Self Conciousness and mixing..

Relic

Voice of Illmuzik Radio
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 83
SO I can prolly take anybody here and take 3 dry vocal takes and make it sound like a hit in the mix(provided you have skillz), lol.
BUT When it comes to myself ...I do like 16 trax of drops, only like parts of each try and peice it all together and then put too many fx on it making it sound muddy after all in comparison say to the artist Im rhymin on the track with who only had to do one take and Ive made magic with only 2-3 plugins.

What Im saying is , to the mc's here, is it cuz I havent really been flowing in a couple of forevers that Im being overly analytical of ME????
Does anyone else go through this in some form??

Its not a matter of hating my own voice(lots of people go through that) because hell Illmuzik radio is no prob to do , but when it comes to actually "producing myself" its like I get super critical or lack direction entirely whereas if Im doing somebody else I can tell them how to hit certain words and whatnot and can complete a song in an hour.(takes me a week to get me where Im ok with my delivery and placement in the mix).

Anyone else suffer from the demons of doubt??
 

Ash Holmz

The Bed-Stuy Fly Guy
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 207
its tough recording alone .... u need someone giving u that general direction .. but if u dont have that luxury... just try recording ONE take .. no adlibs or nothing .... straight from the gut ... once u get that first good take its easy to go and do adlibs or double ups...sometimes when ur recording urself u r too "aware" of evrything. U kinda have to get in that zone and block out evrything ur doing. me personally, i like it when its dark in the booth. and usually i close my eyes when im spittin and try to forget the mic is even there and the red is button on. I just try and pretend like im just spittin on the block, or in a natural setting. It also helps to have ur verse memorized or at minimum have quick improv/freestyle skillz .... reading paper in the booth is for suckaz imo... I wrote half of fear factor literally on the spot just catching vibes and improvising. U just gotta get that vibe going ... right now it sounds like ur tryin to be too technical and worrying about every little thing. Just relax, take a sip (but not too much hehe) hit record and just GO. What i like to do is keep the record button on for a long time. alot of times ill record all my verses in one take.. instead of stopping after evry verse or whatever. they might even be off the markers or whatever but it doesnt matter cuz in pro tools u can just arrange what u like and throw evrything else out.
 

Relic

Voice of Illmuzik Radio
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 83
its tough recording alone .... u need someone giving u that general direction .. but if u dont have that luxury... just try recording ONE take .. no adlibs or nothing .... straight from the gut ... once u get that first good take its easy to go and do adlibs or double ups...sometimes when ur recording urself u r too "aware" of evrything. U kinda have to get in that zone and block out evrything ur doing. me personally, i like it when its dark in the booth. and usually i close my eyes when im spittin and try to forget the mic is even there and the red is button on. I just try and pretend like im just spittin on the block, or in a natural setting. It also helps to have ur verse memorized or at minimum have quick improv/freestyle skillz .... reading paper in the booth is for suckaz imo... I wrote half of fear factor literally on the spot just catching vibes and improvising. U just gotta get that vibe going ... right now it sounds like ur tryin to be too technical and worrying about every little thing. Just relax, take a sip (but not too much hehe) hit record and just GO. What i like to do is keep the record button on for a long time. alot of times ill record all my verses in one take.. instead of stopping after evry verse or whatever. they might even be off the markers or whatever but it doesnt matter cuz in pro tools u can just arrange what u like and throw evrything else out.


lol, true and it helped when I had the closet as a "booth" but the current closet has unrepairable shit accoustics so I went to the $21 "Booth" option, which has worked for other people so far but the prob with it is, you have to sit to spit which doesnt lend itself well to actually "pushing" out inflection the way I want I think..
Anyway I think your right about me being too technical, that shit happens to me lol.
Step's one of those suckas that reads in the booth, he comes over and writes for say an hour and a half or so gets comfortable with it then reads it! lol Cant tell tho.
Alot of that has to do with my producing end though getting a natural sound out of him, which is what Im lacking for me, (and as I think about it have always been lacking).
I remember when I had a closet having to go in and out in and out to hit stop and start.That shit is irritating and takes away from the vibe.
Good advice..Thanks.
 

Ash Holmz

The Bed-Stuy Fly Guy
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 207
^^ yeah maybe i choose the wrong words when i said "reading is for suckas" .. plenty people do that really well... what i really meant to say was some people dont sound natural and concentrate on the words more than the flow. sittin and spittin has got to be weird.. although some world class singers and some rappers actually prefer sitting down .. get some lava lamps or soemthing lol .. u need to really get into the zone. I think its important to seperate the performance from the mix.. treat them as two totally seperate and unrelated things.
 

Relic

Voice of Illmuzik Radio
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 83
Thing is, the flow once its laid down MAY in fact be good, but its after words that I get very technical, and start doing the shit over and over lol.

Im telling Step you think hes a sucka! lol

Fly down here and check out the spot, you can help decorate! I actually DO have a lava lamp!
I think your right though its 2 seperate things and its sorta one of those "Doctor heal thyself" type situations that I put myself in.
Prolly with actually DOING it more it will get easier.
 

NobleWordz

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 4
Its easier to work on someone else's music, your more detached from it. Music is very personal, it can feel like its your little baby lol .. Thats why its good to have different people working at different stages. Like not having the same person mix and master the record.
 

mercurywaters

hip hop in the flesh
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 32
yeah!! reading in the booth is not for suckas!!! i do it all the time. and then i promptly forget the entire verse after its recorded. its a curse i have. i can't remember my own rhymes.

i record all my stuff alone. for me i like to record a verse right after its written. for me thats when its the freshest for me and i have the best sense of how i want to deliver it. its sounds more in the moment rather than being rehearsed. i think you just need to approach your own stuff like you do everyone elses. view it as an outsider. and stop fucking second guessing yourself!!! that is all. now go make hits....we're waiting.
 
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