Battle That! Competition - September 15-18, 2021

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InnerThug

prod. by InnerThug
Battle Points: 170
lmfao.

Perhaps once in 3 months or so,. season closer money grabba ^^

1 season we all make boombap with vocals
2nd season trap with vocals etc etc
3 Armani's babytoys with vocals :p
or how about no vocals ever. idk about yall but as a beat maker ive never been asked to make a beat for someone with an a-cappella vocal on it and i doubt ii ever will IMO it has nothing to do with beat making and is really only kinda a skill thats useful for mixing as "most" of the time the vocal your mixing was recorded to said beat. IDK just find it weird how much importance yall seem to put on it
 

Iron Keys

ILLIEN MBAPPÉ
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 645
or how about no vocals ever. idk about yall but as a beat maker ive never been asked to make a beat for someone with an a-cappella vocal on it and i doubt ii ever will IMO it has nothing to do with beat making and is really only kinda a skill thats useful for mixing as "most" of the time the vocal your mixing was recorded to said beat. IDK just find it weird how much importance yall seem to put on it

It's more a middle ground kinda thing, though I would lean more in favour of beats.

The positives of vocals;
- beats are made to be vocalled (not all, but), so some beats can sound like they're 'missing something' without them, whereas the beats that might get voted may not be suited to having a vocal on them. So this could raise the value of those aforementioned beats, as they'll be seen 'in context'. As well as showing flaws in beats that are too busy
- as a producer, (unless you're merely a beatmaker), having 'an ear' for vocals+beat is a skill. Being able to match the right kind of beat to a vocal (sounds easy, but there are plenty who clearly get this quite wrong/off). So it's a useful skill test/battle
- sometimes, producers do make or get commissioned to do remixes, and making beats to vocals can happen and is a valid skill. In fact, plenty of people make and post remixes.
- when Fade hits us with a specific vocal to flip or remix, it can be a real test of a producer's skill and creativity.*

*there have been battles where Fade provides a vocal that may be trickier to use, and people throw a hump and don't enter, but in a lot of those cases it seems more a result of the beatmaker being scared/unwilling to go out of their comfort zone and find a way to be creative and make it work.

The negatives of vocals;
- some people can end up voting for a beat just 'cause they like the artist/vocal
- similarly, some may not vote a beat 'cause they don't like the artist/vocal. (Jay - Z / Nas are example of polarizing artists)
- there's only so many acapellas out there
- people using original vocals can be at a major disadvantage against those using pro acapellas
- if you do 'original vox only' battles, you'll likely be pressed for entrants as not everyone has that option
- sometimes the quality/effects on a vocal can make it look like someone has made something cool, but it's just the vocal

That's my thought around the vocals. It makes sense, has its relevance; but it also has its problems.
 

Fade

The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
or how about no vocals ever. idk about yall but as a beat maker ive never been asked to make a beat for someone with an a-cappella vocal on it and i doubt ii ever will IMO it has nothing to do with beat making and is really only kinda a skill thats useful for mixing as "most" of the time the vocal your mixing was recorded to said beat. IDK just find it weird how much importance yall seem to put on it
For battles like this and Warzone it's never vocals really. It's mainly Beat This but this year it was only because I saw how good some of these beats were with vocals. Plus it's just for fun and adds some variety.

There's also the other ones like AOTB, BIU, BFIGHTS where there's no vocals allowed, so you could enter those too.

Vocals can be hard though. I understand some people don't want it. Hell, I have a hard enough time finding acappellas for my beats so half the time I just scratch something on it.
 

Fury Beats

Fury Beats
Battle Points: 243
UPDATE

Today I'll be emailing the ones that made it in, so watch for that.

PRIZES

Unfortunately, I haven't even heard back from the companies I approached this year. I guess everything is upside down because of the 'vid or whatever. Last year too was tough, but this is the first time no one has reached out. I've lost hope in humanity. :(

As for hoodies or shirts, that's what I'd like to do but Teespring doesn't offer a gift option! I'm pissed about that. I'd have to order some, send it to me and then send it myself. That's expensive since it's 2 x shipping.

I'm trying to figure something out.
CustomInk.com is also pretty good with t-shirts and I think (if I am not mistaken, they have a gift option). I've personally used them.
 

InnerThug

prod. by InnerThug
Battle Points: 170
- as a producer, (unless you're merely a beatmaker), having 'an ear' for vocals+beat is a skill. Being able to match the right kind of beat to a vocal (sounds easy, but there are plenty who clearly get this quite wrong/off). So it's a useful skill test/battle
as a producer as well when judging one of my beats or anyone elses one of the main factors i use is does this beat make me want to start writing or freestyling to it. if it does it gains major point twords being a good beat in my mind. i get the whole remixes thing but still thats nothing like taking a random vocal and putting to a beat its not the same thing at all.


But i completely agree with all your (many more) negative points.
For battles like this and Warzone it's never vocals really. It's mainly Beat This but this year it was only because I saw how good some of these beats were with vocals. Plus it's just for fun and adds some variety.

There's also the other ones like AOTB, BIU, BFIGHTS where there's no vocals allowed, so you could enter those too.

Vocals can be hard though. I understand some people don't want it. Hell, I have a hard enough time finding acappellas for my beats so half the time I just scratch something on it.
Then I think we should do some contest vocals required not just optional it seems like any contest on been in more vocals are optional the ones with vocals always seem to win going back to @Iron Keys points some people can end up voting for beats cause they like the vocals.

And it's not about being too hard it's about adding a random artist vocals to a beat you've made Outside of remixes and flipping (which in my opinion flipping something has nothing to do with just putting a straight a cappella on a track it's about using snippets from and samples from the original to make something completely new) it's about the fact I keep hearing hella dope beats get beat out by mediocre beats just because they have Tupac or whoever rapping on them
 
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The whole vocals allowed thing has been an interesting addition to the battles.
Maybe if it wasnt vocals allowed as often then it might be better because there are only so many acapellas to work with.

As @Iron Keys said, being able to produce a song, with lyrics, whether they be original or a remix, is a super valuable skill.
It advances a beatmaker into a producer. Being able to create the finished product that sounds like it was meant to be that way in the first place is a skill that takes a lot of practice. Aligning an acapella to a beat and have it on time is one of the biggest hurdles for somebody starting out, the second is having the beat in key to the pella.

I think the vocals allowed should be here to stay, just maybe not as frequent. I know the challenge very well of finding emcees to work with, even after all these years, more so now than ever to be honest. I have worked with a few over the years, not everybody has that time in the game or opportunity, makes the fairness a little unbalanced. Being the valuable asset to a producers arsenal that being able to make a finished song is, it should stay for good IMO. Maybe less frequently though.
 

DPrezd Beggar

Banned
Battle Points: 22
Exactly my thoughts, just post a thread. Yeah man, nothing like spittin to your own beats, so much fun. I'm ready when you are.

Actually...cooking some up already. Lets see whats happens. Keep in mind im not a native english speaker. But i rap in english now.
 

InnerThug

prod. by InnerThug
Battle Points: 170
I think the vocals allowed should be here to stay, just maybe not as frequent.
I agree i just think it should be its own category or its own unique battle (which id love to compete in) but having it as optional I feel creates an unbalance in some of the battles just look at the last beat this every beat that won or placed had a vocal on it.
 
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