- Perfect 10 — Vocals from LEX the Lexicon Artist
- Local Hero top 3 in VPC-site hearts with 2 likes
- Triple Heart Threat likes on YouTube, SoundCloud, AND the VPC site (5 total)
- Full Package audio + art + lyrics + both writeups
TOTAL REACH — 112 plays rank 21 / 23
- SOUNDCLOUD 81
- YOUTUBE 27
- VPC SITE 4
TOTAL LIKES — 5 rank 15 / 23
- SOUNDCLOUD 2
- VPC SITE 2
- YOUTUBE 1
All Y’all Are Green
Vocalist's challenge writeup
Kyle Vice sent me an instrumental with a lawnmower sample, and I thought rapping from the perspective of a lawnmower as a metaphor for a rapper and grass as someone new to genre would be interesting . A lot of rappers have lyrics talking about how they’re the baddest and the best, and that’s not really a perspective I relate to. So I wanted to challenge myself to write like this, and the lawnmower metaphor made this feel fun and goofy rather than braggadocious.
Producer's challenge writeup
Kyle Vice recorded the sound of his electric lawnmower starting up with a simple voice memo. After importing into Ableton, he sampled it down to a single oscillation, then applied gratuitous effects including distortion, phase, filter and EQ tools to generate a useful synth sound. He then played the verse synth line via a MIDI keyboard and built the rest of the song around that core sound.
Lyrics
Gassed up, fast enough, Built to last and I’m blastin' stuff, Hauling ass and I’m past the rough, The forecast tells me I’mma smash it up A mulcher like a vulture, but I’m such a whore to culture, If you’re not sure, consult your, Operator’s manual, 'Cause I know I’m a lot to handle, I will chew you up, and spit you out, Black bag you, no one’s gonna miss you now, But I had to, you were getting high and mighty, In my game, we don’t do a thing politely We go hard, the whole nine yards, the whole acre, You can ask Cliff and Saker, Not faking, you are gonna meet the maker, I will break you ripping like a piece a paper I will literally mow you down, When I hit the deck, then you hit the ground, So you better listen for my sound, If you hear the hum then I’m coming around (Chorus) All a y’all are green, all-all-all a y’all are green, All a y’all are green, you can’t roll with this machine, All a y’all are green, all-all-all a y’all are green, All a y’all are green, you can’t roll with this machine Self-propelled, shelved to sell, Mass produced and I’m doing it well, Pass the juice ‘cause I’m fluid as hell, A screw loose but I’m boosted and moving compelled I got my dipstick wet, bet And I’m feeling primed from the time that I spent Making sure my gasket’s clean from a little bit of weed, Putting down bars while you plant the seed There's no need for speed, I’m moving turtle, Zero-turn, when I go full circle, I don’t need to hurdle anything, I just got straight through my enemies Making sure the deck is stacked against you, On the defense while I fence you in, So you better stay in line ‘Cause I’ll cut a motherfucker down one at a time Edging you make a move, Sorry 'bout your stuck-up attitude, I’m the best, but I had to prove, You got nothing, and I got nothing to lose Chorus Chorus
JUDGES' BREAKDOWN
LEX the Lexicon Artist
9.00/10 score rank #1 of 23VOCALS 10PRODUCTION 8CHALLENGE 9THING ONE is being compared to THING TWO: Speaker = Lawn Mower Typically I find “speaker equals blank” analogies too basic, but this one is really well executed, plus I just love the idea of using a lawn mower as a gangsta ass braggadocio literary device. “whore to culture” - FIREEEEEE “you were getting high and mighty” - FIREEEEEE. Even got the GRASS analogies. Every single bar is FIREEEEE. Flow is incredible, super tight and in the pocket. It’s very Mark of the Beast era Schaffer-coded. If I close my eyes, you’re basically The Rappist. Lol The diction and vocal dynamics blow me away. Multisyllabic rhymes are all very original and inspired Not sure what the saw bass sample is (a lawn mower??) but it is clean and the production compliments and supports the densely packed flow. I think future tracks could benefit from an even more layered arrangement and use of more chord progressions. Right now it’s just a saw bass, drums, 808s, and scratching at the end (which fucking rocks).
Klopfenpop
6.00/10 score rank #20 of 23VOCALS 6PRODUCTION 6CHALLENGE 6I appreciate the filter on the synth bassline at points to keep it fresher, but it doesn’t still get a little repetitive for such a harsh sound. I think a partially open low pass filter could smooth that out for the ear without losing the aggressiveness of the timbre. Maybe a layer (or a send) of medium-light overdrive or distortion after the filter to keep it feeling just as rough. Overall ,the melodic elements of this beat could use a little more attention. The musical ideas they are communicating don’t feel super focused and intentional. I’d challenge you to try planning the musical idea you want to hear rather than plugin things in and checking how they sound. Even just humming along can be really helpful in synthesizing melodic ideas. Interact with your music live as you are making it when coming up with ideas, because that is how our musical brains evolved to engage with music. I would advise against masc rappers trying to use the word “whore” neutrally–Evangelicallism really did a number on us all lol. I really enjoy this classic homage to hip-hop brag rap. Announcing yourself and declaring your prowess is as old as hip-hop and this is a great first try! I like the imagery and the metaphor, but I’m not sure the lawnmower framing sustains an entire song worth of lyrics and ideas super well. Maybe going a little broader with imagery of many different types of lawn and landscaping tools and techniques, or a more destructive act like forestry or a raging forest fire as a metaphor for your verbal attacks. “You go hard, the whole nine yards, the whole acre/You can ask Cliff and Saker” is such a dope bar!
Ben Tarkus
6.33/10 score rank #12 of 23VOCALS 7PRODUCTION 6CHALLENGE 6Did I just listen to a rap about a lawnmower? I think I've officially heard everything now. I think this R1 entry had some strong moments, but I would have liked to have heard better development in the beat and had to wait until the scratching at the end for something more. If we're being metaphorical, don't say literally! Otherwise I think the lyrics were pretty strong here.
Mark Cooper
7.33/10 score rank #18 of 23VOCALS 8PRODUCTION 5CHALLENGE 9● Stellar job for meeting the challenge. This is the first time I've heard of you, and I enjoy the metaphor of mowing somebody down and the use of a lawn mower. I feel that was very clever writing and I enjoyed the references mixed with the description of using a lawn mower. ● Production :One part to point out is that there were a little more changes within the beat instruments wise. I'm definitely a fan of less is more method for sure but on some occasions it seemed like it was a little too “consistent” and can get really repetitive after the 2nd listen. Love the use of the mower starting, the magic of a voice memo can do wonders for a track if used correctly. Next is to see what key the sound is in and build more around it with higher noted instruments and then use that portion in the backline beat to keep the song interesting. Now I wanna mow my lawn! Good work!
Richie Branson
6.67/10 score rank #14 of 23VOCALS 6PRODUCTION 7CHALLENGE 7Vocal energy is good, flow could be a little tighter in spots, but it’s very dynamic overall. Hook could be better in execution. Beat is neat, appreciate the vocals have a good presence in the mix. The scratching here is very well done.
Audience score and rank
AUDIENCE SCORE
Aggregated from 74 ballots cast by the public.
AUDIENCE RANK
Out of 23 teams competing this round.
- 21 voters ranked them in their top 10
- 9 voters had them in their top 5
- 3 voters picked them as their #1 favorite
FINAL BLEND
The final score was a 6.33. The song received an average voter score of 4.12 from the community, and an average judge score of 7.07.
The display score blends the audience and judges' contributions at 25%/75%. Here's how Mechanical Peasants's 6.33 broke down:
(4.12 × 25%) + (7.07 × 75%) = 6.33
YOUR SEASON SO FAR
- Round 1 6.33 / 10 rank #15
- Round 2 6.58 / 10 rank #16 PERSONAL BEST