Elektronauts Hip Hop Beat Battle #3 - Voting and Feedback

The Lounge Mission Briefs
#1

Great job everyone – like past battles this one will be incredibly hard to vote on!

Same rules as last time for voting:

  • You can start voting today (Aug 30), and the deadline for voting is Thursday (Sept 2) meaning votes coming in after Thursday will not count.
  • Only people who joined the battle and submitted a finished track/beat can vote.
  • Before voting, I suggest everyone takes a moment to listen to all submitted tracks again completely, preferably in a way that gives you good sound quality. Every track submitted so far took time and effort to make, so I think they all deserve a thorough listening session!
  • After listening, you can post a top 3 to this thread (which of course excludes yourself!). Commenting on other submissions or sharing a list of ‘honorable mentions’ if you have any is off course welcomed, but please clearly state your top 3 at the start of your post.
  • After the voting every 1st place vote gives the recipient 3 points, every 2nd place vote gives the recipient 2 points, and every 3rd place vote is worth 1 point. The person receiving the most points will be declared the winner, and gets the honorable job to organize (and decide the rules for) the next battle! As per the last battle, if by some chance I were to win, the person in second place can organize the next one.
  • Everyone can decide for themselves in what way to judge the submissions.

The submissions (in order of submission)

@FNKSTRNG

@drrumble

@rockpapergoat

@PeteSasqwax

@Doug

@CCMP

@new_drugs

@LyingDalai

@Dheurt

@Yabba

@Sleepyhead

@simonbradford

@spaceyjones

@Sherelle

8 Likes
Elektronauts Hip Hop Beat Battle #3 - Vocal Edition
#3

I forgot to mention that I will vote last in case there is a tie.

3 Likes
#4

Awesome work everyone!!

My votes:

1 - @LyingDalai
2 - @Yabba
3 - @drrumble

6 Likes
#5

Props to everyone for participating, this battle pushed me to experiment new things and take my beats to another level, thanks u all for that.

My top :
1 - @Yabba : Again u made my favorite, i Like the mix, the way u use the vocals samples and when the rap acapella comes in, it bang in the face :boom:, that’s the kind of joints i can listen over and over. You mastered the digitakt, would Like to have a beatmaking session with you !

2- @CCMP that’s synth bass line is ill! I Like the beat too, pretty uncommon and it fits well with the acapella. All the little guitar chops u put are very nice, u kept it simple but efficient. And the mix sound good!

3- @Doug old school vibes ! I’m amazed that u did the vocals yourself, that’s damn good! The bass is deep and muddy, Like that sound!

PS : i want to apologies for my english, i try to do my best but i know i have gaps :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

6 Likes
#6

Alrighty, after a few beers I have come to this selection. Might have looked different after a few more.

  1. @Doug - Loved the simplicity. Extra points for doing the vocals yourself.
  2. @drrumble - Classic sound that really hits the spot.
  3. @LyingDalai - Dig the beats and all general weirdness.

And everyone else, good stuff again!

7 Likes
#7

Great battle again guys! Very different from the first 2, I guess the theme made this a more experimental battle. Shout out to @new_drugs for organising this one!
My top 3:

1 - @rockpapergoat : Love this! Clear no1 for me. Very unpredictable, Madlib like vibes, great buildup without the beat losing it’s character. The mix is also perfect with subtle details in the background and strong main samples in the front.
2 - @Doug : The way you did the drums and bass are enough to make this one bounce hard. The fact you rapped yourself makes this a perfect track for this battle. I’m a fan, you should rap over your own beats more often!
3- @drrumble : Again, nice oldschool sounding beat. I like the way you chopped the string samples, and the vocal pieces coming in. It gives me Jedi Mind Tricks/Wu Tang vibes, certainly would fit on one of their albums. I said it last time, really appreciate how steady and recognisable your style is between these battles.

My notes on the others:

  • FNKSTRNG : Nice bass! I like intro and buildup of the track. The ending is dope.
  • PeteSasqwax : Great, original sounding drums, and dope atmospheric stuff in the background. The synth line fits the beasty boys perfectly. Reminds me of a chopped and screwed beasty boys remix in some way…
  • CCMP : The kick hits hard, this is one of my favourite De La tracks, very unexpected remix. I dig it!
  • new_drugs : This is something that would rock a club. Great full sounding and original drums. IAM fan so I love the fact they appear here.
  • LyingDalai: Great remix! The mix makes very good use of space. Very chaotic but still controlled. It reminds me of dutch hiphop group Opgezwolle, which I guess you never heard of haha.
  • Dheurt : Very nice sample chops! I feel like this one has the potential to become a banger with some more mixing and some vocals on top.
  • Yabba : These battles have made me a fan of your style. Great sample chopping and combining. The accapella fits perfectly. The beat would be perfect on a nas album.
  • simonbradford : Crazy intro! Love the way this evolves. the talking in the background make this sound like weird film music.
  • spaceyjones : Trippy AF! great mix. It’s dope how the vocals come in. Perfect for this style.
  • Sherelle: Cool combination of samples and synth sounds. I like how the beat seems to turn into chaos in the end!
9 Likes
#8

@Doug
@drrumble
@Yabba

Thank you @new_drugs for hosting this, and everyone for your awesome contribution, it really gives the will to push further!

6 Likes
#9

Kind of like last time this was hard to rank, except for my favorite track, which I was really clear on.

  1. @LyingDalai - It’s a super weird acapella over a super weird track. The sound is impeccable. You’re contributing to everyone’s gas over the Microcosm. Good times were had by all. I loved it.

  2. @CCMP - This is a really different take on a track from probably my favorite album by one of my favorite rap groups ever. I really liked how you incorporated the background singers especially. It’s a great track.

  3. @rockpapergoat - I liked this one a lot. Everything fits really together and flows nicely. I also think you’re incepting the Madlib comparison because the only other time I can remember someone using that break is Madlib on Episodes from the Lootpack album.

I also particularly enjoyed @PeteSasqwax 's weird and kind of dark take on Intergalactic. I always love @Sleepyhead’s stuff. And @drrumble’s just sounds like an alternate mix to the record. Everything just fits.

Shouts to @new_drugs for putting on a really interesting and fun one.

Also:

This is the plan.

9 Likes
#10

Hello everyone.

It was even more difficult to select a top three this time round, I had three beats that I couldn’t decide for third.

But here we are……

1 @Doug I’m impressed not only by the beat but you of course get all the props doing your own vocal and making a complete track from nothing.

2 @rockpapergoat this is really the sort of instrumental I love, it reminds me of a similar vibe as the Stoup enemy of mankind beattape.

3 @drrumble just straight up real hip hop and because I know the sample well i can really appreciate how you flipped it.

Also……

@LyingDalai really nice, I’m not familiar with the original track the vocal is from but this to me sounds like it should be it haha.
Nice work.

@new_drugs love the quirkiness of the beat with the little drop-ins etc

@Sherelle this is a style of beat that I love but don’t consider myself very good making at so that’s always going to impress me, nice work.

@sleepyhead really impressive as you did a quick flip at the last minute. I like the way you flipped the “huh” sound and made it do the liquid swords type melody/rhythm

As usual everyone on here including those I haven’t mentioned did something really interesting and i look forward to hearing more from you all.

And also thanks to anyone giving me some feedback I really do appreciate it :slightly_smiling_face:

7 Likes
#11

Just passing by to check what Battle#3 is made of.
I don’t know if it’s the best yet but once again there’s plenty of strong material.
The level is not going down, Congrats guys !

8 Likes
#12

@Yabba
@drrumble
@Sleepyhead

Also @Doug

6 Likes
#13

@rockpapergoat
@simonbradford
@doug

All really strong representations, I just leaned more towards what these ones were saying the most.

#1 had that off kilter funk that comes from the fusion of different, disparate elements being Frankensteined into a whole. Always a sucker for that!
#2 reminded me of my dude Edgar PBO! If that had an acapella on it… Damn!
#3 it was only the mix that stopped this being my favourite tbh, which sounds way picky but I sat with all these for ages and had to split them into the top three somehow! I need to hear more of you rhyming, man…

5 Likes
#14

This is my get out the vote post. We have less than a day left for voting so if you haven’t yet, please put in your vote and let your voice be heard.

3 Likes
#15

@LyingDalai
A hell of a trip, loved the tension released.

@PeteSasqwax
Always had love / hate with the Beasties Boys, can be the ACDC side of HipHop,
Intergalactic is not my favorite. Slower, less sharp, perfect … full of fun

@new_drugs
Liked to find Iam, in addition by a non francophone, right?

Thanks to @rockpapergoat, the sun of a rotten summer.
The rest was very pleasant and again another order was possible.
Still impressed by many mixes that sound so good.

A huge oversight, thanks to @new_drugs for everything.

Interesting to read your reviews and happy to see the pleasure you take there

8 Likes
#16

Props to everyone who submitted a beat; I appreciate all the hard work everyone put into their music. All that being said, here’s my top three:

@drrumble
@FNKSTRNG
@Doug

Honorable mentions to:

@rockpapergoat
@Yabba

7 Likes
#17

seriously, folks… these votes keep getting tougher. we’re going to have to start testing for performance enhancing drugs up in here. you are all on fire lately. getting to a top 3 was very tough.

thanks for running the challenge, @new_drugs!

my top 3:

  1. @drrumble - so solid, great classic flow. i’m constantly impressed with what you do with the digitakt. there’s enough space in the track but also enough small touches to keep it interesting.

  2. @Doug - you visited the knock laboratory for this one. your track works so well despite being short. your own vocals on top bring it home for me. the mix is a little muddy to my ears, but otherwise dope!

  3. @LyingDalai - love the way the rytm and vocals work here. it’s a cool blend of styles yet comes together as its own cohesive unit. tasty!

FNKSTRNG - dig the bassline, the pads, good arrangement, clean mix; overall nice vibe.

PeteSasqwax - dig the flow here, the longer form. the vocal works well over this. mix is a little bassy but solid. i especially like the static in there.

CCMP - great space, use of synth bass, guitar; samples and vocals work well together with the lazy beat.

new_drugs - the acapella and vocal chops work well together. at first this felt too muddy to me but definitely grew on me after a couple of listens. the driving background vocals, pace, and synth lines are interesting here. you packed a lot in this one. dope stamp.

Dheurt - that tim maia jam is hot. short, sweet, and funky… nice work on this one!

Yabba - smooth and clean mix. those vocal and drum chops with the vocoder in the back hit me right in the funky niblets. acapella flows really well here.

Sleepyhead - this was fun. i chuckled to myself (in a good way) when this track started. the rhythmic vocal part reminds me of an accordian. solid.

simonbradford - i dig the hypnotic feel, the slow build, the distant drums. it’s like listening to someone play a video game about didgeridoos down a long hallway. some good late night listening here.

spaceyjones - your track is interesting: the vocals jive well with the dreamy instrumentation. you packed a journey in a short time here. kudos!

Sherelle - old school video game vibes up in here… you have a nice melding of samples and crunchy instrumentation in this sparse arrangement. nice work!

8 Likes
#18

Just stopping by to say incredible work everyone! The bar was definitely raised!
:fire::fire::fire:

7 Likes
#19

I’ve switched around my top 3 a couple of times but here is where I ultimately landed:

  1. @Doug – I love that you used your own vocals for this and you did an incredible job implementing your voice into the production. But, I didn’t give you my vote on the basis that you used your own rhymes (it is a beat battle after all). But I found myself coming back to your beat quite a lot and that little “1,2,3” chop kept getting stuck in my head. I love the casual feel of the whole thing. That’s ultimately what it came down to – it had a great energy to it.
  2. @drrumble – What can I say, this one just hits-hard. It is so meticulously arranged and the production value is off the charts. It’s sometimes hard for me to really accurately listen to the production when there is an acapella over the top but when I really focused on just the beat I could hear there were a ton of tiny details and little flourishes that blend so seamlessly into the production. And the acapella sits on top of the beat incredibly well. Really top shelf work here.
  3. @rockpapergoat – Another beat with incredible feel to it. This sort of reminded me of The Avalanches “Frank Sinatra” in tone and feel – I would have loved to hear a Danny Brown acapella over it. This beat feels so wide-screen cinematic. Great use of the samples.

Here are my notes on the other beats:

@PeteSasqwax – It was really hard not to put you in my top 3. When that bass line hits with the drums it got me hyped. I straight up felt that groove the most of any of the beats. Some of the more atmospheric elements reminded me of classic DJ Spooky stuff.

@Yabba – So good. We used a lot of the same samples and once I heard the way you flipped them I was like “uh oh”. I love the “I know you” sample and all the little details like the cymbal swell.

@LyingDalai – I am a huge APC fan and your production matched their aesthetic so well. Your beat seriously felt like it could have been an alternate beat they produced.

@FNKSTRNG – I love the way you used the original Bukowski sample and created a hook out of it with the “become myself again” line. The synths sound great especially the intro and outro.

CCMP – Great bass sound. I love the off kilter feel of this beat. Cool use of the guitar stabs. “What a day, what a day”

Dheurt – Great ‘ooh lord” sample. It fits well with the main sample.

Sleepyhead – Nice work on the “time is speeding up” sample and making the voice speed up as he says it. That’s a nifty production detail. The drums are fantastic.

simonbradford – Your beats are consistently some of the most original in these battles. The drums have a real unconventional feel to them that I enjoy. I hear something new I like every time I listen to it.

spaceyjones – That bass synth is a monster! Great use of the Suzanne Vega sample.

sherelle – That intro vocal sample cracks me up. Great classic drum machine sound. I like the contrast the clean piano sound makes with the blown out bass.

With that here are the results:

  1. Doug
  2. Drrumble
  3. LyingDalai

Congratulations winners! Great work. Thanks to everyone who participated - it was fun hosting this battle. You are all class acts and the beats are getting just ridiculous in there quality.

With that, @Doug take it away. You have the honor of hosting the next battle.

11 Likes
#20

Bigups, all! Really enjoyed both the bear crafting and the end results. Shouts to @new_drugs for organising it & props to @Doug for the win!

6 Likes
#21

Nice one for hosting @new_drugs

And well done @Doug and everyone else.
Looking forward to another one :slightly_smiling_face:

6 Likes