Hip Hop Battle #37: New Orleans - Voting & Feedback

The Lounge Mission Briefs
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Thanks to everyone who participated and for being patient. We extended the deadline on the chance we could get a few more people submitting - I reckon February is a tough month, especially in parts of the world where winter blues are a thing. The world also feel particularily inside out/upside down and I know that can affect the creative flow.

We ended up with 5 beats submitted (One of them the Soundcloud algoriddim decided it wouldnt host, so I’m posting that one down below) that celebrate New Orleans in all its facets.

Voting

  • You can vote if you submitted a track to the battle. If you didn’t, all feedback is very welcome but won’t count for the results.

  • Since we only have a handful of beats, please vote for your first choice and then pick a runner up (not including your own beat of course).

  • 1st choice = 3 pts

  • Runner up = 1 pt

  • When it comes time, please give some constructive feedback on the tracks

Please have your votes in by Friday Feb 28th

@electricthing @NVVI @malus_mons

7 Likes
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#1 Beat 2: Versatile, love the first part. Pitched Hercules Bass. FX.

#2 Beat 4: Tuba? New Orleans is here. Snare flipping.

3 Likes
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Thanks @surfacescan and sorry I didn’t participate. I will listen to songs in better conditions asap.

3 Likes
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  • First choice - Beat #2 - deep immersion into that beat, love the 808 kit distorted and married with that Hercules bassline and finding a nice slow rolling boil - perfectly cooking that recipe together. Mixed to perfection. Well done! Also love the 2nd line orchestra at the start to kick things off. I heard Lil Wayne in there but dont know who the first rapper was. Also wonder if the chorus is made by you? dope all around.

  • 2nd choice - Beat #3 - Wish I could understand what that vocoder was saying at the intro. Love the piano roll into the song - reminder of how important that instrument is in New Orleans music. Some seriously good soloing on that synth in the middle! The cowbell makes me happy throughout. Is that you soloing on the piano at the end too?

  • Honourable mention - Beat 5 - The buildup and tension is sooo great in this song. The brasdsy sounds, the vocal loop, the trigger man! I kept being like “Herrre it comes - its about to DROP! Waited for that 808 kit to just slam. I think that would have taken this song into my top choice”

2 Likes
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#1 beat 2
#2 beat 1

2 Likes
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#1 Beat 4
#2 Beat 1
I liked how both of these beats incorporated the 2nd line feel drums. Awesome job guys!

2 Likes
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Right on - so there we have it.

:trophy: - Malus Mons (Beat 2)
:2nd_place_medal: - Surfacescan (Beat 4)

Congrats @malus_mons on the win - really great track! And bigup to @electricthing and @NVVI for making some great New Orleans inspired music, I really enjoyed both of your tracks!

If people want to write a little bit about their process, I’d love to hear about it.

I will write mine up in another post.

@malus_mons - the honour goes over to you for the next battle.

Keep making music - it’s good for the soul.

:peace_symbol: :two_hearts: :musical_keyboard: :muscle:

2 Likes
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Couldn’t vote, but very creative entries again! Well done

2 Likes
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Beat #4 -

  • :drum: This one I started with the New Orleans drum break that Peter Erskine created (I used the sample of him describing how he creates melodies on the sane drum). I just knew I was going to use it.
  • :tv: I saw Juvenile perform on Tiny Desk and loved the whole set - he performed “Slow motion” and I knew I wanted to use the chorus in the beat.
  • :basketball: I knew Big Freedia’s voice from her being used on Beyonce’s tracks. I knew how to chop up vocal samples to make a chorus hype in a track from djing Miami Bass and so when I learned more about New Orleans Bounce I got to work on using Big Freedia for the “Bounce with me” parts. It was a full track I got the vocal stem using Deejay Pro/ Algoriddim.
  • :trumpet: For the Tuba bassline I used @benway upload of Rebirth Brass Band’s Melody. I was really happy with that break with the vocal chop.
  • :musical_keyboard:I was looking for a chance to use the Spitfire Audio LABS instruments with my Digitakt. I learned the Piano line from Dr John’s Down in New Orleans and played along to my drumbeat/backbeat and recorded that in. I play this through my laptop into the USB audio of my Digitakt and it’s Compressor. Definitely a combo I’m going to use more of.
  • :gun: I used the Triggerman sample (thanks @NVVI )
  • :sunglasses: Overall, I’m really happy with how each piece of the song stand on their own - but I don’t think they all came together into a track very well… maybe different keys and the transitions were a bit rough. I plan to use the separate parts and maybe build some tracks out of them.

Beat #1

  • :hearts: I submitted two beats for this battle, partially because I just wanted more submissions but also becuase I had multiple ideas - this was my favorite of my beats.
  • :church: I learned Mahalia Jackson the gospel signer was from New Orleans (I highly recommend this biopic Robin Presents: Mahalia )and wanted to try turning a gospel beat into a bounce track (not sure I achieved this but it was fun anyways)
  • :studio_microphone: Just built on this amazing song: How I got over and then tried to learn the piano chords -from this amazing guy who broke it down - The chords proved too complicated to recreate so I sampled him and chopped it up
  • :trumpet: :drum: I used the Spitfire Audio LABS plugins again with the Digitakt and used their Drumline Drumkit and a Tuba/brass for the bassline. I needed to use Ableton Live to host two instances of the LABS plugin but controlled it all from the Digitakt - I really like this flow.
  • :control_knobs: I imported a 808 kit from Samples from Mars into the Digitakt and pitched the long 808 kick to melodically go with the gospel chords.
  • :+1: Even though I spent way less time on this beat, really happy that it captured the essence of the original and I got to do what I wanted with the track.

Thanks for joining me on this journey - I’ve learned so much about New Orleans, it’s people and it’s music. Can’t wait to finally visit the city in person - planning a family reunion/trip down there.

PS - I subscribed to the NOLA reddit for the battle and throughout this past month have been getting daily posts about life in the city, I think I will keep subscribed - brings me joy.

2 Likes
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Congrats @malus_mons and @surfacescan.
Thanks @surfacescan and @sezare56 for this well presented and inspirational Battle.
I enjoyed all the New Orleans styles people came up with.
Thanks surfacescan for your positive words to my beat. Thanks all that participated.

My beat, no. 3, was inspired by the groove of Hercules by Aaron Neville.
I used stem separation.
Went to SP404 mk2.
I sliced the drums but used other drumsamples. I sliced the basspart and played a slight different part.
Sliced some guitarparts.
Sliced Neville’s vocals (Jungle rule, can’t be no fool, the devil’s on the loose) and vocals from: 79RS Gang - Oooh Na Na
I choose piano for the New Orleans feel.
Played chords, two synthpads, a synthlead, horns on the Roland MC707 (from keyboard).
The funny thing is that there was a metronome on at some point that sounded like a cowbell. Turning it off took something away from the groove.
So I recorded a cowbell part. :hammer:
Went to Ableton Live 12, my first mix in that Daw.
On the SP resampled a vocal with ringmod.
And Live’s vocoder on other vocals.
Recorded live the piano roll before the beat began and a riff near the end.
A bit of Ozone.

2 Likes
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Hey everybody! I was out of town this weekend, just getting back to my life! Thank you @surfacescan for hosting! The music of New Orleans is very dear to me so I’m proud to have impressed during this battle.

the “Hercules” sample just had the right tempo and feel so I went with that. I knew I was going to use a Jay Electronica & Lil Wayne verse somehow but wasn’t sure which ones. I liked how Jay Elec’s verse talks about the reality of coming from the literal bottom of America, both economically snd geographically, then Lil Wayne answers with his glib “cash money” response.

The intro/outro was from this:

The rest I made in Ableton with a little help from a SP404mk2

I will post the next challenge in a bit, I think I have a good idea!

2 Likes