newbie mixer here...hip hop...please help me...lemme know whatchya thank

[nDmusic]

My first real hip hop mix from an underground SF hip hop artist. I'd like the feedback and criticism of the gearslutz community.

http://www.soundclick.com/abnorm

The track is called Foreplay. Just click the music link.

thanks & peace

[nDmusic]

I'm a newbie here so hesitant to give feedback to others, but if you like my mixing style and want feedback for your own track, please post a review and a link to your work and I'll definitely check it out as soon as I get a chance.

Thx again in advance

[farjedi]

This is your first mix or your first paid mix? It's a nice sound quality for sure. My only faults are the drums are too weak. The kick needs more oomph. It is a bit of an anticlimax when they kick in. Also the delay effect is really cluttering up the vocal. Try panning this off somewhere or automate it to different locations. Try panning your chorus vocals to the left and right. It can be as little as L22, R22 to give you the sense of here's the chorus. Or be more creative but something could happen there to mark the chorus. It really is small critiscm because overall this is a pleasant listen, nicely recorded stuff. Good work.......

[nDmusic]

Hey thanks for the review. Really appreciate it.

Not my first mix at all (been practicing for about a year now on my own stuff) but my first mix that will matter. The MC has a connection with one of the major stations in town (San Francisco) and we're putting together a demo for that person hoping to get some spins on a major station, preferably not in the middle of the night. The music is all mine so I have a stake in the project.

Yeah, another person thought the delays cluttered up the flow too so I'll have to clean those up or look for ways like you suggest of getting them out of the way. I had the drums way up but asked my girlfriend for her opinion and she was like 'the drums are WAY too loud' and I said 'but this is hip-hop, drums are supposed to be loud' but she wasn't having any of it. I turned them down and she liked that better but I think they need to bump more and be more aggressive too. I might look for ways to make them bigger (any suggestions?) so they don't conflict with the vocal but are more in your face. Mixing them right up the middle (snare and kick) is standard but maybe I'll double them and pan 'em wide with a little delay to one side.

Anyway, thx again! If you'd like my fairly new ears to take a listen to anything, just let me know!