So, I’ve been doing these demo reviews for a while now. It’s been a somewhat painful yet enlightening experience. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve vacillated as to whether I should continue with this (as it’s one of those things that takes a lot of time to write to, typically, mind numbing results) But, every now and then, a good song will pop up and make things worth it (kinda)
The year is coming to a close and I figured it might be fun to have a yearly winner of “Demo of the year”. So, I’m taking the winner of each poll of the past 12 Demo review columns and putting them up against each other. I will also give a brief recap of what I thought of that song. Keep in mind, there are the songs YOU voted to win for those weeks. I often woulda picked something different. But I’m don’t rule with an iron fist so I leave it up to the people.

So, vote and lemme know who #1 is. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE! The prize? Eh, I dunno. A pat on the back? Who fucking knows…
Also, a few of the original links given didn’t work so I’m afraid those got disqualified. Sorry to those people. Trust me, life will go on. because of that, I threw in one extra that I kinda liked and felt people slept on. Only cause I remembered it months later and that in itself is a feat with these demos.

Artist:Black and friendly

Song:Young Heavy soul food

http://youngheavysouls.com/track/young-heavy-soul-food

This one is pretty fresh in my mind as it was from two weeks ago. It’s cool. I like the beat and it has a nice listenability to it. The rapping is fine (even with the white voice. Whattup friendly!!). More than anything though, this is a well conceived , put together and executed song which is a much harder to pull of than people realize.

Artist: El Topo

Song: Bite the bullet

http://soundcloud.com/el_topo-2/bite-the-bullet-stbb209

This is one that coulda been really great if the producer had just had better drums. The musical elements are fresh and well done but those drums…hard to get past, in my opinion. But hey, what do i know? You guys loved this one so there must be something to it.

Artist:Dinosaur Burps

Song:WV Bruder Alles

http://soundcloud.com/big-river-records/wv-bruder-alles-1

For my money, this is EASILY the best demo I’ve ever gotten. I don’t wanna sway the voting cause when I spoke so highly of it before, a few butthurt people came out trying to nitpick it due to my positive response. As if this column has been a gold mine for great music. Whatever is clever but the fact remains that this is literally the only demo i’ve ever received that ended up on my Ipod. The beat is dope and the rapper is not only skilled, but kinda clever ,all while not taking himself too seriously.

Artist: Funny Death

Song: First Love

http://soundcloud.com/funnydeath/first-love

This is one of those rare instrumental tracks I get that i can actually tell is a step above the rest. It’s just really well done and has a warming vibe to it. Even if it’s not something I’d personally bump, hats off to the dude who made. Which is an ill thing for me to say, cause I never take my hat off.

Artist: Mixmaster McDiffitt

Song: Sunburn

http://soundcloud.com/mixmaster-mcdiffitt/the-blos-sunburn

What a weird and interesting track. This beat is very dope. The rapping is okay. I can see why this won it’s week though. It’s got a hypnotic quality to it for sure.

Artist: Getulio, The Old Gorilla

Song: All day and all night

http://getuliotheoldgorilla.bandcamp.com/track/all-day-and-all-night
I remember this one. It stood out as it seemed like a polished and well thought out piece. This is what “trip hop” used to be. Very well done.

Artist: GDP

Song:Quintuplets

This is from back when I accepted youtube clips.
It got that old CO-flow before el-p’s solo career vibe with rapping that closely resembles Big Jus. Not a diss , as both those things are good. I recall this not being exactly up my alley (I’ve never been crazy about beats like this) but still a dope song nonetheless.

Artist: Night:Light

Song: You should leave me

http://soundcloud.com/nightlightuk/if-you-should-leave-me

This is okay. I dunno…must have been a slow week or something for this to win. I mean, it’s not bad at all, it’s just a little repetitive. The break a 2:56 is dope though.

Artist:Atari Blitzkrieg

Song:Think Twice (Krohme’s Sld Rnnr RMX) feat. Rapper Pooh, Motion Man and Breez Evahflowin’
http://atariblitzkrieg.bandcamp.com/track/think-twice-krohmes-sld-rnnr-rmx-feat-rapper-pooh-motion-man-and-breez-evahflowin

This is one of those tracks that felt a little like cheating. It had a few established guests on it and that usually goes a long way. The rapping is solid…duh. They are professionals. The beat bangs as well. Nothing we haven’t heard before but it’s just a solid hip hop track. Dope beat + good raps = success. It’s really not that complicated. I’m shocked it’s so hard for some people to figure out.

Artist: Strangers

Song: Lounted in the basement

http://strangers312.bandcamp.com/track/lounted-in-the-basement-prod-jota-ese

This is the extra I threw in. It’s deeply Madlib influenced , almost to a fault, but it’s a very enjoyable song. The beat is pretty…umm..whimsical? Whatever, it’s dope. And the rapping fits perfectly with it. Figured I’d use my executive power to give it a second chance.

Now, tell me who you think had the best demo of the year…