 8 seconds in and we are still in 4bit. It’s a loud one, boys!! I am very interested as the vocals come in. Some notes I’m hearing in the vocal melody I don’t like so much, but some are goddamn amazing. (Like, ‘windows cuz’ at 0:57 sound odd to me, but ‘Arguably’ at 0:59 is fire). Definitely making big production moves.
Real Talk:
-I want louder kicks!
-That 4bit melody is the kind of sauce I like.
-Loud, vibey, and certainly unique.
Thank you to everyone that participated!
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