- Perfect 10 — Challenge from LEX the Lexicon Artist · Mark Cooper · Richie Branson
- Vocal Standout 8.4 / 10 avg across judges
- Challenge Champion 9.2 / 10 avg across judges
- Wide Appeal no judge ranked you in their bottom third
- Sleeper Hit on 40 of 74 ballots — broadly liked, few #1 picks
- Full Package audio + art + lyrics + both writeups
TOTAL REACH — 13 plays rank 18 / 24
- VPC SITE 13
TOTAL LIKES — 8 rank 4 / 23
- VPC SITE 8
Wrestling With Ennui Episode 42
Vocalist's challenge writeup
Vocalist Challenge Notes: Based on a true story. (Adapted into a wrestling metaphor)
Producer's challenge writeup
The horn section entrance theme is at the end of the song. A double time version of that part is what makes up the hook section. (Also, to be completely transparent; I started building out the a second section of the entrance song for fun and then we decided to include that as entrance theme submission.)
Lyrics
Lyrics: My pops was a tape trader I used to watch his old fights I'd pop tapes into the player At night It seemed right Like how could I choose a nine to five When I could see the light I saw a skill that I could apply See I was born to do this I came out the womb with Pads and boots My dad had mats up in the room I was consumed with the need to prove That I could do the moves couldn't do You could say i was confused He showed me how to shuffle Arm drags, Rolls, kicks and shit I was five or six had a gift I was legit For a kid I was nice with it my life was set And by the time I hit the school My shit was smooth I could roll with the best Time invested, so impressive With a style so technical An Orthodox striker It was a prodigy, a spectacle And nice with the mic too So I did what you'd expect me to Formed a trio with a couple dudes Something to prove Nothing to lose Went from a trio to five man unit A mix of cruiser weights and bruisers The next move was do it live We'd often get the biggest pop of the night Most of the cheers were from the other fuckin locker room guys We figured if we kept our work rate high more fans would arrive at some point Right? That ain't at all how it works and the promoter would lied about promoting, brother didn't even try. We didn't have plan beyond put on good matches So we remained stagnant and the locker room got wise to how we didn't give a shit Probably noticed we never ever ever watched one their matches I spent most the show outside smoking making jokes: "They ain't got shit between their ears, even less between the ropes" Eventually one of my brothers got with my other brothers girl. Can we coexist? The answer was no. Shit. We never made it out the bingo hall Two of the dudes are out there still doing it, one hung up his boots and one fell into the drink I wasn't feeling it, Not anymore, I was never all that into deathmatchcore So that was it the kliq split and I figured it was time to pivot. I work a different style now, mostly for my own amusement we arrive at today It's me, hit my music
JUDGES' BREAKDOWN
LEX the Lexicon Artist
9.33/10 score rank #2 of 24VOCALS 9PRODUCTION 9CHALLENGE 10A blues wrestling intro theme and rap song? Already digging it. A metaphor for a music career that I can follow along to. Storytelling is tight with a clear narrative, set the scene, rise and fall etc. Rapping and writing are tight. Maybe doesn't work perfectly as a wrestling metaphor but that's ok, close enough. Could've used a bit more detail on the persona, as the focus here is more about the metaphor and story. Also really liked the production - the synth brass is weaved in really expertly with the chunky drums. Pleasant to listen to. Loved how the intro theme was incorporated at the end instead of the beginning - "hit my music!"
Richie Branson
9.00/10 score rank #9 of 24VOCALS 9PRODUCTION 8CHALLENGE 10The intro here actually has me vexed in a good way. I’d be sitting in the crowd not knowing who to expect coming out from behind the curtain lol. Beat is delightfully playful. I love how this is presented as an interview. Vocalist’s flow is dope, great execution on sounding conversational while in the context of rapping. Vocal mix can use another pass, but man this is very solid work.
Klopfenpop
7.67/10 score rank #10 of 24VOCALS 8PRODUCTION 7CHALLENGE 8Now this is a story song. The beat even has a storytelling vibe. This is some good posi head nodding music. The skit segues don't feel very natural and could have used a few iterations of rewrites, imo. I like the dissonant horn harmonies in the second verse, but I'm not sure why they are there? The rest of the horn parts feel pretty straightforward and consonant, but it's not clear why the second very got the spicy note voicings or how that served the song. Outro is fun.
Ben Tarkus
8.33/10 score rank #8 of 24VOCALS 8PRODUCTION 9CHALLENGE 8Okay Bobson Dugnutt, I see you. I'll have you know I ran as Sleve McDichael on Steam for a hot minute, so you get exactly (1) bonus point. These horns go crazy for this track and I'm digging the interview angle for this submission. Kinda gives "I'm the Boss" vibes to a degree A rock solid submission for R3. It hits most of the marks for me- the challenge was sufficiently met (But I would love to know your persona!), the beat and those horns are just nasty, and the lyrics were delivered with purpose. Sounds like in the end, you came out on top!
Mark Cooper
8.67/10 score rank #5 of 24VOCALS 8PRODUCTION 8CHALLENGE 10Love the old school introduction style interview before the wrestling fight! Very smooth beat and vocals. Definitely gives a well thought out story driven song from start to finish that was very simple and fun to follow along. It reminds me of a person that had that one moment of a short but memorable wrestling career and got an interview on a podcast where they are big fans of yours. Very chill and laid back, great lyrics and the production made that canvas and story flow really well! Only thing I would point out is there were just a few pauses in the delivery that could be cleaned up but very small. Great Work
Audience score and rank
AUDIENCE SCORE
Aggregated from 74 ballots cast by the public.
AUDIENCE RANK
Out of 24 teams competing this round.
- 40 voters ranked them in their top 10
- 22 voters had them in their top 5
- 2 voters picked them as their #1 favorite
FINAL BLEND
The final score was a 7.86. The song received an average voter score of 5.66 from the community, and an average judge score of 8.60.
The display score blends the audience and judges' contributions at 25%/75%. Here's how Obvious Corruption's 7.86 broke down:
(5.66 × 25%) + (8.60 × 75%) = 7.86
YOUR SEASON SO FAR
- Round 1 6.90 / 10 rank #10
- Round 2 7.69 / 10 rank #9
- Round 3 7.86 / 10 rank #7
- Round 4 8.13 / 10 rank #6
- Round 5 8.45 / 10 rank #6 PERSONAL BEST