And the winner is...

Damn, this was really tough. I was not expecting the turnout we got on this one. This is by far the most entries of any remix contest we've ever run, and the content and quality was surprisingly......Dope!

Believe me; I'm not trying to shit on anybody who is into my music to the point where they would take time out of their lives to put their personal stamp on a tune or two. Furthermore, in many ways I still consider myself and aspiring up-and-coming em-singer/songwriter/producer, so trust me, I know and respect the grind all too well, but you wouldn't believe some of the remixes people have sent me in the past. Vocals be all off beat... And drifting off even worse as the song progresses... Music in the wrong key... None of the original lyrics, just some "rapper" fresh from a "Kegger" and straight into garage band "rappin'" over my shit.

To my dee-lite, there was very little of that happening this go-round. I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. Good shit, y'all! I sent a Tweet about this last week saying the bar has definitely been raised, and I meant it sincerely. Of the 75+(!) entries we received over the course of really only a few weeks, it definitely got down to the wire on this one. I'm literally up at 3:30 am right now, the nite before we're supposed to announce the winner, trying my damn-dest to make a decision.

But, alas my peoples, a winner must be announced. Firstly, I want to thank everyone that entered, and invested their time and creative energy into gettin' it in on this contest, I truly appreciate it. I always like hearing other people's takes on my music, because I get a chance to hear my songs in a way that I wouldn't have thought of, helping me get beyond my own limitations, and pushing me to grow. Having said that, let's get on with it, muthaf@#@as!

2nd honorable mention goes to "Suicide Music Limited" for turning in a smooth, Barry White-esque, Lawrence Welk-meets-Frank Sinatra-in-the-Town remix with strings, vibes, and all that there. To be honest, it wasn't the music that got me, it was my dude punching in before the the 3rd verse with "Yo LB, we definitely got us a hit man. What you gotta do now... Is holla at these females". Then I come in with "You might a had a chance girl, but I'm married now"... Shit was classic. Reminded me of Marley Marl introducing MC Shan before one of his Emo, TJ Swan-laced ballads. Good shit homie.

1st honorable mention goes to the 4am remix. I'm bout to get real "Lil' Mama" from America's Best Dance Crew here with my praise, but this is it.... I was into this one because it felt as though a lot of thought went into the arrangement, and the producer was really listening to the lyrics. It had the JVC-force style drums. It had the hot intro with the "Just Rhymin' With Biz" "Fonkay!" sample looped and throughout. It had the original BDP quote looped. It had "Funky Drummer" looped in the outro. Also, anybody that's worked with me knows I'm a sucker for auto-panning, and this sh!t was auto-panning like a mug. I was also feeling the "I'm Serious" sample they threw in up under my Steady B quote. Clever.

And now for the winner(s)....I was trying to get this narrowed down to one, but I just couldn't do it. It came down to a two-way tie for 1st Place, both for different reasons. Congratulations to The Goodwill Project, and DJ Erb, y'all share the crown.

The Goodwill Project mash-up was just f^ckin' clever. They combined The Jackson 5 "Rockin' Robin" with the A Capella of FHR. I would've never thought of this in a million years. It fit like a glove, with tempo, drop-outs, turn-arounds, guitar solo, changes, and all. I also liked this one because it clearly didn't take itself that seriously and I found myself smiling the whole while. Congrats homie.

The other 1st place winner is DJ Erb. This remix was BAAAD! Not 'Bad' meaning 'Bad' but 'Bad' meaning 'F#ckin' Hot'! The music was like the Kurtis Blow-produced Fat Boys as a portly Anime motorcycle clique riding to the spot where they've agreed to rumble with Hashim and UTFO, just before Buffy (RIP) pulls out a muthaf^ckin' shank and is ready to cut a muthaf^cka. This shit is right up my alley, drum machine snares with hella reverb, roto-toms, and all. Reminds me of the sixth grade listening to hella long-ass, never-ending 12-inch electro singles on my mother's all-in-one Radio Shack turntable/cassette system with the big-ass tinted plastic lid. The one where that arm thing pushes the record down on the platter and the tone arm swings over and plays the record. One false move, and the tone arm goes right back to where it was and your song is f#ckin' OVER. Erb clearly put a lot of thought into the 80's style programming and effects, and did a good job of changing the vibe of the song without it seeming out of place. This was by far the most "professional" sounding remixes of those that I reviewed.

In closing, I just want to re-iterate that the overall quality level and number of submissions in the Funky Hit Records Remix Contest far exceeded both what I've received in the past, and what I expected. I'm really happy about the way this went down, and want to commend everyone that entered. Y'all really made it crack, peoples! Congratulations to the winners and runners-up, and know that this was a very difficult decision. Let that be a testament to your talent and effort, L-Beezies. Love y'all.

LB

check out the 2 winners and both honorable mentions below: