- Top 3 Overall
- Perfect 10 — Challenge from LEX the Lexicon Artist · Mark Cooper
- Production Powerhouse 8.0 / 10 avg across judges
- Challenge Champion 9.2 / 10 avg across judges
- Wide Appeal no judge ranked you in their bottom third
- Crowd Surfer on 40/74 ballots (54%)
- 100 Club 102 plays on SoundCloud
- Full Package audio + art + lyrics + both writeups
TOTAL REACH — 132 plays rank 18 / 23
- SOUNDCLOUD 102
- YOUTUBE 26
- VPC SITE 4
TOTAL LIKES — 6 rank 13 / 23
- SOUNDCLOUD 5
- YOUTUBE 1
canon event
Vocalist's challenge writeup
conceptual metaphor about "shooting" a picture of someone, thru crime scene imagery
Producer's challenge writeup
song is built around a recording of a mockingbird taken at a riot girl music festival, additionally camera sfx recorded for foley moments, and water splashes recorded for transitional swells
Lyrics
Chilly day. April 28th, off Memorial and Moreland Inciting incident took place within the couple's apartment Began like any other, omelette breakfast, eyes on anime Eyes trailing, Nicki stares at Sonia's lips that captivate Nicki tells the Sonia they should learn to smile more "I've got too many bad days ahead" they sigh in retort Morning coffee ain't hit yet, churning the gut response 7:46 in the morning, Sonia gets shot. 24mm the designation of the weapon Concealed within Nicki's purse point and shoot at her precious Sonia in shock, mouth agasp, no words spill out Soul searching, how could all of this be working out? "I'll do it again" jokes the shooter to the innocent Gripping the sides of her plastic and metal instrument Within the setting intimate, Sonia pleads no, abstain Nicki shoots them again again and again You should learn to open up more!! You're so dark... You should learn to slow it down more! You're so dark... Sharp too. Dark room, Sonia's face completely concealed Expression flattened, lesson had was this will capture her fears Nicki cackles, wise crackin' at wide angles Sonia's wounds properly exposed and white balanced Nick's hands in a chokehold it's overperformance As the omniscient audience witnesses the waterboarding both solution and the fixer, Nicki, terribly enthused By the process, developing the torture is her muse Remove the cover, lights exposed, Sonia loosk so negative The same face of anguish as the inciting misevent Nicki guffaws, fell in love with the flaws And perfections alike of Sonia's misaligned jaw Done with the processes, Sonia hangs in a bathroom Satisfied by the outcome, wouldn't be so without one Who's camera shy? The shooter or target of aim? Regardless of attribution, Sonia gets framed, I'm sayin'.... You should learn to brighten up more! Learn to go with the grain. You should learn to let your focus go… I’m just saying
JUDGES' BREAKDOWN
LEX the Lexicon Artist
9.00/10 score rank #1 of 23VOCALS 8PRODUCTION 9CHALLENGE 10THING 1 is being compared to THING 2 A murder = a photoshoot Very well-constructed reveal and narrative. Goes very clearly from “what the fuck is this?” to “oh I get it”. Very vivid imagery and clear analogies are drawn using wordplay between “murder” and “photo”. In terms of execution on the specific challenge, I think this might be the most technically well-done, and in my top 3. Is that a fUCKING CAMERA SHUTTER? Or a squeaking film reel? The production is very unique, very spare with the percussion + camera noises + bass + discordant string plucks, but all of that gives it this foreboding noir feeling. I really like vocalist's delivery, they purposefully drag (i.e. not quantized to the grid) but are confident AF with it. Very swaggy with lots of presence. One of the three 10s I gave out for the challenge
Mark Cooper
9.00/10 score rank #6 of 23VOCALS 9PRODUCTION 8CHALLENGE 10Very well done. I enjoy a well thought out story within a song that has a photogenic depth to it. Lyrics and mix are very solid throughout. The metaphor of a cannon event with elements of a camera shooting at an event of someone being shot at the event was a chef kiss in layers.
Ben Tarkus
7.33/10 score rank #3 of 23VOCALS 6PRODUCTION 7CHALLENGE 9Oh wow that bass hit me in the chest and carried this song from start to finish. What a heavy beat to pair with even heavier words. Chilling, powerful, intense. The innocuous birds brought some levity to the whole package, and I think the challenge was nailed here.
Richie Branson
8.00/10 score rank #2 of 23VOCALS 8PRODUCTION 8CHALLENGE 8Good raps on this one. Flow is very well done, could be a tad tighter rhytmically in a few spots. Did the beat just life for sure. Hook could use a little more, it’s structured in a way that could be super catchy, but wasn’t given enough time. 2 more bars would have opened it up more, I’m just sayin’. Great work. Beat is nasty, really nasty. The evolution of the track is really well executed. Progression on the vocal FX is also well done.
Klopfenpop
8.00/10 score rank #6 of 23VOCALS 7PRODUCTION 8CHALLENGE 9This is a cool concept executed well. This track reminds my music brain of "Stray Bullet" by Organized Konfusion in both vibe and framing device (hey, like a camera). This is a fresh take and twist on this kind of framing device, either way. I feel like the metaphor goes from a little too on the nose at certain points further afield than I’m convinced I’m tracking the metaphor right. Overall, though, it's a nice change for an almost horrorcore track to flip into a non-gruesome reality at the last second (reminiscent of your Round 0 track!). This beat is tough. It brings a sense memory of all my favorite dark, dissonant beats with dry ass drum breaks. The transitions and vibeshifts are inspired. The camera sounds as source material is great, and the bird sample adds both text-painting atmosphere and a really evocative polytonal feel.
Audience score and rank
AUDIENCE SCORE
Aggregated from 74 ballots cast by the public.
AUDIENCE RANK
Out of 23 teams competing this round.
- 40 voters ranked them in their top 10
- 17 voters had them in their top 5
- 3 voters picked them as their #1 favorite
FINAL BLEND
The final score was a 7.55. The song received an average voter score of 5.38 from the community, and an average judge score of 8.27.
The display score blends the audience and judges' contributions at 25%/75%. Here's how imp & navi's 7.55 broke down:
(5.38 × 25%) + (8.27 × 75%) = 7.55
YOUR SEASON SO FAR
- Round 1 7.55 / 10 rank #2
- Round 2 8.14 / 10 rank #3 PERSONAL BEST