I received a lot of positive feedback, so I decided I'll give some to everyone.
They are just my honest 2 cents.
Disclaimer : I think I killed my ears working on something (for the next warzone) before reviewing all your beats so almost all the drums sounded weak, even mine.
My judgement is probably wrong for some of them.
@Andante : very good overall, though I'm not a huge fan of the rhythmic pattern with the ch-ch ch-ch. But the sampling patchwork is dope af. Well deserved win indeed.
@Pappas Beats : Dope use of the sample. I like how you used clean sounds and the fiddle always gets me . The mix is really good. Again, not much into these rhythm patterns, with 1/16th hihats. Maybe it's just a momentary mood of mine.
@ConspiracyMuzik : Overall well executed, though it's a bit weird this light-hearted happiness for a hip-hop beat. But it works. (that applies to a lot of beats here actually).
@2GooD Productions : I like it. I think you usually do better in the mixing stage. I feel the drums aren't hittin' really. They're kinda burried in the back.
@Crispifier : Wow. I really liked this one. Not very hip-hop as such but interesting. One I could listen to outta the illmuzik context.
@A.R. DASUPASTAR : About the drums, they're a bit repetitive. The kick is dark and doesn't pop enough to me. The snare choice is also very unusual. I think it works in certain subgenres of hip-hop and maybe that's what you were going for. The "banjo" sounds more indian than hillbilly to me, as does the overall vibe of the beat. And I'm not sure what was the idea behind the vocal chops. It seems to me they add more repetitiveness than anything. Tiny changes would go a long way, on yours I think.
@Corleone da don : Very good one. I like it though I'm not sure how hillbilly it is. I'm not a specialist of hillbilly music/culture. Lucky me.
@crog85 : one of my favorites. These typical crog hihats variations, I always fall for it. It is very much better suited to agressive type of beats than this happy vibe one though.
@EasyFlow : I'm still waitin' for the beat to start kickin' in. Nah seriously, you need to make your drums come out of the speakers slappin' people's face.
@Face Valid : I'm torn about this one. First of all, I don't hear a banjo, nor the hillbilly vibe, right. BUT it starts as what could be a very very dope beat from Dre's "2001". Then The drums are too scarce/weak and it seems the beat never really starts. But the instrumental parts are lit ! Too bad it seems kinda unfinished. Or maybe it is unfinished...
@Jamal : Very interesting, cinematic ambient piece of work. I do not think it fits the theme and it is not properly a hip-hop beat that a rapper could use. But I liked listening to it.
@Moselly : I like the breakbeat and general groove of it. The mix is clean. Nothing to complain about, still I would probably get bored of the melody pretty quick.
@nottr : My absolute favorite. Probably more celtic than hillbilly, and that's why I relate more maybe. Anyway I liked it very much.
@RCSkateboards : Fun one. Could be the soundtrack to a nintendo cowboy game.
@Silentz : Sounds clean. A tad repetitive and lacks a proper bassline. I usually like your beats more than this one here.
@xoxo_daisy__ : Dope piece of music. Well suited for an arcade video game. I'm having a hard time trying to imagine a rapper on there. But fun idea and technically, mix is clean.
My overall comment over this Beat This would be :
I wasn't expecting so many dope beats when I saw the theme, as everyone said, it was a good one.
Many beats probably used banjo sounds but not in the way a banjo is played by a banjo player. It can be interesting, but often sounded like just a plucky sound that did not translate the banjo feel.
The banjo feel usually results in a "light-hearted/happy" feel, which does not really work with the hip-hop we know and love.
The beats that worked for me were the ones that succeeded in transposing the banjo feel to a hip hop beat which are the winner and runner-ups + my personal #1 nottr + crog85 + Moselly.
As a side note, it seems fewer people used the "vocals allowed" option. I genuinely don't know what to think about it.