Garbage Gang

JUDGES' BREAKDOWN

1. Ben Tarkus

   7.00/10 score · rank #6 of 23
   VOCALS 6

   PRODUCTION 7

   CHALLENGE 8

   Love the inclusion of my man DA on the intro here so bonus points for that. The nautical theme carries all the way from start to finish with the beat, metaphors, and the waves in the background for the listener to get lost in

2. Mark Cooper

   8.00/10 score · rank #12 of 23
   VOCALS 8

   PRODUCTION 8

   CHALLENGE 8

   ● It's cool to see a melodic rap approach in the competition. Sounds dope! One thing I wanted to point out is that the lyrics reflect very heavily about feeling “lost” at sea or waiting to be rescued. But after a few listens I can’t say that it's entirely focused on the internet or computers but more about your detachment from people and society would be a better metaphor which still works. Also if there weren't any notes I would have had a hard time picking that up. ● Production: gotta love the basslines from a toothbrush! Very nice. Clean mix. No notes here. Great beat!

3. Richie Branson

   6.67/10 score · rank #14 of 23
   VOCALS 7

   PRODUCTION 6

   CHALLENGE 7

   Flow complements this style of production well. Hook gives me trap Gilligan island vibes. If I close my eyes, the song takes my imagination exactly to the waves. Hook needs some variance after the second “lost in the wave” maybe two half bars of “a” rhymes before circling back to the third “lost in the wave.” Slow trap beat, we love those! Drums are well programmed! The dissonance in the higher register parts in the bass line compared to the chordal structure of the melody doesn’t help the beat

4. Klopfenpop

   7.67/10 score · rank #11 of 23
   VOCALS 8

   PRODUCTION 7

   CHALLENGE 8

   This a relatable song. The metaphor is strong and the imagery brings to mind the struggle of unplugging from the doomscrolling. I definitely caught myself singing this one. This beat is solid, the transitions feel great, and sound effects really add a layer of transportive magic to it all. There is something a little wonky about the toothbrush bassline at points, though. I think it’s an overtone or maybe an uneven vibration, but on listening sources with less sub I get a kind of rubbing dissonance in the bass notes during much of the song. A lowpass filter might take care of it if it’s just an overtone. If it’s an alternating tone from a wobble, you could have shortened the sample loop to remove the section where the pitch shifts. This is basically my only production critique as the beat is otherwise super clean and well mixed.

5. LEX the Lexicon Artist

   9.00/10 score · rank #1 of 23
   VOCALS 9

   PRODUCTION 8

   CHALLENGE 10

   THING 1 is being compared to THING 2: Ocean waves = social media content DAVID ATTENBOROUGH SAMPLE IS FIRE. “Pull me to the depths sending out a flare from my IP address” FIRE. All the imagery is spot on. Clear parallels drawn between the two subjects, and vivid imagery. I don’t need to give more feedback on whether you understood the assignment. 5 stars. “why fight when it’s tryna embrace me/ please don’t hate me” Wow. That hits different. Especially with me going through my “content phase” and “trying to make a splash”. It is relatable as both a content consumer and creator. You nailed the self-hate and anxiety. You successfully met the challenge AND made me feel emotion while making social commentary. Lots of entries this round tried that and missed the mark on either or both. Production - the bubble sfx is fire. Great as always, but I have often been of the opinion that Shawn can use more chord progressions, as the same sample / 808 gets repetitive over time.