Challenge 1 - Logic1

[MadHatter]

CHALLENGE 1 - LOGIC1


Contestants were asked to make a brand new track that describes themselves and their life. Here is his submission:

Logic1 - "Sustenence"


They were then asked to improve their music pages, to be more appealing to their potential listeners and fans. Here is the site he has submitted.

Logic1 - Myspace http://www.myspace.com/logicthe1st
He has also purchased and has begun the setup process over at http://www.logic1hiphop.com but there is no content quite yet.

Please add in your commentary and constructive criticism. The official voting poll will be posted here on this thread as soon as all entrants have submitted their activity for the first challenge.

VOTING DEADLINE: SUNDAY, AUGUST 23RD AT 11:59PM CST!

[cupcake]

i cannot discern your words. this makes me sad.

[benjamin bear]

faill: OFFICIAL JUDGE COMMENTARY - BENJAMIN BEAR

EVALUATION OF YOUR CHALLENGE 1 TRACK

The instrumental: 9 I really like this instrumental, I really have nothing to say about it except nice job. However....

Timing: 7 THE VOCALS...what happened to them? From what I could hear, you seemed to be on point for the majority of the track.

Energy: 5 I've always thought if you had a little more energy you could really shine. I understand that again, this was a chill track, but I think you could have brought up the energy of your performance a little more.

Emotion: 6 Hard to hear the vocals, but again, you need to emote a little more, and you could go from good to great.

Musicality: 6 I'm torn here between giving you points for your instrumental and deducting points for your volume problems.

Creativeness: 8 You always come with a distinct sound, I can always recognize your voice in a song, and you pick or produce some pretty good beats.

Flow variety: 6 Again, I didn't notice a whole lot of flow changes. Though it was kind of hard to hear at times.

Vocal quality: 3 You knew this was coming. When I could hear the vocals they were kind of distorted, and when they weren't distorted, I could barely hear them. Spend a little time tweaking your production techniques to get a constant and level sound without distortion, and you'll jump ahead in levels guaranteed.

Additional comments: Like I said, I loved this instrumental, and I think you have a good sound. If it weren't for the vocals fading in and out, and if you showed a little more enthusiasm, it could have brought this track way up.


Total Score (out of 10): 6.25

EVALUATION OF YOUR MUSIC SITE UPDATES

Your myspace page is pretty standard, that particular color combination is kind of hard to read, you should make the font bigger or change the color. If you want to stay minimalist, a simple black and white palette is the easiest to take in due to the high contrast.

myspace score: 5

[bazuukajoe]

I dunno... I can understand the vocals being a little low, but these are WAY too low. Also, what's with the vocals coming in and out? Shouldn't the vocals be at least the same volume throughout, be it too low or too high?

[Don Whipples]

i am not a judge, so i feel no need to be constructive. i respect logic1, but this track is... bleh. i dont like it. not feeling it. whether it be the product of laziness or being rushed or something, the point remains. my 2 cents, i guess.

these smilies are ill.

[Fatty Goodness]

For me it starts at a fine level and drops really low. Then it gets back to a regular level, and get quieter again.

The flow is great though

[Kaatridge]

The instrumentals were pretty damn good, but I think you need to make your vocals a lot louder.

/

[The Ranger]

OFFICIAL JUDGE COMMENTARY - The Ranger

EVALUATION OF YOUR CHALLENGE 1 TRACK

The instrumental: Thumbs up. Had my head nodding.

Timing: On point. I can't always work out what you're saying but rhythmically it works

Energy: Lacking. You've always got a laid back delivery and that doesn't have to be a weakness.

Emotion: Again, there's not a lot of emotion coming through in your voice. That doesn't have to be a negative if it fits your overall style/persona

Musicality: You know your way around a beat.

Creativeness: Hard to judge because I couldn't pick up most of the lyrics. In terms of the delivery, there's nothing groundbreaking going on here.

Flow variety: Again, nothing to blow minds. It's just solid all the way through

Vocal quality: i like your voice and your relaxed delivery but you're getting lost under the beat here. Some parts much worse than others

Additional comments: The beat alone is enough for me to enjoy playing this a few times over. I just don't feel like you really owned the beat.


EVALUATION OF YOUR MUSIC SITE UPDATES

First impression without having to scroll or click through anything: Straight forward. nothing wrong with that

Graphical attractiveness: Again, nothing to separate it from a million other pages..not always a bad thing

Cohesiveness: It's not unattractive. That's all I care about. If it doesn't hurt my eyes, I'm gonna click play

Amount of content: Could use a couple more songs up there and the bio reads like fiction which makes me unsure if i need to read it

Overall professionalism of the sites: Basically, it lets the music speak for itself which I generally like in a myspace page

Additional comments: For a myspace, it's fine. Would like to see what you do with the personal site

[MadHatter]

OFFICIAL JUDGE COMMENTARY - MADHATTER

EVALUATION OF YOUR CHALLENGE 1 TRACK

The instrumental: I do really dig the beat. It makes me think gunslingers in space, haha. I really enjoyed this, and I've been whistling the melody at work this morning.

Timing: Timing is pretty much on point. Maybe a tad, tad bit loose. Microscopic.

Energy: The song is relaxed and laid back, and that's the traditional Logic1 style. Very chill.

Emotion: That's one thing I always wished you had more of when you recorded. There seems to be that small amount of "reading off the paper" factor, it just doesn't seem like you're totally into it. I know you are, but it doesn't come across to me as much.

Musicality: You wrap your flow around the beat with smooth simplicity. Good stuff.

Creativeness: I caught a couple smart lines, but honestly, I have to strain to hear the rest, I'm probably missing some.

Flow variety: Not too much switchup on the flow, but I've always liked your flow style since I heard you on BBear's Netiquette album.

Vocal quality: Baaaad, bad, bad. This is my only gripe about your tracks is that the vocals are always, always mixed too low. Here, they're low, but even much lower in parts, especially the chorus, it's almost non-existent. All the vocals need to be loud and crisp to begin with, and then normalized and possibly hammered to all sound the same volume so we can hear the lyrics without straining.

Additional comments: Even with a bit of emotion lacking, I think if the vocals were mixed much better, this track would have been super. I mean it would have made a MAJOR difference. Definitely something to consider next time.


EVALUATION OF YOUR MUSIC SITE UPDATES

First impression without having to scroll or click through anything: Straight to the point. This is Logic1, this is his music. Very well. I like the Dune reference as well, of course. Instant nerd cred.

Graphical attractiveness: There... are no graphics. The only thing to spot is a picture of Logic1, which I think could be better and more professional for a musician's page.

Cohesiveness: I have to be honest here, the bio was cute, but is obviously a long bio of Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. I know you go by Reed Richards and all that, and the color is definitely FF blue, but this clashes completely against the meaning of it all. Your name is Logic1, but the bio is for Reed Richards. Non nerds are not going to understand it at all, but it would make more sense if you went by Reed Richards or Mr. Fantastic rather than Logic1. I can see people getting confused or skipping past the information.

Amount of content: There's a bio about the Fantastic Four character, the music... and that's it. There are only six pictures of you amidst some transformers, comics, and a microphone with no commentary except the word "denny's." Also, a shot of your lyrics is cool, but it's so blurry, I can't make them out. Needs more content and more explanations.

Overall professionalism of the sites: Eeeeeeeeargh. Blue Wizard needs web designer badly. Your life force is running out. Bleep. Bloop. Duh-nuh-nuhhh.

Additional comments: In other words... You really need to find someone to improve your online presence, and fast!

[conyeezy]

i've never heard of this dude before but i actually decided to listen (which i generally avoid, since everyone sucks) and i reluctantly admit he might have something going on there

[OsolocoAZ]

I'm no pro, just a fan.
This track is dope. The beat is great, and I like the mellow flow.
Was hard to hear sometimes. Great submission.

I don't even bothering looking at people's pages right now, I just want the music.
That being said this tune is good, could be more refined.

Maros track was pretty strong and funky, so we'll see how this holds up against it.

[Dorkin]

I didn't really like this one, sorry

[Dr.Awkward]

OFFICIAL JUDGE COMMENTARY - DR. AWKWARD

EVALUATION OF YOUR CHALLENGE 1 TRACK

The instrumental: I like the beat a lot. Very nice selection for a laid back track.

Timing: Nailed it. You are on point throughout.

Energy: Laid Back, and that's fine, would like to hear a little more swag in you voice to keep it from sounding monotone

Emotion:Felt a little lacking here, could definitely used a bit more emotion in the vocals, feel what you're spitting.

Musicality:You ride the beat perfectly, switched up cadence a little as well, I liked this a whole lot.

Creativeness: I liked the use of some very tough reference thrown in (+1 for throwing quetzalcoatl in a rap song). As far as the panning on the hook, I disliked this a lot. I give you points for trying to switch it up, but I felt like this was poorly executed.

Flow variety: There were a couple slightly different flows, but overall I never felt like you should have switched it up, so I liked the flow choice.

Vocal quality: It was low, and it sounded unmixed. Could've definitely used a hike in volume in both verse and chorus

Additional comments: I really enjoyed the track actually. I think you should rerecord and spruce up vocals cause this is album worthy to me.


EVALUATION OF YOUR MUSIC SITE UPDATES

First impression without having to scroll or click through anything: Bare bones

Graphical attractiveness: Um well no

Cohesiveness: I supose I have nothing to complain about here

Amount of content: Music, Info, Pictures. All good

Overall professionalism of the sites: Could use a sprucing up

Additional comments: I like the initiative of going out to buy a domain, but the myspace needs your immediate attention, I'd get a couple nice graphics up there!

[CutterJ]

OFFICIAL JUDGE COMMENTARY - CUTTERJ

EVALUATION OF YOUR CHALLENGE 1 TRACK

The instrumental: I agree with what's been said about your instrumental- it's intriguing and kept me interested the whole time. It reminded me of watching old martial arts movies on a Saturday afternoon or something. I don't know.

Timing: I felt that your timing was on point and interacted with the beat well.

Energy: The intro drew me in, but in the end I felt there wasn't much of a payoff. More vocal energy would have added immeasurably to this track.

Emotion: Same as energy. You're capable of more!

Musicality: The rhythm of your delivery had a nice bounce to it but without the energy and emotion the total package came up incomplete.

Creativeness: Just a couple small yards short of the first down.

Flow variety: Not tremendously varied, but in this case, it wasn't a bad thing.

Vocal quality: This needs some work. I felt the panning effects starting at :52 were a little too sharp and the vocals could have benefitted from some variety between right and left.

Additional comments: It's clear from this track that you're capable of delivering a lot more than you did- let us hear it!


EVALUATION OF YOUR MUSIC SITE UPDATES

First impression without having to scroll or click through anything: "Thank God there's not a bunch of crap I have to sift through to see what's going on!"

Graphical attractiveness: A little bit dull, but I'm the LAST person in the world to make a judgement about that.

Cohesiveness: Good.

Amount of content: Minimal, but I'll take that ANY day over an overloaded page with a generic layout.

Overall professionalism of the sites: Fine.

[Deafinition]

OFFICIAL JUDGE COMMENTARY - DEAFINITION

EVALUATION OF YOUR CHALLENGE 1 TRACK

The instrumental: Loved it, nothing to complain about here.

Timing:Okay, I'm going to really start picking your stuff apart because you have serious flow abilities but I feel the small things are making it go to waste. Timing Was pretty good for the most part but a few of your dubs are off which makes the bar sound off. You might want to try redubbing or turning them down a little lower.

Energy:I gotta tell you man, I wasn't feeling it. It's a pretty chill song, but there's a difference between chill and that monotone "I'm reading these lyrics off my notepad" sound. I can't stress the energy enough.

Emotion:I love the spirited feel of the song and I think it could be great if all the small things (which add up) were fixed.

Musicality:Over all it was pretty decent and I could see myself bumping this while I'm at home "IF" you fix the small things.

Creativeness:You had a few pretty cryptic bars in there, which I can get behind. For a personal track I think this one has it made, good job.

Flow variety:Like I said man, you have a good flow style that you should be proud of, I would be. It switches up a few times and that's plenty.

Vocal quality:This is the real downfall. Vocals, way too low. You're getting drown out by the beat which makes it hard to understand. Again, dubs need to be fixed, they don't need to be A+ perfect, but close enough that the dubs fall in the beat as well and aren't too overpowering. I don't know how I feel about the left and right panning you had in there, maybe because I didn't hear any dubs or maybe because the vocals were too low, but I'd give it a second chance if the other two problems were fixed.

Additional comments:The song is tight, don't get me wrong, but there's just a lot of minor details that bring the overall quality of it down. Keep that flow style, put a little more oomph into it and fix the volume and dubs.


EVALUATION OF YOUR MUSIC SITE UPDATES

First impression without having to scroll or click through anything:I'm not going to say much on this since the Myspace is definitely a generic page and that I gave you the email to my designer. So get that shit fixed, son.

Graphical attractiveness: ***

Cohesiveness: ***

Amount of content: ***

Overall professionalism of the sites: ***

Additional comments: *** - See above.

[Britsy]

mm. I think you've got something going for you but I couldn't really understand what you were saying due to volume, I think.

[Pops Ghostly]

Nice work dood,
like mentioned above my only real problem is with not being able to hear you clearly. I picked up about half of the lines...Your voice is smooth and you flow well with the beat. I'm looking forward to hearing more of your stuff, you've got my attention fo-sho...raise & clean those vox up and you'll be a golden eagle of dopeness dropping salmon bombs on unsuspecting drivers on their way to work.

or something along those lines...

[Lady L337]

OFFICIAL JUDGE COMMENTARY - KOURTNEY

EVALUATION OF YOUR CHALLENGE 1 TRACK

The instrumental: I liked it. Very laid back. It had me jamming :)

Timing: Very good. You know your way around the beat.

Energy: Also was very laid back. That seems to be your style though.

Emotion: There wasn't any variation in your emotion. It was consistant throughout the track.. though it had me dozing off about halfway through the song.

Musicality: Decent. But seriously, the vocals were too quiet. I had a difficult time understanding what you were saying.

Creativeness: Considering I couldn't hear much of it... can't say. Generally, it sounded like something I've heard before.

Flow variety: Your flow was excellent. Its definitely one of your stronger points..

Vocal quality: Terrible. Like I said before, I had a REALLY hard time understanding you.

Additional comments: Some lyrics would've been nice, considering I could hardly hear you.

Score: 5.5/10

EVALUATION OF YOUR MUSIC SITE UPDATES

First impression without having to scroll or click through anything: Boring. Didn't catch my attention.

Graphical attractiveness: None.

Cohesiveness: It was cohesive.

Amount of content: Needs more music. Maybe some more pictures or videos or something.

Overall professionalism of the sites: Acceptable.

[Maros]

I think you have a great flow.
But the way the track was produced lowers the enjoyment.
I've had to listen to the track several times just to try to understand what's in there.
And i enjoy the lazy style flow, but i think it needs a little more energy or emphasis.
without the emphasis, i kind of lose your voice and the beat stands out more.
But you have raw talent, make it work for you and let your voice shine.

[conyeezy]

yo logic is at the crib right now

next round he'll be mixed well

;)