ROM - Protagonist

[yung rom]

LoF - viewtopic.php?f=38&t=164583#p2352866
Song - http://theofficialrom.bandcamp.com/trac ... t-feat-jay

This is the last song off my album which I deemed the greatest one off the whole project. No, the singing is not me (it's my friend), but the rest is. How'd I do?

[Eedee]

I really like the soft singing for the hook. It just... feels right. Any louder would sound off, IMO. Lol, so great job!

However, for the verses, your volume should be louder. Vocals sound really raw and unprocessed. Did you try mixing them?

BUT: I love your lyrics. You have a nice solid flow, man. You know how to ride a beat. You have rhymes and substance. I actually love the way you choose words and phrases. Good stuff, man!

I just feel you need to mix your vocals better and work on your delivery. You sound confident, but there's still something a bit... off, I guess. It's not as strong as it could be, despite your confidence. "I'm certainly positive" part is beautifully done the way it switches and then goes into the more hectic hook.

I'm not trying to be on a high horse or anything, but you have some serious potential. I'm not saying I have an ear for this or whatever, or that I'm good enough to know this stuff, but I think you can/will be really really good with practice and more technique to the art. There's something about your lyrics/phrasing/whatever that really captivates me. It might because the way you write reminds me of me a year or so ago. The type of phrasing you use, the imagery. I can relate to it.

With all that said... yeah. I'm going to give this a listen through streaming. Just from the album title I can tell it's going to be a more dark, reflective, and introspective album. Is that correct? I love albums like this. Did you make all the beats yourself?

How old are you, by the way? You sound young. Which is really good because you have so much time to grow as an artist. Just keep practicing, dude. I'd love to keep in touch. I could also help you learn how to mix vocals. I'm not saying I'm the best at it, but I do know my fair share of mixing techniques.

Keep it up and keep workin'!

[KoLyric]

hmmm, I really liked the hook. And contrary to Eedee's comment about the mix, although a proper mix is always preferred, I found the rawness to add a certain element to the music. Very reminiscent to the same rawness expressed on the SSLP. Although, the quality could use some work otherwise.

The flow, also almost a spitting image of the SSLP flow, is good. Falls off on a couple spots, but straightens out pretty quickly. The delivery is decent throughout, but my favorite part is when you get intense and yell for a couple bars. Emotion there was strong!

All in all it was a good listen. Currently checking out the whole tape now.
By the way, I went and I'm listening to the older projects on your page, and man, you've grown and developed at a pretty good rate in hindsight.

[Eedee]

hmmm, I really liked the hook. And contrary to Eedee's comment about the mix, although a proper mix is always preferred, I found the rawness to add a certain element to the music. Very reminiscent to the same rawness expressed on the SSLP. Although, the quality could use some work otherwise.

To add onto that, the overall volume for your mixes are very low. Your vocals overpower the beat a lot to the point where you can barely tell there's a beat there. They should be in perfect harmony.

The flow, also almost a spitting image of the SSLP flow, is good. Falls off on a couple spots, but straightens out pretty quickly. The delivery is decent throughout, but my favorite part is when you get intense and yell for a couple bars. Emotion there was strong!

Mine too. The beat picked up as well and it sounded great.

All in all it was a good listen. Currently checking out the whole tape now.
By the way, I went and I'm listening to the older projects on your page, and man, you've grown and developed at a pretty good rate in hindsight.

Yep! I checked out some songs off "Rewrite" and he sounded like a little kid. Then I went back and listened to Protagonist and it's like, wow. Major leaps. It's great to hear!

[yung rom]

I really like the soft singing for the hook. It just... feels right. Any louder would sound off, IMO. Lol, so great job!

However, for the verses, your volume should be louder. Vocals sound really raw and unprocessed. Did you try mixing them?

BUT: I love your lyrics. You have a nice solid flow, man. You know how to ride a beat. You have rhymes and substance. I actually love the way you choose words and phrases. Good stuff, man!

I just feel you need to mix your vocals better and work on your delivery. You sound confident, but there's still something a bit... off, I guess. It's not as strong as it could be, despite your confidence. "I'm certainly positive" part is beautifully done the way it switches and then goes into the more hectic hook.

I'm not trying to be on a high horse or anything, but you have some serious potential. I'm not saying I have an ear for this or whatever, or that I'm good enough to know this stuff, but I think you can/will be really really good with practice and more technique to the art. There's something about your lyrics/phrasing/whatever that really captivates me. It might because the way you write reminds me of me a year or so ago. The type of phrasing you use, the imagery. I can relate to it.

With all that said... yeah. I'm going to give this a listen through streaming. Just from the album title I can tell it's going to be a more dark, reflective, and introspective album. Is that correct? I love albums like this. Did you make all the beats yourself?

How old are you, by the way? You sound young. Which is really good because you have so much time to grow as an artist. Just keep practicing, dude. I'd love to keep in touch. I could also help you learn how to mix vocals. I'm not saying I'm the best at it, but I do know my fair share of mixing techniques.

Keep it up and keep workin'!

Wow, thanks for such a detailed response. Mix-wise, this isn't too good, considering I'm still using garageband (I know, I know), but I just Ableton Lite and might start experimenting with that, I'm not sure yet. The mic I used for this was also pretty crappy, but I just got a Scarlett yesterday, so my stuff should hopefully start improving in quality soon.

Yes, the album is sort of dark (even while there are a few funny songs), and the whole concept is sort of just a dive into adolescence and everything it brings. And yeah, I'm 13, which as I've found is pretty young for this board. I would totally love to learn how to mix (from anyone actually) considering that's the one part of music I know literally nothing about. Finally, yes, all the beats are my own.

[Eedee]

13? Wow, never would've guessed that old. You have a really firm grasp on lyricism for such a young age. That's impressive. Delivery and mixing will come with time and practice, once your voice starts evening out. Puberty is a bitch haha. However, for the most part, you seem to control your voice very well.

As for mixing, you should download FL Studio 10 demo. I think that comes with compression, EQ, reverb, delay, etc. You can just record into FL and then mix your vocals. The only thing with the demo is, you can't save your projects, so you'd have to do it all in one go. Which isn't cool, but it's only a demo after all. And the standard FL effects are actually really good for mixing.

I'm not familiar with Garageband or Ableton, so I can't help you with mixing specifically through them, but I can give you pointers regarding EQ, compression, etc.

As for your beats, they're so simple but they work. I really like them. They just need to be more at the forefront of the mix as well as the vocals. Perfect harmony, as I said.

[KoLyric]

I really like the soft singing for the hook. It just... feels right. Any louder would sound off, IMO. Lol, so great job!

However, for the verses, your volume should be louder. Vocals sound really raw and unprocessed. Did you try mixing them?

BUT: I love your lyrics. You have a nice solid flow, man. You know how to ride a beat. You have rhymes and substance. I actually love the way you choose words and phrases. Good stuff, man!

I just feel you need to mix your vocals better and work on your delivery. You sound confident, but there's still something a bit... off, I guess. It's not as strong as it could be, despite your confidence. "I'm certainly positive" part is beautifully done the way it switches and then goes into the more hectic hook.

I'm not trying to be on a high horse or anything, but you have some serious potential. I'm not saying I have an ear for this or whatever, or that I'm good enough to know this stuff, but I think you can/will be really really good with practice and more technique to the art. There's something about your lyrics/phrasing/whatever that really captivates me. It might because the way you write reminds me of me a year or so ago. The type of phrasing you use, the imagery. I can relate to it.

With all that said... yeah. I'm going to give this a listen through streaming. Just from the album title I can tell it's going to be a more dark, reflective, and introspective album. Is that correct? I love albums like this. Did you make all the beats yourself?

How old are you, by the way? You sound young. Which is really good because you have so much time to grow as an artist. Just keep practicing, dude. I'd love to keep in touch. I could also help you learn how to mix vocals. I'm not saying I'm the best at it, but I do know my fair share of mixing techniques.

Keep it up and keep workin'!

Wow, thanks for such a detailed response. Mix-wise, this isn't too good, considering I'm still using garageband (I know, I know), but I just Ableton Lite and might start experimenting with that, I'm not sure yet. The mic I used for this was also pretty crappy, but I just got a Scarlett yesterday, so my stuff should hopefully start improving in quality soon.

Yes, the album is sort of dark (even while there are a few funny songs), and the whole concept is sort of just a dive into adolescence and everything it brings. And yeah, I'm 13, which as I've found is pretty young for this board. I would totally love to learn how to mix (from anyone actually) considering that's the one part of music I know literally nothing about. Finally, yes, all the beats are my own.

Of course, and I had a feeling you were at least between 12-14. Mostly inferred from the album art. Your earlier works, in comparison, make this new cd seem like you've aged a lot. haha.
If you can be consistent and keep growing, while keeping the same drive you have now, there is always big potential.

Be weary, for I, being 21, have been on hip hop boards for YEARS and always see the upcoming youth drop a really dope project, only to stop shortly after.
Tenacity is the key. Keep it up bro.

Look on youtube for mixing tutorials. That might sound ridiculous, but it can be EXTREMELY helpful. If you have the tools, you just need an understanding for the patterns. Find your voice, find your sound, and find a perfect mix.

[Eedee]

viewtopic.php?f=74&t=164600

I just made a thread in the Lounge for mixing/mastering. We can have discussions in there.

And yes yes yes to KoLyric. Don't stop haha. You have serious potential, you have great writing skills. You can ONLY get better from here.