It's been a long time hasn't it?

[CA|Renegade]

^Thank you sir! I'm hoping to put something new together soon, but I gotta work out the DVR kinks and finish this semester out nicely. My favorites? E's edits are bar none and I wish I could do half of the stuff that Derk does in this game. Poppin, we gotta sesh soon if you can actually still do that. So dope you guys are all still around. Thanks for the love y'all and glad to be back!

[CA|Renegade]

Also, I don't know if anybody really cares about this, but I've been making some pretty dope music recently. Link below. Studio quality and everything

https://soundcloud.com/ca-renegade/c...y-alex-collins

[EternalRewind]

Don't know you but welcome.. we share the same interests.. I started using FL studios after the downfall of skate... dope song u got there, ill have to listen to I more when I'm not at work.. here's a short generic trap track I made, not with FL but with a app called Caustic... my laptop is in the pawn shop so I use it for now.. check it out.. I love the west coast ol school vibe ur son has btw..https://m.soundcloud.com/eternal-rewind2/demotrap1

[CA|Renegade]

Awe man! EternalRewind? Yeah dude, I definitely remember you. You did one of the last Lb Mag shoots. On the cover and everything. That's really dope that you turned to FL like I did, and I appreciate the love man! I didn't make that beat myself, but it's dope isn't it? My beats are mostly East Coast sounding, but I just had to do a song over a West Coast sounding beat being from San Diego and all. I've got some songs on SoundCloud with beats I've actually made, but I'm saving the really good ones for this mixtape I've been working on. They're really dope and all, but I don't want to drop them just yet because I need to get the sound right. Sure, I can make some pretty cool stuff IMO all by myself, but it really helps to have an engineer with years of experience in Pro Tools, a nicely treated room to record with, etc. At the same time, I also don't have $300 something dollars to drop on going to Phoenix and hitting the studio for 8 hours right now. Either way, I'm at work myself, but I'm about to get off in like 5 minutes. I work at an EconoLodge so I get to fuck around on the computer when nothing's going on, ya know? My buddies are probably in my living room super lit so probably no Skate for me tonight, but I'll definitely have to scope that beat ASAP!

[EternalRewind]

I feel u on holding on to the goods till it is mixed right... the song I posted was made on a ten dollar app so the quality if ok... but I've been messing with 808 bass for 2 years and am now starting to understand how to eq and mix everything right so it sounds professional and not like a dull thing.. FL definitely ups the sound quality for me... keep at it dude.. I'll definitely check out ur mix tape when it's ready... btw is there a way to view the old lb mags anymore? Glad u liked my lb stuff, valley boy did a great job with that.. one of my favorite fake skate accomplishments... I never told anyone other then valley boy and pawnluv but I was supposed to have a community spot light at ea forums like the one pawn and others had.. but it didn't happen because cuz and that other guy left ... oh well lol.. that wld have been my fav accomplishment... man I miss the ol days hahahahah...

[Antwan]

What's up? I don't remember. There have been so many people to come through the community. I wasn't too big into LB Mag, respected it, but just never hung out there.
I miss clip of the week contests though!
It's great to see people coming back.
I didn't realize there were so many people into hip hop, that's cool.
We talked about making an EA Skate Rap once.
As for producing, I can't really speak from technical or advanced experience. Took no classes, never had or been in a studio.
I do believe in working with what ya got though, and holding onto things to long kinda makes my projects sour. That's me though.
I made my first mixtape and though it was terrible, It was a nice release and gave me a perspective later in life. As far as how long I should spend on projects.
I spent no money other than for a microphone. Used free software, and made the entire hour of rap in a week. Granted, I was on summer break with no responsibilities then.
Haha, maybe it's not even that big of a deal but I was just thinking don't sell yourself short if you think it wouldn't be as good. I have yet to want studio time personally.
Almost like using vintage cameras versus HD 4K. You can make both work and if you aren't so worried about quality you may even do more projects.

[CA|Renegade]

Rewind: Dude, nice beat! Especially for what you were working with. It has a bit of a vibe like this song to me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em7Etu4pLS4
I followed you on SoundCloud. Follow back?

As for my mixtape, I can't wait to drop that thing man!! I'm obviously biased towards my own music, but I definitely think I'm sitting on a goldmine. I'll be posting it everywhere. Here, SoundCloud, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, HNHH, Datpiff...

Valleyboy was the man! Pawnluv is one of the best to ever play this game. And getting on a Cuz blog was the crowning accomplishment back in the day. Everybody used to look at that thing just like everybody would look at Lb. I really wish there was a way to look at the mags right now. If anybody knows, lemme know! Personally, I did a photoshoot with Derk. It's definitely the fake skate accomplishment I'm most proud of and I think it was either 4 or 5. Definitely miss the old days, but things are going pretty nicely for me right now. Cole, Poppin, and I had a nice sesh last night and we're trying to put out a video soon so be on the lookout for that...

Antwan: COTW was the shit!! EA Skate rap? Didn't MagicNarcosis do that for the Skate 2 soundtrack? As for production, I ripped FL Studio 10 off of the internet during my junior year of high school. Right around the time I stopped playing this game. Until about a few months ago, I had never been in a studio either and learned to use it through trial and error as well as tutorials on YouTube, and by listening to music I love and letting it inspire me to some extent. Samples are key. I don't have very many plug-ins so utilizing digital crate digging via YouTube is KEY. For example:

Here's a sample I used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTdKFS6mcnM (sample from 0:16-0:20)

Here's a song I made currently on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ca-renegade/2...ture-ft-nimbus

The sound quality isn't as good as what I've got going on now, but the idea is definitely there. Plus I'm a fan of the flow at the beginning.

I also had a homie in high school who made music as well and he gave me a tip or two. I try to get studio time in because I think my music is good enough to make something legitimately happen with it, but it's hard balancing all of the things I have going on in my life and being able to afford it at the same time. It's worth it, I know it, and I'm willing to put some of my own money into it, but responsibilities constantly demand attention.

I'd be down to send you guys a song or two that I haven't gotten cleaned up to show you guys what I've got made, but they definitely can't go on SoundCloud at the moment. Email maybe?