Week of 5/22: SoundClick.com Hip-Hop Top 5

[5/22] NT's SoundClick Top 5

Some talented artists presented a full selection of music for me to choose the top 5 tracks for the week, and while I'm confident with my choices, there were a few close calls with the order. While I will preface by saying that there could be a bit of quality improvement in most of the tracks in terms of mixing, I thoroughly enjoyed the product after looking past these issues.

However, I hope that the mix quality continues to improve in the coming weeks. Half of delivering a solid track is in the performance, the other half is in the presentation - the mix. While I understand the struggles of the Soundclick.com artist in the department, hence I see past it, keep in mind that this will throw off some listeners and hurt you when it comes to reaching out to a broader audience.

That said, here's a very solid top 5 for the week.

Chayse MacLair - Just Breathe (f/ Boss Game)
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10660166

Jonny B - Thank God I'm Me (f/ Jay Tres AKA Infinite Styles)
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10661196

Jo-Kane - Up In The Club
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9790449

Valo - Honorable Mention
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=8513429

Aztek - Can You Feel Me?
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10639145

The #1 and #2 spots really came down to quality, and the W in this department goes to Chayse Maclair's "Just Breathe." While it's not a track that will wow you with lyricism, for me, it has that all-elusive "it" factor. Chayse & his guest, Boss Game, deliver a very effective collaborate hook over a gritty, string-happy backdrop. Really, the beat is the grabber here and both Chayse and Boss deliver nicely, riding the beat both flawlessly and effortlessly. Chayse starts with a nice verse to get the song going and Boss Game finishes off nicely. A solid track that's enjoyable but, most importantly, has good enough quality to make my playlist.

Following that is an introspective effort from the ever-improving Jonny B, enlisting Infinite Styles to deliver a fire middle verse. This track has a very interesting beat and nice hook, something that I'm sure anyone can relate to and can be seen as somewhat of an anthem. It works well. Jonny delivers a couple of open and honest verses here that really let you into the man behind the mic. The main flaw in this track, though, comes apparent when the second verse drops. Hearing the clean, crisp quality of the second verse & hook highlight the poor mix of Jonny's verses. I'm not sure where the extra echo is coming from, but it seems like it was intended, as opposed to a poor mic. Lose that effect to make this more bearable. Or, maybe the backup vocals are off? Either way, get rid of it and this song get even better. Storytelling lyrics here are damn solid on all verse and are worth a few listens.

The #3 song is a very surprising song by Jo-Kane, "Up In The Club." From the onset of the song, I was a bit inclined to skip it, but I let it ride and was not disappointed. The beat is interesting, laid back, and very fitting for the overall track. Once the hook drops, though, I'm a bit disappointed. I thought it was just going to be a track talking about fine chicks in the club, which I've heard too many times to count. However, it's actually a quite complete story of a man visiting a strip club for the night, detailing what happens and, most focally, how it affects his relationship with his girlfriend. It concludes with an internal debate that shows all sides of the narrator, which I won't spoil here. What I'm getting at is that it's an interesting story that makes you want to continue to listen and find out where it goes. So, two spots to improve here. First, I was hoping for a third verse to really wrap the story. While I can guess what happens by the way the second verse ends, a third would have really cleaned it up and put a bow on this track. Second, of course, is mix quality. I have heard more recent work from Jo-Kane so I know this can improve. Regardless, a surprisingly tight track.

Valo slips a spot this week to #4 with the eerie yet ugly truth presented in "Honorable Mention." While I'm not really sure what the hook was talking about (sorry, didn't get it), the verses were solid lyrically. The stories were well-written and true to life, which I can appreciate. Listening to some other Valo tracks, you can tell he's certainly a good storyteller. The quality here wasn't bad, just turn up the vocals a tad. The actually delivery of the verses, though, was a bit muffled and hard to understand. I think it was speech clarity failing here more than the mix. It took a bit of effort to hear each word and decipher what was being said. Was great when I heard the words, but I shouldn't have to work to do so. It's hard to have both emotion and good delivery on a song like this, but it has to be done.

Wrapping up the top 5 this week is "Can You Feel Me?" by Aztek. What saved this track from slipping out of the top 5 was the beat and the hook. The verse were well-written and worked well with each other. It was definitely a track that had replay value, and whomever sung the hook did a great job with this. However, I can certainly tell this was done in two different studios. The auto-tune effect on the verse is overdone and does not match the artist. Actually, I think the song would sound just fine without any auto-tune because the artist has a deep voice. Typically, higher-pitched voices sound a bit better with those effects. Getting past the mix yields an interesting story of a borderline-psycho man who refuses to let go of his woman -- at any costs. The vibe from this track is also head-nodding and the smooth delivery of the verse works. Overall, a solid track worth the listens.

And there's your top 5 for the week. Certainly some songs here for your playlists despite some missteps with the mix quality in some tracks. I think the storytelling in a few of the songs was very well done and I'm digging the thought behind the words. I'm hoping for more of the same next week.

N. Talekt

Week of 5/15: SoundClick.com Hip-Hop Top 5

Have I mentioned I love hip hop lately? I think artists, myself included, spend a lot of time complaining about the state of hip hop, but what I like an appreciate about the music is that it has a lot of different aspect and sub-genres, styles and messages, all which offer something different while at the same time being enjoyable. With that, I present a very interesting top 5 for the week.

Boss Game - It's All G
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10606189

Mike Game Music - Get Down
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10649603

Valo the Inovata - Storyteller
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=8330651

Mod D - Still Ridin' Clean
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10593425

He Man Huff - Watch What U Say (f/ Thuggy Fresh)
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10643355

This week, Boss Game "SLAP!"s you in the face (play the track, you'll get it) with a banging track titled "It's All G." Frankly, it's not different than anything I've heard before, but I think that the beat, lyrics, and flow actually present a *feeling* that represents what the song is talking about. The "it" factor plays a role in here garnering the #1 spot. It really reminds me of something I'd hear Paul Wall (big Paul, not skinny Paul) rapping about, and if you've listened to him, you know he's really hit or miss. This track is on the good side of that. Finally, the actual composure of the track is well done, in terms of the mixing of both the hook and the verses. This attention to details makes for not just a good track, but a complete song, which you don't always find on Soundclick, so you have to appreciate the time put into the work.

Follow that up with "Get Down," presented by Mike Game Music. This track has a nice bounce to it with some aggressive lyrics to complement. The third verse shines for me with some nice rhymes and is an overall thumbs up track. I think the hook should have had actual words over the sample, though, but it's not bad as-is. Wordplay here was also interesting, but the filler lacked a bit of substance which sort of gave off a "why am I listening to this" feel. That's where the third verse comes in and brings back some much-needed focus to the song and probably the best verse lyrically. Overall, this assault with a barrage of lyrics that stands tall in the top 5, but a slight lull in the middle & a craving for a hook has me asking for a bit more.

"StoryTeller" by Valo the Inovata is a strong track that, as the name suggests, tells a story -- or two. My first gripe here is the mix quality. This track would be a lot stronger with better quality, and I feel that attention to detail is necessary for a track like this. The second verse sounded (quality-wise) better than the first, so if you could sync that up, this would be even better. Despite that, the stories are strong and clear. One thing I noticed was the lyrics were a bit overly simple for me. I understand that with stories, clarity trumps being lyrical, but at the same time, it was a bit too "club to the head" for me. I think some details could have been fleshed out more. One thing people tend to do when telling stories when they are inexperienced with it is skip out on details that they themselves are fully aware of. Your audience at least needs some backdrop and information about these personal stories in order to become invested and relate to the track. That said, it's still a powerful track, if nothing else, for a magnificent backdrop provided by the beat, and even with the flaws, it still shines.

Mod D's "Still Ridin' Clean" was originally slated to round out the top 5 this week, but after another listen, I bumped it up to #4. For me, this was the most disappointing track in the list, but not for the obvious reasons. The song itself is pretty much (mercifully) 32 bars and a hook about getting head, not obvious from the song title. If you thought Royce da 5'9" talked about his manhood a lot, well ... you haven't heard anything yet. The disappointing thing for me here is that the lyrics and especially the flow are actually on-point, interesting rhymes and some wordplay here and there actually keep the song interesting throughout, despite the subject matter. It makes me want to hear this rapper actually rap about something. I feel like he has a talent and a chance to break out and shine based on his work here, and I challenge him to take on a broader range of topics that do more than scratch the surface and review topics we've heard a thousand times. Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like he has a lot more to offer than we were shown with this outing. That said, the song, though something I've heard before, works well and has a smooth feel to it; I feel like the artist accomplished what he set out to do with the track, so that earns points. Again, this track just gives me a "tip of the iceburg" feeling that makes me demand more.

He Man Huff & Thuggy Fresh present a T.I.-esque warning with "Watch What You Say" to round out the top 5. A laconic, but fitting, hook does the warning, interluding verses going into further discussion of specifics. The first verse stands out at the best of this track but the second Thuggy Fresh hops on the mic, I kind of lose patience. Keep in mind, the mix here was distracting already, so the ice was already thin. The reason, for me, is because the lyrics were exact lines I've heard time and time again, and the mix make him sound a bit goofy; it's too offsetting against the other verse & hook for me. Regardless, while this song is not my particular cup of tea, I think that the target audience will feel it after a bit of attention to the mixing. As-is, it lacks the replay value and originality to make it bang.

Overall, as I said at the beginning, hip hop has always been about expression and diversity, and I think the top 5 delivers on that, from tracks based on lyrical assault to riding anthems, from stories to hood rap, I think there is room for it all when it is done well. The goal is really to represent and relate to your audience, and despite the flaws in some of the tracks, I think everyone does a good job in that aspect. Of course, there is room for improvement everywhere, but as a listener, I can appreciate the work and applaud the entrants.

Look forward to next week!

N. Talekt