Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
S3oulc1ty has been working hard on his beats, and as a result he has crafted his own unique style. With that, he has now created an album project called "Rigid Horizon", set to drop tomorrow, December 1st. I had to review it. Here we go...
The intro begins with all sorts of madness - but in a good way. Vocal cuts and lots of effects take up the audio space, but then goes right into the beat which is very soulful. The drums are laid back and the male vocal loop fits really nicely on top of the stuttered bassline. I can hear some strings in the background (probably from the vocal sample) but I would love to have heard some major strings over the whole track to smooth out the vocals somewhat.
We then go into a different type of style, which again features a vocal loop but this time it's sped up. I'm not a big fan of sped up vocals but this works because the tone of the vocals sounds almost like a small string section. If I'm not mistaken, the vocals come from "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston. Ah! I was right!
The next track has a solid bassline, although I really like the bottom notes better than the high ones since it just has such a nice tone. The drums are laid back and sit in the mix really well, and the main sample used is soaked in a nice layer of reverb, giving the whole beat a concert feel.
On the next beat, the drums are once again solid, as well as the bassline. It's the main sample that stands out because it just sounds so good, but I just wish I had of heard more of the music and not so much of the effects that cut the sample in and out. Still really dope though, but the music should either come through a bit more or have something on top to smooth it out.
We then bring in some horns that sound really good on top of the drums and bass. It's a nice horn pattern and if anything were to be added, I would recommend more horns! Just a short horn section panned left and dropping in on the hook. Think "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" from Outkast.
As we move on, the next beat features more horns although it's an out of tune horn. What's interesting is that the horns still go well with the piano that drops in. But being a big fan of the piano, it would be nice to hear the piano on its own along with the drums. That would be dope.
A string sample is what dominates the next track and it's really sweet. Again though, I want to hear the sample for a few bars on its own since it sounds so nice. Maybe have some of the talking over just the strings.
On the next beat, we move to something a bit different featuring a horn track. Even though the vocal snippet goes well, I don't think it's necessarily needed, or vice versa. I would probably keep the horns and vocals separate, but they still do sound good together, just not for long.
The last beat sounds really smooth. Some strings and horns together make up this beat and this is what I like to hear from S3oulC1ty! This is the one. I can easily hear a rapper on top of this, as this beat is clearly the winner of the bunch.
Final Thoughts
Overall I really like this project. From beginning to end, S3oulC1ty keeps a solid pace by bringing dope beats all throughout. If you're looking to hear some head-nodding beats that just sound dope, then this is definitely for you. You can pre-order this album now.
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