MJ Mavericks is an upcoming Rap Artist from United States who I connected with online. I produced the beat called “After Dark” which MJ loved and wrote some bars for it.
Vocals are the most important part of a song especially Rap and so it should stand out in front of the beat simply because it is the lead part, everything else is just in support of the vocals.
In this video I show you my thought process as I explain what plugins I used and why. I also give you reasons why I would do things different if I was mixing it today, as my mixing decisions change when I go back to old mixes.
Although I mix a lot on headphones, I also mix on KRK Monitors and check my mixes in the car, Laptop, iPhone, iPhone earbuds and normal Sony headphones. Not everyone has the luxury to mix on Monitors, but you can get good results if you’re used to your headphones. If possible purchase some good quality headphones and check out plugins like Mix Checker. Mix checker allows you to switch to different listening environments that music listeners use, headphones, car stereos etc an will help you understand how your mix translates on other devices.
Feel free to ask questions if you’re not sure of something, or if there’s a technique or plug in that I can use, let me know because I’m always learning and open to new/other ways and ideas of improving my vocal mixing.